TEACHERS SET TO TRAVEL TO NATION'S CAPITAL TO BECOME EDUCATIONAL AMBASSADORS TO VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL
84 Teachers from 36 States to Participate in Four-Day Gathering Focused on Vietnam War Era

 

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 8, 2003 --- Eighty-four teachers from across the U.S. will descend on the nation's capital next week to participate in four days of special events, seminars and workshops about the Vietnam War era, announced Jan C. Scruggs, Founder and President, Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund.

The educators will be participating in the Memorial Fund's Second Annual Teach Vietnam Teachers' Conference, being held from July 15-19 in Washington, D.C. The all-expenses-paid conference is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities; Andrew Carroll (War Letters: Extraordinary Correspondence from American Wars) of The Legacy Project; Dawkins Family Foundation; FedEx Corporation; Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.; and Vietnam Veterans Memorial Corporate Council Members Richard B. Lieb of the Dewey Companies and William Murdy of Comfort Systems USA.

"The Vietnam War was a defining moment in our nation's history," Scruggs said. "It is important that students today and for years to come understand the war and those who served and sacrificed. The Teach Vietnam Teachers' Network is instrumental in educating teachers and ultimately this and future generations about America's longest and most divisive war."

The teachers are the newest members of the Teach Vietnam Teachers' Network, charged with educating their colleagues and students about the Vietnam War era and helping to promote the Memorial Fund's programs dedicated to preserving the Memorial's legacy. The teachers represent 36 states and possess a wide array of teaching experience. Sixteen are Vietnam veterans. With this year's class, the Teachers' Network comprises 170 teachers representing 39 states.

The conference will feature numerous special events and several teaching workshops in addition to visits to Washington, D.C.'s popular landmarks. Teachers also will participate in seminars with topics ranging from the different perspectives on the Vietnam War; memorialization in the U.S.; and the inherent tension between the military and media. Highlights include a July 16 Congressional breakfast, where teachers will meet Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi, USA Freedom Corps Director John Bridgeland and several prominent Members of Congress; and a July 18 Remembrance Ceremony at The Wall, at which each teacher will offer a tribute to an honoree from their local area.

After attending the conference, the teachers will serve as points of contact for other educators in their state and develop community outreach projects focused on educating students about the Vietnam War. In addition, Teachers' Network members will provide feedback about Memorial Fund programs and materials, and will help the organization in developing new resources for educators. Last year's inaugural Teachers' Network class of 86 educators has been instrumental in preserving the Memorial's legacy through their community projects. They have developed innovative projects ranging from developing local veterans memorials to organizing Memorial and Veterans Day activities in their communities.

The Memorial Fund formally entered the education arena due in large part to the mounting requests from educators seeking teaching resources on the Vietnam War era. In 1999, the organization developed a secondary school curriculum, titled Echoes From The Wall: History, Learning and Leadership Through the Lens of the Vietnam War Era, designed to help create future generations of citizens that understand the lasting legacy of that war and how it continues to impact our nation, Scruggs said.

The Memorial Fund distributed Echoes From The Wall free of charge to the country's 27,000 public and private high schools in October 1999. A subsequent mailing in April 2001 provided the curriculum to all 12,500 middle schools in the U.S. The curriculum package features a teachers' guide with primary source material; posters about the Vietnam War era and The Wall; compilations of essays about the war and the Memorial; a Veterans of Foreign Wars combat chronology; and To Heal A Nation, the television movie about Jan Scruggs' effort to build the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

Dedicated on November 13, 1982, the Memorial was built to honor all who served with the U.S. Armed Forces during the Vietnam War. It has become an international symbol of healing that has helped bring together those who stood on different sides during one of the most divisive periods in American history. The Wall continues to be the most visited memorial in the nation's capital with more than 4.4 million visitors each year.

Established in 1979, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is the nonprofit organization authorized by Congress to build the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Today, it has developed a series of outreach programs dedicated to preserving the legacy of The Wall, to promoting healing and to educating about the impact of the Vietnam War.

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For a complete list of the Second Annual Teach Vietnam Teachers' Network class members, click here

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