Educators use war conflicts as classroom curriculum

Other Merced County teachers have noticed that students’ ears perk up when the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are mentioned and use that to their advantage. “My students seem to be particularly interested in the war in Iraq,” said Atwater High School world history teacher Seth Medefind. He said he often uses news stories to ignite discussions on the subject in his classroom. In order to make history more relevant, Medefind also said he has students “compare and contrast Iraq to wars in history.”

How much — or how little — about the war is taught in history and government classrooms is up to the teacher. “There is no specific guidance given involving the Iraqi war,” said Buhach Colony High School social studies teacher John Stimac. But, he added, teachers are expected to be objective and “teach both sides of an argument” when it comes to all controversial aspects of their curriculum.

“We are taught to be impartial on the subjects we teach in history,” said Los Banos High School world history teacher Robert Arambel. “You have to show both sides of the conflict and the reasons leading up to war, then show the history behind it.” Students often ask Arambel what his opinion is on various parts of history he covers, including the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. “But once again, you temper that with impartiality.” He added, “To be honest, their interest in the war isn’t all that prevalent.”

Stimac echoes Arambel’s views, saying some of his students are concerned about what us happening, but most aren’t. Stimac said he thinks that is because students “are not confronted with what is really happening over there on a daily basis.”

This is also most likely the reason schools haven’t seen the protests and debates that spread in the late 1960s and early ‘70s about the Vietnam War. “Unlike the 1960s, students today do not see the war as a personal threat to their lives or America,” he said. “Since there is no real peace movement on college campuses, high school students haven’t followed their lead.”

Stagnaro said students he encounters “are just as curious about the war as anyone else would be.” Unsure of how much to share, Stagnaro said he questioned what he should tell his students about his time in Kuwait. Before becoming a full-time teacher two years ago, the answer he came up with was, “You let them know your experiences because reading about war and experiencing war are two different things.”

He told his classes that war was not a beautiful thing. It wasn’t a Hollywood blockbuster or a mature-rated video game. “War is gut-wrenching, difficult and lonely,” he said. “I was there as soldiers died,” when they cried and opened up, when they celebrated and when family members shared accounts of those they’d never see again.

These kinds of stories — the “human side of war” as Stagnaro called it — is what students often ask him about and want to hear. “I’m always afraid that students will hate history,” he said. “But when you have experiences that bridge the gap between the history books and students’ lives, that makes it more interesting and engaging.”

While sharing war stories with teenagers might help them gain perspective, those dealing with elementary school students have to use a softer touch, said Barbara Tinsley, Arizona State University’s social and behavioral sciences department chair who has researched the effects of traumatic events on children. “In general, honesty is the best policy with children,” she declared, keeping in mind the age and individual personality of the child.