Legion video educates schoolchildren about America's veterans. (Education).Schoolchildren schoolchildren school npl → écoliers mpl; (at secondary school) → collégiens mpl; lycéens mpl schoolchildren school across America can now get a realistic view of veterans because of an educational video program produced by the American Legion American Legion, national association of male and female war veterans, founded (1919) in Paris. Membership is open to veterans of World Wars I and II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. , Indianapolis. The 23-minute video, America's Veterans, is accompanied by a guide for teachers as well as a guide for volunteer veteran presenters. The program is designed to "enrich the treatment of Veterans' Day found in most American history textbooks" by helping students understand who veterans are and why Americans honor them. "In modern America, we have generations that have no idea of the suffering and sacrifice that men and women in uniform have endured to maintain freedom for not only America, but the nations of the world," says Lee Harris, the Legion's deputy director of national public relations public relations, activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment. By its nature, public relations is devoted to serving particular interests by presenting them to the public in the most , and executive producer of America's Veterans. "We really wanted to put faces to veterans. We want children to see that they are men and women from everywhere. They are common folks who did a job, came home, and went about their lives." The program tells the stories of four veterans: an Army nurse in Vietnam who later created the Vietnam Women's Memorial The Vietnam Women's Memorial is a memorial dedicated to the women of the United States who served in the Vietnam War, most of whom were nurses. It serves as a reminder of the importance of women in the conflict. in Washington, D.C.; a bomber pilot in the Army Air Corps during World War II; a Korean War veteran who received the Medal of Honor Medal of Honor highest American military decoration for wartime gallantry. [Am. Hist.: Misc.] See : Bravery ; and an Army engineer in Vietnam whose injuries in that conflict made him a paraplegic paraplegic /para·ple·gic/ (-ple´jik) 1. pertaining to or of the nature of paraplegia. 2. an individual with paraplegia. . The program, which was developed by the Center for Educational Resources, Indianapolis, is designed to be flexible enough for a monthlong social studies program or just a 40minute presentation. The Legion undertook the 18-month, $35,000 project after educational organizations confirmed that no product was available to help teachers bring veterans' stories to life. The video-based program, which was originally targeted to a fifth-grade level, was first shown to two educator conventions at an exhibit booth; educators could fill out a request form to order a free copy of the tape. Legion volunteers also contacted local schools to see if they wanted a copy. A $30,000 grant from IPALCO IPALCO Indianapolis Power and Light Company Enterprises, which built the $2.5 million Congressional Medal of Honor Congressional Medal of Honor n. The highest U.S. military decoration, awarded in the name of Congress to members of the armed forces for gallantry and bravery beyond the call of duty in action against an enemy. Noun 1. Memorial in Indianapolis in 1999, underwrote first-year printing and mailing costs. Since early 2000, the Legion has given the America's Veterans video program to more than 12,000 schools. The Legion has received about 6,000 response cards from teachers, all of which report positive experiences and a wide-ranging grade level of acceptance. Single copies of the video and accompanying print materials may be ordered for $3.95 by visiting the American Legion Web site at www.legion.org. |
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