connections

Back in my teaching days, the end of the school year meant one thing for the eighth graders, a trip to Gettysburg and Washington, DC. For many, it was their first time traveling without their parents. This was their final celebration, a last hurrah as the oldest students in the building before stepping into a much bigger world: a 2,500-student high school campus, where they would trade their seniority status for the role of freshman newbies.

The students found Washington, DC more interesting than Gettysburg. There was more to see, more to connect with, and most of them discovered something that felt personally meaningful. (Yes, this became part of a writing assignment they completed when we returned.) For many, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (the Wall) stood out in a powerful way, especially those who had a grandparent, aunt, or uncle who served during the war.

Just south of the Wall in a quiet spot sits the Vietnam Women’s Memorial, designed by Glenna Goodacre. It honors the nurses and women who served in Vietnam. While looking at this piece, a sense of familiarity struck me. The sculpture reminded me of a couple statues in Lincoln Park Commons, a small park not far from the school.

Photo: National Park Service

After we returned and got back into the end-of-year routine, I took a walk through Lincoln Park to test that hunch. Had Glenna Goodacre created these local sculptures as well? Yes, she had. Wanting to model the kind of curiosity and connection I hoped to see in my students, I wrote a short piece linking Kettering, Ohio to Washington, DC, showed the photos I had taken of the Women's Memorial, and read my story to them. (See? Teachers do homework, too!).

Over the next few days, a few students told me they had gone to Lincoln Park to see the statues for themselves. That little ripple of curiosity (especially at the end of the year when all thoughts are on summer vacation), felt like its own kind of success.

"The Runner" by Glenna Goodacre

"Man with His Dog"