Re: Thanks from Mary Haas

Debbie Abilock (debbie@NUEVA.PVT.K12.CA.US)
Wed, 3 Apr 1996 06:26:53 -0800

Dear Mary:

We've treated war as part of the study of a decade in "The Forties, An
Intergenerational Curriculum Teaching Point of View."  Here's a URL for
some "basic" info, and I'd be happy to answer other questions.

http://time_con@nptn.org/cyber.serv/AOneP/tep/contest.html

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Debbie Abilock              "It is important that students bring a certain
The Nueva School            ragamuffin barefoot irreverence to their studies;
6565 Skyline Blvd.          they are not here to worship what is known,
Hillsborough, CA 94010      but to question it."  (Jacob Bronowski)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

On Tue, 2 Apr 1996, Mary Haas wrote:

> I'm being enlightened by the responses to my inquiry on children and schools
> during WWII.  Thanks to all who have replied to my questions.  I am a
> university professor at West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV. As a
> trainer of future teachers, and am particularly interested in what and how we
> teach children about war.  Many of you  have mentioned that in school you
> studied about World War I.  Could you elaborate a little on this for me, by
> telling me what message you got from the study of WWI.  Did the history books
> tell you that soldiers were heroes?  Did you learn about only military
> leaders or did you learn the concerns and acts of the soldiers and the impact
> of the war on the lives of the civilians?  Other that in school how did you
> learn about war before you experienced WWII?
>   To:  Feliks Chustecki - As of yet, I have not read all of my copy of WAR
> THROUGH CHILDREN"S EYES: The  Soviet Occupation of Poland and the
> Deportation, 1939-1941 edited by Irena Grudzinzka-Gross and Jan Thomas Gross
> and published by the Hoover Institution Press, Stanford University, Stanford,
> CA in 1981.  I was wondering if you had read it and would respond with your
> evaluation of the book.
> To Sally:  I'd love to hear more about your experiences as a WWII nurse.  In
> the past year I have been interviewing female WWII veterans who currently
> live in West Virginia.  Thus far I have talked with at least two women from
> each branch of the services, including WASPS, and from both the army and navy
> nurse corps.  One of the nurses did serve in Northern Africa, and another WAC
> was among those women who crossed into Normandy after the invasion.  How soon
> after the invasion did your hospital unit go to Normandy?  Was your unit a
> mobile hospital? Was it ever in any really dangerous situations?   Were any
> of your staff from West Virginia? How did you get into the military?   It is
> a shame that many people do not know  about the important roles that women
> played in the military during World War II and it is up to you to inform
> people because they often do not know enough to ask. I notice that you are
> working in an important part of health care today.  Did your military service
> have an impact on the rest of your life?  Have you read the book Bedpan
> Commando?  If so, would you comment on its content in relationship to your
> experiences?
>