Submitted by Julie Jones, Williamsburg, Virginia
Idea posted November 12, 2007
I started doing a Veterans Day program my first year back to teaching (which was the fall of 2001). My school had never done a Veterans Day program before, so I was in uncharted waters. However, given the impact of 9/11, our students wanted to do something patriotic.
The first couple of years, I used one class from each grade, k-5 (that's how all our programs were the first couple of years; something I inherited) for the Veterans Day program. Each class had one "spotlight" piece, which was a real challenge for the little guys in kindergarten.
Then, I was able to make a change and do grade level programs, so the fifth grade did Veterans Day for a couple of years.
Now, however, I feel like I finally have it right. I've found a simple formula that doesn't stress me out with a lot of preparation, includes audience participation from our k-5 student body, and allows us to hear from some of our own "heroes," our active military parents in our school. (The most touching one was a husband/wife team who spoke, knowing that the following week the dad would be deployed to Iraq.)
My 5th grade chorus sings one patriotic song, usually from Music K-8 (i.e., "You Are Our Heroes" or "American Tears". They lead the whole school in singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" and "The Armed Forces Medley." I ask the teachers of the 5th graders to identify children who have parents in active or retired service, and invite two or three of them to share their story with the audience. Our SCA president presides over the program and introduces the speakers and the songs.
This has become a huge thing for our military families. They are so touched to be remembered for the sacrifices that they make every day. I make a point of explaining to my classes that the families are sacrificing, in addition to the parent who is actually serving, so that they understand why this is a big deal.
I have three "flats" that are hinged together; each one is 8' X 6'. I have parents who cover the flats with red, white, and blue bulletin board paper to make a giant American flag for our backdrop. I send my 5th graders home with sheets of white paper, so that they can collect the names of family members or friends who are veterans. These papers become the white stripes of our flag. It makes a beautiful backdrop for the performance, kind of like the opening scene in the movie, "Patton."
Doing the program this way has proven to be a low stress performance for me. It gives my 5th grade chorus their first opportunity to perform. It gives the school a sense of community, because they all sing together on some of the songs. And it is a way to say thanks to our military families.
For the last two years, our school has been so overcrowded that we really have not invited parents, other than parents of the chorus. This year, we are losing about 100 kids to redistricting, so we should be able to open it up to everyone in the school family again.
I hope that the simplicity and flexibility of this format will be helpful to encouraging other music teachers that this is something powerful they can do in their schools and communities.