Special Interest

Real World Curriculum: The Military-Civilian Gap

by Kendra L. Bates, Assistant Director of Communications

Lindsay Bennett ’24, Virginia Hudson ’24, Noah Rich ’24, Thomas Brennan, Jessica Wojdak ’24, Hannah Nahas ’24, and Brad Belin

Inspired by a spring trimester social studies learning unit on war, military service, and veterans, students Virginia Hudson, Jessica Wojdak, Lindsay Bennett, and Noah Rich — all members of the Berwick Academy Class of 2024 — took their interest in the subject beyond the classroom to gain professional journalistic experience.

Working alongside social studies teacher Brad Belin, who taught them in eighth grade, as well as Thomas Brennan, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and the founder and executive director of the military-focused nonprofit The War Horse News, the students spent 18 months gaining experience alongside professional journalists.

Each of the students chose a topic specific to military service and drafted an article with guidance from Belin and Brennan. As a result of this partnership, these four Berwick Academy students are published writers. Their stories explore a range of topics, from viewing service as a military child to understanding a grandfather’s service to insight into how military service should be discussed in the classroom. On November 11, 2021, the stories were featured on the front page of military.com in honor of Veterans Day.

Wojdak wrote about dissecting difficult conversations between civilians and veterans and how those conversations can be brought into the classroom. She interviewed Marine Corps Captain Dave Donahue, asking him to share how common statements such as ’thank you for your service’ can make veterans feel.

“Writing my essay was very empowering, educational, and grounding,” Wojdak said. “It reminded me to be grateful for everything I have in life. I quickly realized that my only impressions of war and military service were all about training and combat. I had never seen the impact of war until I spoke with these veterans.”

Bennett used the project as an opportunity to learn more about her grandfather’s military history, illustrating his service with the U.S. Army in Vietnam through the late 1960s and early ’70s. Hudson also wrote about her grandfather’s service with the U.S. Air Force and was surprised to find out he had very few stories of combat from his service in Delaware and Germany. She learned that service is not just about the front lines, but the many important roles that contribute to a bigger picture.

For Rich, the connection to the military was close to home, having grown up with his father serving in the Middle East as a doctor for the U.S. Navy. Though his father never witnessed combat, he is no stranger to the effects of war, having been the first to see the physical state of sick and injured veterans. Rich compared the stories he heard from his father to those he heard in school and made a revelation that he used to title his essay “War Is Indefinable.”

“In schools, you learn just about what the war was about and what happened during and after, then you move on,” he wrote. “There should be more of an education about how war affects individuals.”

Rich’s mother and Berwick Academy Lower and Middle School music teacher Page Rich was inspired by the project. “As parents, we hope our children embrace learning opportunities that empower them to better understand themselves and the world around them. This project began as a class conversation on Zoom in the early days of the pandemic and quickly became a journey that carried students far beyond the classroom.”

Addressing Berwick Academy on Veterans Day 2021, Belin recalled stories from veterans that were shared with him and his students. With each anecdote, Belin reminded his audience that service does not always look the same, but it does not lessen the value of each veteran’s contribution. He concluded his speech with a challenge to the Berwick community to do their part to close the gap between veterans and civilians.

“My role as an educator has allowed me to play a small part in serving those who have served through an immersive, real-world curriculum that seeks to lessen the military and civilian divide,” Belin said. “Regardless of the ways we choose to do it, I challenge all of us to seek opportunities to connect with and support our veterans and service members. Because this, too, is service.”

VETERANS DAY

“We are grateful for your service.”

After hosting a virtual reception in 2020, Berwick was excited to welcome service members back to campus for the traditional all-school assembly in honor of Veterans Day. Berwick’s extended community is full of veterans and active-duty military members who have served our country all over the world.

Veteran alumni in classes ranging from the 1950s to 2008, as well as current parent and grandparent veterans, gathered after the assembly to share stories, receive cards from Lower School students, and connect with others in the community. Those in attendance represented every branch of the military, fought in wars from World War II to the present, and reminisced on the meaningful impact their service had on their lives.

“We are grateful for your service,” said Assistant Head of School for External Affairs Amy Smucker in a message to veterans. “We proudly remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, and extend our gratitude to each and every one of you. Thank you for protecting our freedom.” The goal of Project Bulldog is to set a framework for students to have fun and grow through athleticrelated experiences at Berwick and beyond.

PROJECT BULLDOG

Project Bulldog, an athlete-to-athlete mentorship program, was established by the Upper School Student-Athlete Leadership Team (SALT) in 2021. It is rooted in the philosophy that “We are all Bulldogs” and it is our responsibility to help each other and come together as one team. Middle School students in Grades 6-8 connect with SALT members during regularly scheduled meetings to gain perspective on the Upper School junior varsity and varsity athletics experience, including the basics of when and how Berwick plays, the different levels of participation offered, who the coaches are, how to support each other as teammates, and how to prepare to become an Upper School student-athlete. The program delves into the culture of athletics at Berwick and how athletes and coaches take pride in representing the School’s core values of excellence, stretching through engagement, commitment to integrity, and balance; it introduces our athletic creed, which states, “As Berwick athletes, fans, and coaches, we play, cheer, and coach with integrity and pride. We hold ourselves accountable on and off the field and recognize that our actions and words reflect directly upon us, our school, and our team. We are leaders who handle both adversity and success with humility and respect.” The goal of Project Bulldog is to set a framework for students to have fun and grow through athletic-related experiences at Berwick and beyond.