I teach two class periods of learning support/study skills. Students qualify for this class for a myriad of reasons from being intentional non-learners to having true learning disabilities. Regardless of the cause, suffice it to say that every 7th and 8th grader in those two classes requires close attention and one-on-one remediation by me and my wonderful, hard working aide. We assist our students in every academic content: math, science, language arts, and social studies.
At our school the social studies staff has been providing lessons on world history. Our students have been immersed in the study of the fall of the Roman Empire, the middle ages, and the rise of the great civilizations throughout the entire world. Many of the individual lessons have focused of the geographical changes that occur with societal and cultural changes. As such, we have been assisting students in learning support class with the completion of the various map projects that are assigned in their social studies classes.
“Where’s Afghanistan?” one of my students asked. “I can’t find it anywhere.” Indeed I thought, it would appear as if Afghanistan no longer exists. After I directed the student to the correct page in the atlas, she asked an interesting question. “Didn’t we fight a war there once?” A 13 year old 8th grader can be forgiven for not being up to date on current foreign policy and even for lacking a certain knowledge related to world geography. But it would appear that the adults in our society—from our elected officials to our media to our ordinary citizens—have forgotten that this country exists.
Barack Obama and the U. S. military and NATO forces notwithstanding, it is apparent that a collective amnesia concerning this war torn country has set in. The Afghan War has supplanted the Korean War as the Forgotten War. We have been there for 7 years.
Much to the consternation of some of my fellow left leaning friends, I supported the invasion of Afghanistan. I remember the “smoke ‘em out…dead or alive” days in response to the attacks of 9/11. I remember the days when Osama bin Laden was world enemy #1, when the Taliban were “defeated” (Mission Accomplished?). And like most everything George W. Bush has touched, someone else must now come behind him to clean up his mess.
Of the many reasons I voted for Barack Obama, the Afghan War was near the top of the list. I like his policy of re-deployment of resources from the disaster known as the Iraq War. I like that he is focused on destroying Al-Qaida. I like that he understands the real threats to our national security. Now, back to my classroom….
I responded to my student. “Well, we’re still fighting a war in Afghanistan. It’s been tough and our soldiers have been doing their best”, I said.
“Oh”, she said in the way middle schoolers can with a distracted indifference.
“When do you think it will end?”
“I don’t know,” was my response. “But I’m sure that Mr. Obama will do his best to end the war once he becomes president.”
Her face lit up. “I like him. I’m glad my mom and dad voted for Barack!”
She added, “He’s going to be good.”
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