At Sunday’s American Legion Department of Massachusetts Americanism Community Service meeting held in Sutton, Michelle Peters, an elementary school teacher for grades 5 and 6 at the Undermountain Elementary School of the Southern Berkshire Regional School District, was voted as the recipient of the 2018 American Legion Department of Massachusetts “John Mulkern Educator of the Year Award.”
Ms. Peters was formally endorsed by Sheffield American Legion Post 340, whose members submitted Ms. Peters’ name as a candidate for this prestigious award, to be presented at the Department of Massachusetts Annual Convention held June 10 in Plymouth.
Her accomplishments over the past few years are a credit to her, her students and her community. As a supporter of the efforts to further the honoring of the veterans residing in the local community, and the military members currently serving their country, over the past few years Ms. Peters has headed a Veterans Day assembly for grades 5 and 6 in her school.
Her grandfather served in the military during World War I. She proudly tells his story, a story accented by his pictures. Her apparent pride in her grandfather’s accomplishments, and his place in history, have become a part of her teaching to elicit the family stories from her students’ family veterans, that in turn promotes and generates within her students a further understanding of their family roots.
She begins the processes that have produced the annual Veterans Day assembly in her school. Prior to the assembly she develops in her students an awareness of what a veteran is, what sacrifices are made by a veteran, and then attempts to bring this concept alive by encouraging her students to uncover what their veterans and their families have gone through because of their service to their country.
This all culminates in the actual Veterans Day assembly held in her school’s assembly hall. She invites the local veterans in the towns who are members of her school district, including Post 340 members. There is an opening ceremony conducted by the students that includes presenting the colors, maybe the reading of a poem, and an introduction of those veterans present and on stage for this assembly. Each veteran is asked in turn to give a brief biography of themselves, concerning and relating to their military service, and what this experience did for each of the attending veterans.
Then there is the segment that appears to be the favorite of all the attending veterans: the questions from the students on such topics as to what the food was like; a further explanation of their individual jobs while in the service; expansion of the description of the location or locations where the veterans served; the veteran’s combat experiences; and so forth. There is also, as part of the assembly, where students are asked to raise their hands to be recognized if they have a veteran or a family member that is currently serving in the military. After this assembly a reception is held, where many more stories are told by the staff and veterans present.
This project, fostered by an atmosphere that was promoted and generated by Ms. Peters, has been very open. It gives a space in time for two generations to meld in a learning process as to what it means to be a veteran. What is generated under the direction of Ms. Peters far transcends what is necessarily found in books, or in any school’s regular curriculum.