This letter is sent home to the parents of all students taking this class on the Vietnam War.
Dear Parents:
I would like to take a small portion of your time to introduce you to the academic elective that your student has chosen to take this term at Newnan High School, called the Vietnam War. I appreciate the chance to teach your student about this important and controversial time in American and World history. I wanted to make you aware of several things in regard to this class before it even begins.
First, while this is an elective, it will be rigorous. Your student will be submerged in this time period; culturally, politically and militarily. There will be quite a bit required of your student in this class, but at the same time, I think that they will leave this class knowing more about the war and this time period than most people that lived through this time period know. The basis of the class is called “Community in Schools,” a program run by a friend and colleague in North Carolina. While I do not follow her model exactly, the premise is the same-allow the people that lived the history to tell it. Therefore, many veterans of the Vietnam War will be in and out of the classroom- male and female, Army, Navy, Marine, Air Force and even a protester. In order for you student to be successful in this type of class, they need to have a certain level of maturity- they will be required to communicate with adults, listen without going to sleep as well as ask questions. Students in the class will also need to be willing to read as there will be a fair amount of reading involved. They will need to be disciplined in their work as I will give a number of assignments that will be due sometime in “the future;” procrastination will take its toll on a student’s grade! I also believe that students that take this class should really enjoy history, because they will be getting a lot of it! If they don’t really care for history, this could be a long term for your student.
Secondly, the Vietnam War can be a sensitive and controversial topic for many people, especially today with a war going on that in some ways is very similar. I want to assure you that I am not approaching this class from a position of a “hawk” or a “dove”, liberal or conservative. While the emphasis in the class will be on the American military involvement and the servicemen and women, we will also be having speakers come into the classroom from other viewpoints, which I believe to be appropriate in having your student really think about such a controversial topic as the Vietnam War. Both sides will be presented, which will allow the student to think critically and form opinions on their own. While I may present my opinion on certain topics on occasion, I will specify that it is in fact, my opinion. I have also included a general, overall list of topics that will be covered in the class at the end of this letter.
Third, there may be occasions where you student will run across some mature topics and objectionable language in the course of studying the Vietnam War and the 1960’s. While I will attempt to minimize this as much as possible, it really will be unavoidable at times. In fact, some of the most basic terminology of the soldier in Vietnam (which we will be learning) or for a young person caught up in the counterculture involves some language that would be classified as objectionable then and now. This is one of the reasons that this class is only available to upperclassmen. This also goes back to the level of maturity required for this class- students need to realize that I am teaching them these things to allow them to understand the vocabulary which would have been common for many people during the 1960’s and thus more fully comprehend the experience of this period. If you have any questions about this, please contact me directly.
The Vietnam War covered a lot of years, a lot of territory and a lot of emotion and heartache for this country. The legacy of the Vietnam War still haunts our political leaders even today. It is a relevant and important topic for out students to study. I appreciate the opportunity to teach them about this time. This class does have a website that I will be using in and out of class. The address is:
http://www.cowetaschools.org/nhs/quesinberry/vietnam/vietnam.htm
Please feel free to view at any time- the site contains a class syllabus and links to sites on the internet that have to do with the Vietnam War and the 1960’s. I am readily available via email if you have questions or concerns at anytime during the term. I have listed my email address below or you can email me via the Vietnam War website.
I would appreciate it if you would sign the paper attached to this page and return to me via your student. This will let me know that you did read this letter and understand the things I wanted to relate to you in regards to this class. I would also like your permission to use the battle sequence from the movie We Were Soldiers starring Mel Gibson in class. (Rated R for violence and some language) This is a very well done and accurate movie based on the first major confrontation between US Army Air Cavalry soldiers and the North Vietnamese in November, 1965. I have also included a permission slip for a food activity that we will do at least twice during the term- the students will be eating Vietnamese food as well as learning how to use chopsticks as part of the class. If you could let me know about any food allergy’s etc…I could clear that now and not worry about it when it comes time to eat!
Thank you for your time,
Steve Quesinberry
History and Social Studies
Department Chairman
Newnan High School
Phone: 770.254.2880
Email: stephen.quesinberry@cowetaschools.org
Topics to be covered:
§ Geography, Culture and Early History of Vietnam
§ Cold War (1945-1975)
§ French Imperialism in Vietnam (1800’s-1954)
§ American Involvement: Early Years (1954-1965)
§ America Takes Charge (1965-1969)
§ Vietnamization and End of the War (1969-1975)
§ America Recovers, SE Asia Destructs (1973-1980)
§ Lessons Learned, Memorials Raised (1980-Present)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------