Cactus Shadows History Students Bringing History to Life

CAVE CREEK - Nov. 22, 2008 – Cactus Shadows High School History Teacher Barbara Hatch knows how to make history come alive for her students.

Through the Arizona Heritage Project, Hatch’s students are talking to the history-makers – veterans and their spouses who fought overseas throughout the years to preserve this country’s freedom—firsthand.

For the past four years, Hatch’s students have interviewed Arizona veterans who have served all over the globe. Some recall their stories of World War II and the Korean Conflict. For others, the memories are more recent. One Iraq veteran recently interviewed was no stranger to Hatch’s class -- he had been there just years earlier as one of her former students.

Whether the veteran talks about the beaches of Normandy or the street battles they may have experienced in Bagdad, the impact of the veterans’ stories, Hatch said, quickly tears away any generation gap that might have existed.

“Students love to hear live history,” Hatch said. “When they hear these veterans’ stories, it transforms them. And it’s not just the stories; it’s the values like courage and patriotism these veterans are imputing into these kids. As a history teacher, that’s very important to me.”

Following the initial research and interviews with the veterans, students are then tasked with writing up the veteran’s story. The stories are complied into an annual album entitled “Since You Asked, Arizona Veterans Share Their Stories.”

“In my opinion, this program is everything that education is all about,” she said. “It has reading, writing, history and learning. There really is no downside.”

She added there are often therapeutic benefits for the veteran as well. Sometimes the interview with the student is the first time a veteran has shared their story.

“When you get a call from a veteran who has never really talked about their experience, and they need to talk about it, how can you turn them down?” Hatch asked.

“Each May, Hatch and her students reunite with every living veteran or spouse that has been interviewed since the project’s inception for a reception. At that time, the next edition of “Since You Asked, Arizona Veterans Share Their Stories” is unveiled.

In addition to bringing history to life and building new bonds between the students and the veterans, the work of Hatch and her students is also beginning to draw notoriety. Earlier this month, the Arizona Heritage Project received the Scottsdale Public Library’s 2008 Spirit of Literacy Award for its efforts to preserve history.

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