2.15 - A Living History Project

Welcome back to When the Wind Blows...an Epic podcast for parents, teachers, leaders and anyone vested in the world of education. I am Erin Barnes, host of the show...and today’s co-hosts are

My grandparents were born in 1931 and 1937. They have been married for 66 years and have three children. In Kansas and now Missouri they grew up here in middle America, but they have traveled everywhere in their retirement.

1. Tatum: Grandpa. You were born in 1931, but I dont have a whole lot of details from before I was 10 so lets start there. In 1941 Pearl Harbor was bombed. What can you remember about this time? What did your parents say or do as a result? 
2. Jolene: Grandpa you were 19 when the Korean War started. Were you required to serve back then? Were you a part of that war?
3. Tatum: Grandma, we are taught in my government class that in the early ’50s the Supreme court ruled in Brown vs Board of Education. This was a Kansas court case that finally said segregation of schools was no longer lawful. Do you recall the overwhelming feelings of the country at the time? 
4. Tatum: Now grandpa, in Germany in the late 50s, the country was divided. The east was a government of communist rule, which is the idea of a common governmental property, common wages, each paid according to the set rate of worth. The west was trying to be more free, even though they were called fascists by the east and at a height of tension the east German army put up a wall. It was barbed wire at first and then concrete and blocks were put into place. It was called the iron curtain. Did it look like we were headed to war again? 
5. Jolene: But the wall came down. I know that...when did that happen?
6. Jolene: Ok Grandma. What did you think about John F Kennedy? You were like 26 or 27 at the time. Did you have kids yet? Where were you when he was killed in Texas?
7. Tatum: Same question but with Martina Luther king jr...where were you and what was the mood of the nation?
8. Jolene: Grandpa The moon landing was something that Mr Kennedy said we would do but he never got to see it. Can you recall what sort of tension was in the air before we landed on the moon but while we were in the space race with Russia and China?
9. Jolene: Where were the two of you when we landed on the moon? Did you watch it on TV or listen to the radio?
10. Tatum: Last question. I wasn’t born yet. Tell me about 9/11.  

Tune in next week where we are rethinking how leadership and education can better prepare the next generation for a rapidly evolving world