Illumination Rounds: Teaching the Literature of the Vietnam War

by Larry R. Johannessen

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0814122728
• ISBN13: 9780814122723
• Release Date: January 1992
• Publisher: National Council of Teachers of English
• Length: 186 Pages
• Weight: 0.92 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Making Vietnam Contemporary

When you ask a student to imagine what Vietnam was like, too often the only response they have is what they've seen from Hollywood. Rambo, Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, to name a few, but that's the extent of their knowledge. In school they read stories about both World Wars, but hardly anything more than a few Tim O'Brien short stories about Vietnam. Why? Is it because we are ashamed of our past? Regardless, Vietnam happened and needs to be made more a part of school curriculum. Johannessen offers numerous suggestions as to how to incorporate this war into schools beginning with an introduction of the era and the nature of the war. In his list of appendices, there are activities to use to broaden the students' minds concerning Vietnam, as well as a list of books and stories to consider at the end. Overall i think this book extremely helpful and makes teaching a difficult topic easier. After all, if we let Hollywood shape our students' minds about this war, they'll only get one side. Teaching is about exposing our students to multiple viewpoints and allowing them to make up their own minds about a given topic. This book will help teachers help students formulate ideas about this war.