Project Reflection:
What I learned in this project is that Vietnam was a much more confusing and prolonged war than I had ever realized. I didn’t know what communism or capitalism was until we started delving into this unit. I learned that disagreements can arise when countries adopt different forms of government. I also learned that I was against the draft after realizing that many people were drafted against their will. I never knew that the war was so emotional for young men. They kept personal items from home and created strong bonds with other soldiers. The communication between Lyndon B. Johnson and his military advisors showed how difficult and confusing it was to try to make the seemingly right decision when many people were negatively affected by it.
Our group was in charge of expressing the soldier’s emotional state of mind during the war. There was a reenactment of soldiers playing cards at camp. The purpose of the reenactment was to show that soldiers were sad to be away from their families. We wrote scripts in the form of conversation about the soldier’s families and what they had planned to do before the war or how they were going to spend their time when the war ended. We also shed light on some real veteran’s perspectives by displaying an audio recording of them sharing emotional stories from their experience in war. I personally wrote a free verse poem about the political, emotional, and violent aspects about the Vietnam War.
During this project, I strengthened my writing as well as drawing ability. I learned how to apply historical facts about Vietnam and blend them with creative writing skills in order to create something that educates people in a unique and interesting way. I personally do not think that I strengthened my ability of working in a group. I think this because the majority of the project was spent on solidifying the quality of the exhibition instead of creating the actual products that would be displayed in it. This type of process is very useful but I think we took a touch too much time on it. I create my best work when the only person taking creative control is me. Despite this, I do think that I improved my ability to listen to group members and consider different ideas and views.
Through this project, the biggest thing that I learned is that war is brought on by different powers of people who seek some sort of gain for their own people and end up fighting until there are no people left. Everyone’s reason for fighting can be very different. You can fight to defend, you can fight to take and conquer, you can fight because you think you are right while the other side thinks the same. The only undeniable truth about war is that the senseless violence and destruction can be avoided but it never is and that says something about us all as people and shows our lack of ability to live and prosper as one. Something from this project that I’m going to take away and use in my life would be to treat people with kindness and be patient when trying to understand someone else’s perspective.
Our group was in charge of expressing the soldier’s emotional state of mind during the war. There was a reenactment of soldiers playing cards at camp. The purpose of the reenactment was to show that soldiers were sad to be away from their families. We wrote scripts in the form of conversation about the soldier’s families and what they had planned to do before the war or how they were going to spend their time when the war ended. We also shed light on some real veteran’s perspectives by displaying an audio recording of them sharing emotional stories from their experience in war. I personally wrote a free verse poem about the political, emotional, and violent aspects about the Vietnam War.
During this project, I strengthened my writing as well as drawing ability. I learned how to apply historical facts about Vietnam and blend them with creative writing skills in order to create something that educates people in a unique and interesting way. I personally do not think that I strengthened my ability of working in a group. I think this because the majority of the project was spent on solidifying the quality of the exhibition instead of creating the actual products that would be displayed in it. This type of process is very useful but I think we took a touch too much time on it. I create my best work when the only person taking creative control is me. Despite this, I do think that I improved my ability to listen to group members and consider different ideas and views.
Through this project, the biggest thing that I learned is that war is brought on by different powers of people who seek some sort of gain for their own people and end up fighting until there are no people left. Everyone’s reason for fighting can be very different. You can fight to defend, you can fight to take and conquer, you can fight because you think you are right while the other side thinks the same. The only undeniable truth about war is that the senseless violence and destruction can be avoided but it never is and that says something about us all as people and shows our lack of ability to live and prosper as one. Something from this project that I’m going to take away and use in my life would be to treat people with kindness and be patient when trying to understand someone else’s perspective.