Is ‘The War’ the war anymore?
July 31st, 2008 at 03:45pm Michael Cermak
As part of a teacher exchange, I was able to go to the Netherlands. I was with a group of Dutch teachers and asked if they were affected by the war. A young student with the group said, “Oh, yes.” She proceeded to tell me how the fall of Saddam Hussein affected her family. She was an Iraqi immigrant to the Netherlands.
My assumption is most consider ‘The War’ to mean World War II. And it’s my thought the post-war boom helped to build a nation-shared esprit de corps in the workplace. What dawned on me then is just how much of a generational divide there is between those currently in our workforce with those entering. For our workforce to thrive we need to communicate the values and expectations of the workplace, but we need to be cognizant that the references and experiences that shaped many of us may not be shared with new workers.
Entry Filed under: Education & Training
2 Comments Add your own
1. Bob Trojan | July 31st, 2008 at 4:54 pm
During the time I was overseeing a manufacturing company in the Netherlands, I was there on the day that they were celebrating their freedom from Nazi Germany during WWII. Yes, it was the Americans who did it. When I observed all the celebrations and inquired what it was all about, I was told of this day in 1944 and how even to this day, they celebrated their emergence from the disasters and control of their country by Nazi Germany.
The pride that my hosts displayed was really something that made me proud of being an American. They were still appreciative of what our forefathers did for them.
I agree with your comment about the next generation and how to get them to develop the same values and expectations.
Tough enough for parents, tougher for educators. Keep up the good work!
2. Paul | August 2nd, 2008 at 8:13 am
many people do not realize that wwII was the turning point in america which transformed US from a mostly agricultural society to an indutrial powerhouse.
Radar , Jet Planes, Space trvel, (rockets) and Nuclear power were all technologies which were either creaeted or perfected during WWII … It is difficult for educators to teach children about hisory becuase children don’t realize that history is anything more than pictures in a book…they lack the life experience to realize that history is a record of the lives of men and women who lived before us and he contributions they made to our society….many people in general take buildings for example as “just being there” rather than to think that “people built and put that there”..
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