Learning about Vietnam made a difference to him and his understanding of our country's history. I have taught United States history for ten years in a Chicago suburban high school. Though the community is a predominantly white, conservative town, I have been fortunate to work in a progressive social studies department that has given me great freedom to teach what I feel is important using my preferred method of instruction. As a Sixties activist and veteran of the antiwar movement at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, I clearly believed when I started teaching that Vietnam must be taught thoroughly and that certain lessons from that war must be shared with my students. I tell this to my students at the beginning of the unit so that they understand my perspective from the start.
All teachers have a point of view.
Our textbooks and other resources we choose to incorporate in our courses are not ideologically neutral. On the other hand, we should not be afraid to expose our students to alternative views as they struggle to develop their own understanding of history. Over the past ten years certain aspects of teaching about Vietnam have changed, while others have remained the same. Students are still extremely interested in learning about Vietnam. This is especially helpful since many students consider required US history to be one of their worst courses, having suffered through watered-down US history classes in the earlier grades.