Psychology students honor, learn from veterans – School News Network

Forest Hills — North High School teacher Faith Shotts-Flickema remembers how she felt when she saw the tears on the face of a former soldier turned security guard.

Students at North High School leaving a Veterans Day assembly slowed when they saw him, the same head guard they passed every day. But that day they stopped and told him thank you.

He said no one has ever thanked him for his military service. In fact, he told her, when he came back from Vietnam, people threw things at him.

“Something happened in my heart in the hallway that day,” Shotts-Flickema recalled.

The power of that first Veterans Day gathering more than a decade ago still sticks with Shotts-Flikkema. Her heart led her to include writing letters to World War II veterans in her history classes. She recalls some of the recipients writing back five-page letters to students. The hearts of the veterans were also touched. One said no one had ever asked him about his experience before.

“At the end of the day, it’s not about gender or race. It’s about answering the question “Can I trust you?”

— veteran Bradley Aho

Fast forward to today. Shotts-Flikkema now teaches psychology as well as history. She had an aha moment, a heart-driven insight: The topics the students were studying in psychology—leadership, motivation, sexism, and stress—overlapped with the history lessons she was teaching.

“We want students to … go beyond the textbook to bring ideas to life,” she said. This recognition of the interconnectedness of history and psychology led to an idea: what if students interviewed veterans about their experiences with these four psychological topics?

But she wasn’t sure if the students would want to do it. She knew they would have to be invested in making such a personal encounter with a veteran a meaningful and honoring experience. So, she presented the idea and asked them to vote on whether to move forward. All but one student endorsed the plan, and a new way of building empathy and understanding began.

Difficult topics

Recruiting volunteers was easy, Shotts-Flickema said. Some veterans participated year after year in her letter writing effort. She knew ministers from her church and community, and the students also had family and friends who served.

Prior to the individual interviews, five veterans participated in a panel discussion on Nov. 1 during class time. The sea, land and sky were represented with two veterans serving in the Marine Corps, two from the Army and one from the Air Force.

“I learned that in order to motivate and lead, you have to… let the other person know that you care about them.”

— Arman Singh, Sr

Shotts-Flikkema moderated the discussion, but the students directed it with their questions. There was never a lull in the back and forth. As the veterans answered thoughtful queries from students, another classmate was ready with a new question or follow-up answer.

And the questions were not easy: “Why did you join?” “Do people treat you differently because of your gender?” “With everything you know and have experienced, would you join again?”

Air Force veteran Bradley Aho said the military is all about leadership.

Denny Gillem said he still drives after retiring from the military; he owns the largest military talk radio in the country. He told them he was motivated to enlist because of the structure of the military.

“I’m a guy who likes a solid organization,” Gillem said, “where everyone knows what they’re supposed to be doing.”

Rick Dorsey, also from the Army, sat next to him. He interrupted to say he knew the real story of why Guillem joined: “Because you like polished shoes,” he said with a laugh, pointing to his colleague’s well-polished shoes.

Fatima Ahmed, the only woman on the panel, said she joined the Marines for adventure, travel and because people doubted her. “I wanted to prove them wrong.”

“We want students to … go beyond the textbook to bring ideas to life.”

— Faith Shotts-Flickema, psychology teacher

A student asked her, “Do people treat you differently because of your gender?” She admitted that there are biases, but that some things are changing, like the obstacle courses at boot camp being changed for shorter stature.

Guillem had a different opinion: “This is one subject I didn’t deal with because it was hardly considered when I was on active duty. As an infantryman I would be horrified to have a woman in my unit because she doesn’t have the same muscle mass or bone density.

Aho agreed, adding, “Ladies are tougher than guys. At the end of the day, it’s not about gender or race. It’s about answering the question “Can I trust you?”

Drawing parallels

Senior Armaan Singh knows little about trust and leadership; he is one of the captains of the soccer team. “I learned that in order to motivate and lead, you have to … let the other person know that you care about them,” he said. He showed this quality in choosing “leadership” as the topic he would focus on for this experience: “Another student didn’t have a partner, so I chose that.

The value of the stories the veterans shared was evident in Armand’s response.

“We have two different opinions about women in the military. Both sides kept their opinions and learned. Now in politics, hypothetically, if I were to argue with someone why my choice was the best and the other person was arguing why it was bad, there would be no basis for me to learn from or shed light on the situation. If you get both sides, you can still have your opinion, but also understand someone.

Arman hopes to play football after high school. He learned that it was possible to join the military and then work something else after a term of service, including going to college.

However, he does not wait to put leadership into action. Arman was one of the first to volunteer at the Veterans Day assembly on November 11th. He will focus his remarks on leadership.

Work after panel

The next step after the panel discussion will be for the students to choose which of the four psychological topics to do further research. Shotts-Flikkema will work with each student to select a veteran to interview.

Students will use critical thinking to weave primary sources, data, and information into a presentation that will be shared with classmates and the veteran interviewed. The veteran’s story itself remains at the heart of the project.

“I hope there is a long-term change that honors our veterans,” Shotts-Flickema said.