In recent times, there have been stories in the media telling that our students are failing history tests. My reply is, “How can students fail something they’re not taught anymore?” Our history books tell less about America’s past each year; the Civil War receives no more coverage than three chapters and mentions nothing of the women and children of the era. And we point a finger at the students!

Well in Kent County, not only do the students study history, but they help save it as well.

The Monument dedication day speeches continually referred to the Monument being a symbol for future generations; something their children’s children could see, visit and reflect upon. On October 9, 2000 the students of Vista Charter Academy became the first school to participate in our service-learning project, “Together…we CAN do it!” Following that, 23 other schools would sign on to participate, many multiple times.

The most outstanding District was the Godwin Heights Public Schools of Wyoming, MI. Led by the encouragement and desire to make a difference in the lives of her students by Mrs. Deb Conklin, Godwin raised over $8,000 towards the Monument. The students participated in the “Together…we CAN do it!” program, a penny drive, a “Rock-a-Thon,” sent out letters to area businesses, and even took their passion for this project to the guests at the Grandville Mall. Several students addressed the Service Learning Forum sponsored by the Grand Rapids Community College. The students also learned first hand how their government works, or didn’t in the case of the Kent County Board of Commissioners (See County story), when the students attended a public meeting to encourage the Commission to participate in the fundraising.

“Together, we CAN do it!”

The emphasis is on the word, “CAN,” in this project and works as follows:

1. Bruce B. Butgereit & Company – Civil War Presentations presents to the students a one-hour living history lesson on the Civil War.
2. The students hear a brief introduction to the Civil War – detail depending on the grade level involved.
3. Students learn about the daily life of a woman in the Civil War-era - what she wore, including her underclothing, and some of the Rules of Etiquette and Manners of Politeness. What women were doing in their community is discussed as well.
4. The uniform, equipment, and personal items, including the foods of a soldier in the Third Michigan Vol. Inf., Co. K (a regiment from Grand Rapids, Kent County) are shared in detail.
5. The program concludes with time for Q & A

Following this, the students bring in a can of food with a dollar bill of any denomination attached. The money is deposited in the fund for the Monument Restoration Project and the food is given to a local food bank. This Service-Learning project offers the following to the students, the school and the community:

1. The students learn more about our Civil War history – helping the teacher in educating our youth
2. The students take an active role in preserving our heritage – when adults may have forgotten
3. The character values of caring, sharing and giving are learned by the students – building better citizens
4. The community is able to read something positive about our schools – something we need more of

A “Penny War”

In most cases, a “penny war” simply amounts to raising funds through students bringing in or sharing their pennies (coins). In our effort to educate, we provided each school that participated in this type of effort, a list of Civil War names, battles, soldiers, nurses, and more as well as a biography of each. This allowed for some friendly competition between homerooms; no longer was it Mrs. Smith’s class vs. Mr. Johnson’s; it became Rienzi (Gen. Phil Sheridan’s horse) vs. Daniel Crotty (Color Sergeant of the Third Michigan).

A “Rock-a-Thon”

At a dance-a-thon, you dance the night away; at a Rock-a-thon, you rock in a rocking chair for hour upon hour. That is exactly what the students of Godwin Heights did on Saturday, March 9, 2003. The event took place in the hallways of the Middle School and what a site it was! (See picture) The students either brought in a favorite rocking chair or used one graciously donated by the Alpine and Grandville Cracker Barrel Restaurants. These rockers had been delivered in a truck donated by the Graybar Electric Company and they were protected with pads from Alpine Rental and Ryder Truck Rental…all at no charge.

The students brought in what seemed to be all the food in their home and everything in their bedrooms to help occupy their time. They rocked for 50 minutes of every hour and had a 10-minute break for the restroom and snacks. After rocking from 9 AM until 6 PM, the day closed with everyone sharing good times and pizza.

The students raised funds for the Monument by getting pledges for the hours they were going to rock.

The Future

As we have over 40 more Civil War memorials in our area to clean, restore and rededicate, our work is not yet completed. We intend to continue our efforts by reaching out to area schools in all our communities. Give us a call!