Return-Path: <nifl-4eff@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id iB7DxYH27575; Tue, 7 Dec 2004 08:59:34 -0500 (EST) Date: Tue, 7 Dec 2004 08:59:34 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <s1b57070.069@mail.jsi.com> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-4eff@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-4eff@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-4eff@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: "Andy Nash" <andy_nash@worlded.org> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-4eff@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-4EFF:2895] Re: Tom Sticht's Christmas Message X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII X-Mailer: Novell GroupWise Internet Agent 6.5.1 Status: O Content-Length: 4661 Lines: 131 Hello all, For those who missed the dust-up about this message over on the NLA discussion list, I guess I need to say that I believe a good teacher would invite discussion, debate, and inquiry about evidence for Tom's proposition that our troops "protect our safety and freedom at home and to bring freedom to oppressed peoples around the world." THat's what education does - it prepares you to listen, read, and think critically about the world. Andy Nash NELRC/World Education >>> MWPotts2001@aol.com 12/6/2004 8:36:29 PM >>> Christmas Greeting Tom Sticht International Consultant in Adult Education During World War II, over a quarter million young men learned to read in Special Training Units in the Army. One of the resources used to teach reading was a newspaper, Our War, which was published monthly from June 1942 through September 1945. Each issue of Our War included a cartoon strip about Private Pete and his buddy, Daffy. The December 1943 issue discussed Christmas. It has a message pertinent to today's times and circumstances. Following is a synopsis of the strip. Our War December 1943 Christmas in Camp The strip opens with a panel showing Private Pete placing a star at the top of a Christmas tree outside a barracks on an Army Camp. A group of soldier's are standing around and one says, "Sure looks great, Pete!" Another says, "Too bad Daffy has KP." The next panel in the cartoon strip shows Daffy on a stool with tears coming out of his eyes as he works on peeling onions and he says aloud, "Why do they have to put onions in dressing?" Then in the next panel Daffy looks at three Army cooks walking by with turkey, cranberry sauce, and a big bowl of food and he says, "O-O-O Boy! Oh Boy!!" Then the following panel shows Daffy that evening after KP and he is getting dressed and says, "Now for the party!" and the next panel shows a bunch of soldiers at the party singing "Jingle Bells! Jingle Bells!" And then there is a picture in the next panel showing the troops at services in the chapel on Christmas Eve. The first page of the strip ends with a panel showing a moon lit night with pine trees, the church and some troops, all in silhouette, walking down a snow covered hill and the words "Merry Christmas to All" are written in white across a dark sky. The next page of the strip has panels with troops opening gifts from home, then eating with officers at the mess hall, and then giving gifts to wounded men in the camp hospital. At the bottom of the page are three panels. In the first Private Pete and Daffy are walking along and Pete says, "I hope the folks at home had as good a day as we did." Daffy replies, "Let's write them and tell them about it." Next there is a picture of Pete's letter home saying: "Dec. 25, 43 Dear Folks, Thanks for the presents. We had a grand day. Our dinner was as good as Mom could make. Then we took presents to the men in the hospital. Hope you had a good day too. Did you like your presents? Pete" In the final panel Pete and Daffy are in silhouette again and Pete says, "Let's hurry up and win the war. Then everybody can have a good Christmas." To which Daffy replies, "That is what we are fighting for." This year of Christmas 2004, the words of the fictional Private Pete and Daffy, written over a half century ago, speak for hundreds of thousands of military service members who are away from home and loved ones. Aboard ships, in airplanes, and on the ground in dangerous places, these sailors, airmen, soldiers and marines have gone into harm's way to protect our safety and freedom at home and to bring freedom to oppressed peoples around the world. Today, as with Private Pete and Daffy, millions of adults here in the United States are in classrooms across the nation learning to read, write, and speak English. And no doubt many of them will celebrate Christmas Day this year. We need to give them and their instructors special recognition for their work to help keep America free through the power of adult literacy. Like those tens of thousands of adult literacy teachers who have taught hundreds of thousands of military troops to read and write in military literacy classrooms from the Revolutionary War to the present, and like those teachers who work in the thousands of literacy classrooms across America today, we must all bear in mind that for preserving freedom and democracy, literacy is our first line of defense! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Thomas G. Sticht International Consultant in Adult Education 2062 Valley View Blvd. El Cajon, CA 92019-2059 Tel/fax: (619) 444-9133 Email: tsticht@aznet.net
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