CTA representatives joined Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, legislators, veterans, education officials and students in praising the distribution of balanced teaching materials for voluntary use by middle school teachers wishing to help students understand the tumultuous Vietnam era.
Luther Burbank High School teacher Benee Hopson, a member of CTA's State Council and a Vietnam veteran, stood with Bustamante and other supporters of the materials at a morning news conference in front of the state's memorial to Vietnam veterans.
"Echoes from the Wall: History, Learning and Leadership through the Lens of the Vietnam War Era" was developed by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. More than 800 kits have been distributed to California middle school libraries.
"Even after 26 years, we still struggle with the war's dark memory," Hopson told reporters. "The struggle is especially hard for us educators, many of whom were a part of that history, either here at home or in the war itself. It shaped our lives like no other event we've lived through. Many of us lost friends and family members. We all lost our innocence."
"These materials do more than educate. They bring out the raw emotion of the times and the aftermath of our convictions," Hopson continued.
Sen. Mike Machado (D-Stockton) and Assembly Member Ed Chavez (D-La Puente) joined Hopson and Bustamante for the news conference.
Machado, himself a Vietnam veteran, praised the materials as "a tool to teach about leadership, courage, and the heart of man." He said a legislative resolution is being sponsored to encourage - not mandate - all schools to make use of the materials.