Soldier, students make connection

By Davy James, Staff Writer
   For teachers trying to educate their young students about current events, the war in Iraq is a difficult subject to broach and instill understanding.
   But for a teacher at Constable Elementary School, one local connection to the war initiated a unique correspondence that helped fifth-graders at the school obtain a deeper understanding of the events raging in the Middle East.
   ”I was teaching the students about the presidential election and some of the major issues in the race,” said teacher Dave Malatesta. “I was amazed at some of the things they didn’t know about so I wanted to take some time with the issues and try to make them understand.”
   To Mr. Malatesta’s attention came information about a soldier in Iraq named Joshua Trpisovsky, who happened to be a graduate of Constable in 1994. School administrators told the teachers that anyone who wanted to involve this in their class could run with it.
   ”You want to talk about a connection, here was a kid who walked the very same hallways and sat in the very same classrooms,” Mr. Malatesta said. “That’s when the students really got engaged.”
   Mr. Malatesta and fellow fifth-grade teacher Sandy Pearce decided to have their classes write Mr. Trpisovsky with questions such as what were his favorite memories from Constable, his favorite subjects and teachers.
   To Mr. Malatesta’s surprise, an e-mail from the 24-year-old was received two weeks later.
   ”We gathered 45 kids in a classroom and told them that Josh had written us back,” Mr. Malatesta said. “And the kids were just so excited. I spent about 10 minutes reading word for word what he had responded to them. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. There was truly a connection made with these students.”
   Mr. Trpisovsky told the students about a normal day in Iraq and about the friendliness of the Iraqi people.
   ”It’s very different here but that does not make the Iraqi people bad,” Mr. Trpisovsky wrote. “They are our friends, remember that always. We’re fighting a war against terrorists who happen to live in their country.”
   Mr. Trpisovsky went on to tell the students how the people of Iraq were always willing to cook the soldiers a meal. He also told the students about his memories of Constable, including the ball fields, playing the saxophone and singing in the choir. He also said he was surprised when he received an envelope from Constable with around 40 letters inside of it, and told of his gratitude.
   ”He wrote in his letter that when he gets out of there he’d very much like to come and visit all of the wonderful students who took the time to write him,” Mr. Malatesta said. “At that point all you could hear was the sound of 45 11-year-olds screaming with excitement at once.”
   Mr. Malatesta said that since the letter writing, his students have become more involved and can now discuss the electoral college and the causes of the economic crisis, as he used their interest in Mr. Trpisovsky as a means to engage them in other current events.
   ”This has been a very cool experience for me as a teacher,” Mr. Malatesta said. “This humanized the word ‘Iraq’ for them. All they might’ve heard before are the headlines, like ‘we have to get out’ or ‘this is George Bush’s fault’ and they can’t get their minds around that. But here was a kid who might’ve sat in the same room as them who grew up to be a soldier defending our freedom. It personalized Iraq for all of them.”