This past August, I wrote a letter to the chair of my department
explaining why I am no longer willing to teach U.S. military history.
Although I taught the class regularly and, I believe, successfully for
nearly 30 years, a situation I encountered last semester makes
continuing to do so untenable.
It wasn't a classroom-management problem: In spite of my gender and
lack of military service, asserting authority in the classroom has
never been a problem. And over the years, student evaluations and
university accolades have suggested that I am an accomplished teacher.
No, the discomfort I endured last semester was something new. From
the start, I realized that many students in the class were not as
interested in exploring the seminal issues of U.S. military history as
they were in finding solace, seeking closure, or securing an
understanding of their own—or, in many cases, their loved ones'—recent
military experiences.
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