Paul Wilkinson, who flew B-29 missions in the Korean War, is among many guests speaking to students in Rocky Run’s media center. Photo by Bonnie Hobbs.
For Andrew Dilworth, Rocky Run’s “iWitness to History Day” came full circle. “I went to this program as a student here,” he said. “I’m a substitute teacher at Rocky Run this year and I was hired full-time as an eighth-grade civics teacher for the coming year.”
During the June 9 event, he made sure the interviews in the school library ran smoothly. He’s also a big fan of the annual history program.
“It allows kids who don’t engage in class as well to really get involved,” said Dilworth. “And for all students, it’s an awesome experience because they get to see what they’ve learned about. For example, when you hear from the guys who actually fought in WW II or any war, you get that tangible connection to it.”
“The kids see them, hear their words and look at their photos, letters and memorabilia,” he continued. “And nobody else does this as comprehensively as we do. This is way better than just reading about history in a book. Instead, they hear about it from people who were actually there.”
Seventh-grader Trosoadas Davenport was one of the students who interviewed the guests. “It’s really awesome to learn what their experience was,” said Trosoadas. “It’s important to pass on this knowledge to younger generations to know what we did to get here. And it’s really cool to meet the people who were in the events we read about in history.”
Likewise, the event also made a big impression on classmate Aliza Hayes. She was especially moved by the recollections of Nesse Godin, born into a Jewish family in Lithuania. She was a prisoner of the Nazis from ages 13-17, surviving four labor camps and a death march.
“The Holocaust has never seemed real to me before,” said Aliza. “It’s hard to imagine something like that happening, even after reading about it in a textbook. But after hearing Nesse Godin speak, it was more real to me — and it shocked me. So it’s important for Rocky Run to hold this history event so we can learn from our mistakes, in various wars and throughout history, so these things never happen again.”