Glenda Ritz, Indiana superintendent of public instruction, made a brief visit to the Weidner School of Inquiry in Plymouth on Wednesday. WSOI is a project based “school within a school” at Plymouth High School.
Ritz was there to see a recent project that students completed on WW II veterans. Among other things, students interviewed several veterans of the war and recorded their comments in print and video.
Ritz said, “History really means something when it comes to life.” “We document history in many different ways,” she said.
Several students served as tour guides for the visit. Sophomore Travis Owen said, “It was very enlightening to see Mrs. Ritz take time out of her schedule to view our Veterans program.“ Referring to the project, Owen said, “It was a great process interviewing Marshall County vets and hearing their war experiences.”
Alli Dennie, also a WSOI sophomore, shared her experience with meeting Ritz. Dennie said, “She asked personal questions about the veterans that I personally interviewed. It felt good and I could really tell that she did care about our project.”
Students are planning on submitting their interviews to the Library of Congress. They are also preparing DVD’s of the interviews to share with Ritz. Ritz said she would post the interviews on the IDOE website in honor of Veteran’s Day.
WSOI sophomore Alaysha Jackson shared her thoughts on the project saying, “This project was way more than a project to not only me, but our whole sophomore class.” She added, “It was emotional to hear the stories of what these veterans went through.”
Ritz said, “They are preserving history.”
Carol Anders Correspondent
