THE WAR PROJECT
A Multimedia Conversation About How We Teach War
❝The first casualty of war… is innocence.❞
— Platoon, Oliver Stone
Why This Project?
As a former classroom teacher, I’ve struggled with the burden of teaching war. Each year, I saw young faces change as they confronted the realities of human suffering. I wasn’t just teaching history — I was taking something from them.
We cannot avoid war in our curriculum. But we also can’t keep teaching it without care.
What We’re Creating:
- A podcast series featuring veterans, educators, historians, and students grappling with the moral weight of war.
- Curriculum tools for teachers, parents, schools and communities who want to present conflict honestly, without sensationalism or sugarcoating.
- Discussion guides asking: how should war be taught?
- Film analysis and media reviews, examining how war is portrayed and absorbed through screens.
Core Questions:
- What level of realism is appropriate by age or grade?
- Do war films teach or numb? Inspire peace or feed militarism?
- How can educators approach topics without stripping innocence — or lying?
Our Mission:
To create a national dialogue about how we teach violence, and to offer tools and stories that lead not to fear or propaganda — but to truth, humility, and peace.
Series Structure:
Potential Episodes:
The First 20 Minutes: Witnessing D-Day in a Dark TheaterWhat does it mean when young audiences laugh at the horror of war? A reflection on watching Saving Private Ryan and the generational divide in how war is processed—or dismissed.
Ken Burns and the Long Take of HistoryWhy Ken Burns’ war documentaries work emotionally—but fail in traditional classrooms. A case for immersive, communal viewings to rekindle shared memory.
The Frame Before the Bullet: Saigon and the Ethics of Showing DeathA teacher recalls the moment he accidentally showed a live execution in class—and the trauma it caused. What images are too much? And what do we lose by hiding them?
Pixels and Propaganda: War in Video Games and the Internet AgeHave today’s youth already “seen it all”? From beheading videos to war simulations, this episode asks what happens when real violence and digital entertainment blend—and whether desensitization is the real cost.
Death, Distant and DomesticIn a culture sanitized of death, how do we prepare youth for the reality of war? A comparison of rural and urban exposure to death—and why this disconnect shapes how war is understood or misunderstood.
The War That Wasn’t Taught: Korea, Forgotten and UnfinishedWhy is Korea called “The Forgotten War”? And what happens to memory when a war lacks resolution or cultural myth?
Peace Education or Propaganda? Navigating the Anti-War CurriculumShould schools promote peace, or present facts? When does anti-war sentiment become its own form of bias? This episode tackles the thin line between moral instruction and indoctrination.
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When the Letters Stop: War from the Mother’s ViewExplores how parents experience war differently—through silence, absence, and dread. Includes excerpts from wartime letters and interviews with mothers who waited, prayed, and sometimes received only a folded flag.
Toy Soldiers: How We Introduce War to ChildrenFrom Nerf guns to Call of Duty, this episode tracks how young boys (and girls) are recruited into the idea of war through play—and when play stops being innocent.
The Uniform and the Student: Veterans in the ClassroomWhat happens when the teacher is a veteran? Or when a student returns from deployment? A look at how first-hand experience complicates authority and vulnerability in educational settings.
Muskets, and Middle School: Teaching War with The PatriotIs showing a violent film like The Patriot in eighth grade responsible pedagogy—or a failure to contextualize? A debate on cinematic violence, age-appropriateness, and national mythmaking.
War Without Victory: How We’ve Trained Ourselves to Prolong ConflictA provocative look at how modern ethics, diplomacy, and military restraint may be condemning us to endless wars. Does “fighting clean” just delay inevitable escalations?
Post-Traumatic Pedagogy: Teaching After ServiceVeteran teachers speak about how combat changed the way they teach—and what they do when students glorify war.
The Holocaust SlidesWhat happens in a classroom when students see genocide for the first time? A raw, emotional episode on the difficult day every history teacher remembers.
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How to Support or Participate:
- Are you a veteran, teacher, or student with a story to share?
- Want to contribute to our podcast, curriculum, or archive?