News releases

April 25, 2008

TO: Reporters, news directors
FROM: Brian Mattmiller, (608) 262-0930, bsmattmi@wisc.edu
RE: 'LIFE DURING WARTIME' AIMS TO INVIGORATE HISTORY INSTRUCTION IN WISCONSIN

Reporters are invited to attend a briefing on Tuesday, April 29, from 1-3 p.m. at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum, 30 W. Mifflin Street, to learn more about an innovative Wisconsin teacher-training project that intends to bring a jolt of excitement to the American history curriculum.

Called "Life During Wartime," the three-year, $940,000 project will connect eminent historians and veterans with more than 150 history teachers from the Cooperative Education Service Area No. 5 (CESA 5) and Madison schools. CESA 5 covers a large portion of central Wisconsin, from Portage to Stevens Point. The project is one of a number of initiatives recently supported by the U.S. Department of Education to address goals of improving learning outcomes on American history.

While unique in many ways, "Life During Wartime" will pay special attention to the American experience during war, at home and abroad, from the Civil War to the present. It will also draw from the expertise of Wisconsin veterans and the resources of the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs in bringing this experience to life.

Available to speak to reporters will be:

- Deputy U.S. Secretary of Education Todd Zoellick, one of U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings' top officials for Region V, which encompasses Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin and is headquartered in Chicago.

- Susan Fulks, the director of instructional technology services for CESA 5 and curriculum coordinator for "Life During Wartime."

- Stanley Schultz, emeritus professor of history (retired 2005) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a nationally known scholar and author on American history.

- Jonathan Pollack, a full-time instructor of history at Madison Area Technical College and a scholar and author on the historical aspects of popular culture.

- Richard Zeitlin, director of the Wisconsin Veterans Museum; and James Kurtz, a Wisconsin Veterans Museum volunteer who served with the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division during the Vietnam War.

The briefing will be informal and is intended to give media availability to the many people involved in this partnership. For information about the briefing, please call Brian Mattmiller at (608) 262-0930 or Jeff Kollath with the Wisconsin Veterans Museum at (608) 261-0541.
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