With the 4th of July weekend now upon us, I thought it would be a good opportunity to share my thoughts on an old 1930’s cartoon that can be used as a learning objective for Special Education students. Now, if you’ve been following me, you have seen me post about historical films and other media that can be used to educate developmentally different special education students in order to help students understand the point of the subject teachers are trying to teach them.
I will say that learning about American history as a young student can be somewhat intimidating, especially in this day and age. There are certain aspects of history that are hard to understand and even if the student becomes a teenager, the learning of history doesn’t get entirely easier.
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With the Porky Pig cartoon, “Old Glory” (1939), students can find themselves in the role of Porky who often struggle with learning about history and often view learning about it as a waste of time. The cartoon also uses Uncle Sam (yes, that Uncle Sam) as an answer for why we need to learn something as simple as the Pledge of Allegiance. Nowadays, a lot of people have taken our way of life for granted and don’t appreciate just how significant the founding of the United States or any country for that matter is.
It’s as Uncle Sam says in the short that not a whole lot people appreciate our freedom and our way of life. In fact, we sometimes don’t appreciate everything that happens because we have better things to do, which is sad. This is also the case with all other forms of education whether it’s English, Science, Mathematics, etc.
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The same can also be said for students who end up lost in the fold especially if they are integrated in a general classroom setting even though they haven’t been properly prepared to do so. As a result, special education students often get into a negative mindset and would much rather not learn.
“Old Glory” demonstrates this clearly as Porky can be represented as the wayward student who has no one else to turn to but himself or herself while struggling to understand the world around them. In a way, a school is like a country, and we have to survive and adapt into it, but need that extra appreciation for the good that comes out of it.
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The short can also give a student an idea of the fact they will evolve along with the world around them as demonstrated when Uncle Sam takes Porky beyond the American Revolution and ends with a moment involving Abraham Lincoln. When all is said and done, the only way that they will grow is to learn and be open minded. The first thing that we should open our minds to in schools is to learning about American History in accordance with the student’s learning abilities and “Old Glory” (1939) fits that bill.
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Catch you all later!!
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