The mission of the Pennsylvania-based Veterans’ National Education Program is to help students become engaged, thoughtful citizens by expanding their knowledge base, developing vital critical thinking and decision-making skills, and enhancing their understanding of America’s most cherished values.
Formerly a part of the Pennsylvania Veterans Museum, VNEP, the 501(c)(3) non-profit entity focuses entirely on educational outreach. Through documentaries and a virtual classroom, VNEP aspires to enlighten and inspire the youth and citizens of the United States by providing historically accurate, relevant educational resources, with a focus on events “as seen through the eyes of veterans.”
The board is comprised of former military officers and educators who firmly believe that our greatest hopes for the future rests with an intelligent and informed citizenry, particularly as it relates to the education and preparation of our youngest citizens.
The organization’s mission includes:
Teaching military history (WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan) through the stories of those who have served
Helping students become engaged, thoughtful citizens by expanding their knowledge base, developing vital critical thinking and decision-making skills, and enhancing their understanding of the United States’ most cherished values: honor, liberty and freedom
Streamlining early U.S. history materials to allow teachers ample time to teach U.S. modern history
Ensuring educational materials fulfill state/national standard requirements
Promoting national pride and bolster a positive national image of America’s veterans
“I am a strong supporter of our men and women in uniform, and the sacrifices they make to ensure that the United States and its undying promise endures,” says Pickens, whose Foundation is an ongoing supporter of VNEP. “Veterans have a unique view on history, and their voices should be heard.”
As resources dwindle for the teaching of Social Studies and relevant, timely and historically factual materials are taking longer to produce. VNEP’s Military in Social Studies virtual classroom (MILSSonline) Afghanistan unit, its documentaries, associated media content, lesson plans, and college courses are empowering teachers, providing them the tools they need to engage students.
“With the support of the T. Boone Pickens Foundation and its partners, VNEP is providing a culmination of true stories by real veterans and international cultural awareness to classrooms throughout the country, providing the “big picture” of what is going on in our world as it is happening,” says VNEP chairman Bob McMahon, a Vietnam Veteran.
VNEP is currently partnering with national, state, local and legislative entities to develop and promote current and upcoming programs nationwide. The Veterans National Education Program is committed to the concept of eyewitness accounts, reliance on the history-makers, rather than those who interpret events through the prism of personal or political bias. Who better to teach succeeding generations of Americans than the men and women with “boots-on-the-ground” experience?
For more information or to visit the virtual classroom, visit www.VeteransNEP.org.
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