Patriot...this word has taken on a whole new meaning for me.
I'm both ashamed and amazed at how much I was either not taught or don't remember. I'm inclined to believe it's the latter.
The boys' reading comprehension story for last week and yesterday was a historical fiction about a young boy named Alex who became a drummer boy in the Revolutionary War. I guess do to my ignorance, I just never knew or realized boys that young, 12 - 15 could and would enlist, especially as ...drummer boys. And further more, while I knew there was such a position as drummer boys, I never knew their role. Boys this young would enlist with their fathers, brothers, grandfathers or other capable family members. In this particular story, Alex enlisted as a drummer boy with his father for the battle being fought near their home in South Carolina. He begged his father to allow and with hesitation, his dad gave his blessing knowing the fate that could be. The hesitation wasn't necessarily b/c of enlisting but rather the position Alex wanted during this battle. The drummer boys would tap out the General's orders for the soldiers to hear. Each rhythm meant a different command. You see, the drummer boys were typically young, yet, they were highly targeted by the enemy. Shooting the drummer boy crippled the strategy. The General couldn't get his commands to all his men. Boys this young wanted to fight and their fathers let them b/c they understood what was at stake...freedom. Boys this young had full comprehension of what freedom or what lack thereof meant. They exemplified the epitome of what a patriot was because of the hard driven pride to be one that fights for his country...to be a patriot. No, I'm not advocating that our boys be sent off to war at such a young age. But I am advocating that our children know to the same degree what the essence of freedom is, so much so that their peers 100s of years before them believed in it enough to be the patriots who gave us America.
I'm both ashamed and amazed at how much I was either not taught or don't remember. I'm inclined to believe it's the latter.
The boys' reading comprehension story for last week and yesterday was a historical fiction about a young boy named Alex who became a drummer boy in the Revolutionary War. I guess do to my ignorance, I just never knew or realized boys that young, 12 - 15 could and would enlist, especially as ...drummer boys. And further more, while I knew there was such a position as drummer boys, I never knew their role. Boys this young would enlist with their fathers, brothers, grandfathers or other capable family members. In this particular story, Alex enlisted as a drummer boy with his father for the battle being fought near their home in South Carolina. He begged his father to allow and with hesitation, his dad gave his blessing knowing the fate that could be. The hesitation wasn't necessarily b/c of enlisting but rather the position Alex wanted during this battle. The drummer boys would tap out the General's orders for the soldiers to hear. Each rhythm meant a different command. You see, the drummer boys were typically young, yet, they were highly targeted by the enemy. Shooting the drummer boy crippled the strategy. The General couldn't get his commands to all his men. Boys this young wanted to fight and their fathers let them b/c they understood what was at stake...freedom. Boys this young had full comprehension of what freedom or what lack thereof meant. They exemplified the epitome of what a patriot was because of the hard driven pride to be one that fights for his country...to be a patriot. No, I'm not advocating that our boys be sent off to war at such a young age. But I am advocating that our children know to the same degree what the essence of freedom is, so much so that their peers 100s of years before them believed in it enough to be the patriots who gave us America.
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