Resources for Instructors:
Some teaching ideas for the First-Year Reading (developed from the panel discussion):
Make a list of issues raised for you as you read the book. Try to guide the discussion without lecturing. Some of the issues raised were:
- How does a writer choose what to include/not include?
- bullying
- conventions
- living double life
- confidentiality
- nature vs. nurture
- roles of gangs in young people’s lives
- difference in behavior in different countries, norms different (rebellion, etc.)
- ideology of person/institution vs. facts
- people refuse to see evidence, trained in an ideology
- society frame of reference overcomes facts for a person
Use the book as a way to practice critical thinking. The author challenges the reader to question their own assumptions, but sometimes does not challenge his own. What are these assumptions? For example, what kinds of assumptions does he have about physical appearance does he have? What kinds of assumptions does he have about his role in the military, and why he is in it? Discuss the author’s claims of truth at the beginning of the book. In his introduction, he claims that he has changed names and added narratives that are not his own. How reliable is the author as a narrator? What was truthful? What was changed? Memory is imperfect; how much can we rely on Lehmkuhl’s?
Read actual law that repeals Don’t Ask Don’t Tell or the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Law itself. Have the students discuss their language and the historical context in which they were written.
Have the class discuss discipline. Topics might include the author’s love-hate relationship with military discipline, telling others what to do, how he controls his own urges or not, his own self-discipline (who I am, what do I want to stand for) vs. external discipline (the church, laws, military leadership, etc.).
Have the students write short memoirs themselves. Memoirs frequently help people figure out what categories they fit into and how they relate to external events and persons. For example, actors talk about the famous actors they meet. Examine what items the students have selected in their own memoirs. Discuss what they focus on, what narrative they follow, and what details they share.
Weave discussion of the book throughout the semester with discussion questions:
- Civility & Respect: What is the nature of respect in the military, and what kind of respect does Lehmkuhl get throughout his life as it is portrayed in the book? Are there any characters who demonstrate real respect for who he is? The military has worked on a lot of new rules and policies that are meant to ensure that when Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is repealed, civility reigns, or so the military says. But where does that leave respect and real social change? Can respect be formed from rules?
- Academic Success: How does Lehmkuhl change his academic habits after his first semester? In what ways is he a good student? Where does he go wrong? How much responsibility does he take for his own education?
- Healthy Relationships, Safe Sex, and Wellness: Does Lehmkuhl have any healthy relationships in the book? There is a lot of discussion of sex in the book, but the topic of safe sex is avoided. Why might this be the case? What prevented Lehmkuhl from speaking up about his sexual assault and the abusive hazing he experienced? If something like that happened to you, who would you reach out to? On campus? At home? What kind of value does Lehmkuhl put on physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual wellness? How does he keep himself well in each of these categories?
- Leadership and Involvement: Is Lehmkuhl a good leader in the book? He is proud of his leadership of the Underground. What makes him successful? What undermines his authority? Are the fear tactics and threats he uses necessary? (See also the handout with discussion questions based on leadership and social justice.
- Diversity: How does Lehmkuhl interact with people who are different from him? In what ways does he examine how his own cultural background, race, class, gender, religion, sexual orientation have influenced his beliefs, biases, and perceptions of other groups? Where might you challenge him to examine his own biases?
