Read Online Off to War by Deborah Ellis - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Deborah Ellis
Tags: JNF053050
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donât even get as much as they need to not be hungry.
I think Canada is in Afghanistan to help people who need help, to keep them safe, and to let them have their rights.
I donât think Iâll join the army. I have other jobs in mind.Iâd like to be a clothes designer or a kindergarten teacher, or a writer. I wouldnât mind the military, but itâs just not my dream. Sometimes I get to go down to the kindergarten room and help out at lunchtime, and itâs just amazing to watch the way kids learn. I was helping them with their letters, and there was this one boy who didnât want to write his letters. All I had to do was give him a little bit of encouragement, and he did it. That felt really good.
Dahshan, 15, and Malia, 7
Although frequent moving has always been part of life for military families (the average military kid goes to between six and nine different schools between kindergarten and the end of high school), the recent trend toward compulsory testing has made this more of a challenge. Many states, for example, require students to pass exams on the stateâs history before they can graduate. The Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC) helps to ease the transition of military kids in the US when they change schools, helping families finding their way through the red tape and lobbying for changes that would make life easier for military families. Some states are now considering passing laws that would remove that requirement for military kids, or allow them to carry over the results of state-specific exams they have taken in a previous state.
Dahshan and his sister, Malia, have moved many times, and they now live on post at Fort Bragg. Their neighborhood is called Cherbourg, named after a French seaport that played an important role in World War II.
Dahshan â Our father works at the motor pool, fixing cars. Heâs also a medic. The cars he fixes are the ones they use to rescue people who have been injured, like when the paratroopers get injured on a jump.
Malia â Iâve been to where he works. Itâs very big with lots of rooms and stairs.
Dahshan â Heâs been in the military since I was three or four. I have no idea why he joined.
Malia â He had to go to Iraq, and now heâs home.
Dahshan â He was gone for over a year and came back last January. It was his first time in Iraq.
Malia â But we all lived with him in Germany. We had a dog there named Niko. He was a brownish kind of Chow dog.
Dahshan â It was a small base in Germany, not nearly the size of Fort Bragg. You could fit three or four of the German base in Fort Bragg easily. It was pretty close-knit. We lived by the hospital, where Dad worked. It was the only hospital around, so we got to see everyone.
Malia â We were there when I was really little and I had to go to preschool on the base. My mom worked there, too. Her job was to help the teacher. It felt very fine to have my mom go to school with me.
Dahshan â I went to elementary school on the base. It was pretty big, all US military kids. Before we went to Germany we lived in Kansas.
Malia â Kansas is very different from North Carolina.
Dahshan â Kansas is dry, then itâs raining a lot. Itâs cold, but then itâs summer and itâs still a little cold. Pretty much anything that could strike over there will strike. Tornados, storms, lightning. We were in Fort Riley for three years.
Malia â We were in New York first. Weâre from New York. Weâve been all over. I was born when we were in Fort Riley.
Dahshan â I liked Germany. I was ten when I got there, and by the time we got out I was thirteen, so itâs where I did most of my developmental thought and everything. We got to go on school trips to see other parts of Europe. We went to France once, and Berlin. Germany is a lot like America except for the counting and measurements.
Malia â We live on post
I think Canada is in Afghanistan to help people who need help, to keep them safe, and to let them have their rights.
I donât think Iâll join the army. I have other jobs in mind.Iâd like to be a clothes designer or a kindergarten teacher, or a writer. I wouldnât mind the military, but itâs just not my dream. Sometimes I get to go down to the kindergarten room and help out at lunchtime, and itâs just amazing to watch the way kids learn. I was helping them with their letters, and there was this one boy who didnât want to write his letters. All I had to do was give him a little bit of encouragement, and he did it. That felt really good.
Dahshan, 15, and Malia, 7
Although frequent moving has always been part of life for military families (the average military kid goes to between six and nine different schools between kindergarten and the end of high school), the recent trend toward compulsory testing has made this more of a challenge. Many states, for example, require students to pass exams on the stateâs history before they can graduate. The Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC) helps to ease the transition of military kids in the US when they change schools, helping families finding their way through the red tape and lobbying for changes that would make life easier for military families. Some states are now considering passing laws that would remove that requirement for military kids, or allow them to carry over the results of state-specific exams they have taken in a previous state.
Dahshan and his sister, Malia, have moved many times, and they now live on post at Fort Bragg. Their neighborhood is called Cherbourg, named after a French seaport that played an important role in World War II.
Dahshan â Our father works at the motor pool, fixing cars. Heâs also a medic. The cars he fixes are the ones they use to rescue people who have been injured, like when the paratroopers get injured on a jump.
Malia â Iâve been to where he works. Itâs very big with lots of rooms and stairs.
Dahshan â Heâs been in the military since I was three or four. I have no idea why he joined.
Malia â He had to go to Iraq, and now heâs home.
Dahshan â He was gone for over a year and came back last January. It was his first time in Iraq.
Malia â But we all lived with him in Germany. We had a dog there named Niko. He was a brownish kind of Chow dog.
Dahshan â It was a small base in Germany, not nearly the size of Fort Bragg. You could fit three or four of the German base in Fort Bragg easily. It was pretty close-knit. We lived by the hospital, where Dad worked. It was the only hospital around, so we got to see everyone.
Malia â We were there when I was really little and I had to go to preschool on the base. My mom worked there, too. Her job was to help the teacher. It felt very fine to have my mom go to school with me.
Dahshan â I went to elementary school on the base. It was pretty big, all US military kids. Before we went to Germany we lived in Kansas.
Malia â Kansas is very different from North Carolina.
Dahshan â Kansas is dry, then itâs raining a lot. Itâs cold, but then itâs summer and itâs still a little cold. Pretty much anything that could strike over there will strike. Tornados, storms, lightning. We were in Fort Riley for three years.
Malia â We were in New York first. Weâre from New York. Weâve been all over. I was born when we were in Fort Riley.
Dahshan â I liked Germany. I was ten when I got there, and by the time we got out I was thirteen, so itâs where I did most of my developmental thought and everything. We got to go on school trips to see other parts of Europe. We went to France once, and Berlin. Germany is a lot like America except for the counting and measurements.
Malia â We live on post
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