Photo By Sgt. Jonathan Perdelwitz | Lt. Col. Jason Knueven, commander of the Maneuver Battalion, Regional Command-East,...... read more read more
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CAMP BONDSTEEL, Kosovo—Lt. Col. Jason Knueven, commander of the Maneuver Battalion, Regional Command-East, Kosovo Force, is also a teacher at West Lyon Community School District in Inwood, Iowa. When he’s not deployed with the Iowa Army National Guard, he teaches the talented and gifted program at the elementary school and helps students improve their literacy skills.
“I always wanted to be a teacher,” Knueven said. “You see the rewards. From the beginning of the year to the end of the year, you see how much the students have grown both mentally and physically.”
Capt. Scott Stribe, commander of Headquarters & Headquarters Troop, 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry Regiment, IANG, and 1st Lt. Jon Hamlin, also with HHT, 1-113th Cavalry, both teach high school history. Before leaving for Kosovo, Stribe taught at the Mount Pleasant Community School District in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, and Hamlin taught at the College Community School District in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
“Social studies works on critical thinking and problem solving,” Stribe said. “We look at what has happened and why and try to come up with the significance of why those things matter. Working on that with the next generation of leaders has always been important and cool to me.”
Teaching isn’t a job a person does for the money, Knueven said. It is a difficult job, but teachers can see the results of their work in their students’ growth.
“It’s probably the hardest job I’ve ever had, but it’s also the most rewarding,” Hamlin said. “They’re happy to learn as long as you make it interesting for them. Which is something I always try to do.”
2nd Lt. Cale Yates, with HHT, 1-113th Cavalry, teaches art to elementary students at Glenwood Community School District in Glenwood, Iowa.
“Elementary art is a lot about fundamentals,” Yates said. “I like when a student is struggling with something on a project, and they get that ‘aha’ moment. Suddenly, it clicks, and they can now execute the task or skill you were trying to get them to learn or work on.”
KFOR and the Iowa Army National Guard celebrates the teachers within its ranks. There are many similarities between leading Soldiers and teaching students.
“The same things I’m trying to teach kids - those critical thinking skills and problem-solving skills — those are the same skills we get asked to utilize as Soldiers,” Stribe said. “What I’m doing here makes me better in the classroom.”
Leaders find that their skills transfer well from teaching to leading Soldiers and vice versa.
“I joined the Guard when I was thirty. I’d been teaching for a long time,” Yates said. “Teaching involves a lot of instructing, mentoring and assessing people’s performance on tasks and skills. That part transferred well to being an officer.”
The school districts play an important role in enabling Citizen Soldiers to lead successful teaching careers while continuing to serve their state and country.
“I’ve always really appreciated my district and how supportive they’ve been in my career in the military,” Stribe said. “That can’t be overlooked. I wouldn’t be able to be successful in my military career if the district wasn’t supportive of that.”
The diversity of careers Soldiers in the National Guard hold between monthly drills and mobilizations is a force multiplier. Support from both employers and military leadership makes the balance between two different roles manageable. Knueven, a leader of Soldiers and a teacher of fourteen years, gives his advice to anyone considering a career in teaching.
“Love every minute of it,” Knueven said. “Every day in the teaching world you’ll encounter something different. As a future teacher, don’t be surprised by anything you see or hear. Be flexible and adaptive to different things you’ll encounter in the teaching world.”
| Date Taken: | 05.06.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 05.06.2021 08:46 |
| Story ID: | 395782 |
| Location: | CAMP BONDSTEEL, ZZ |
| Hometown: | CEDAR RAPIDS, IA, US |
| Hometown: | GLENWOOD, IA, US |
| Hometown: | INWOOD, IA, US |
| Hometown: | MANNING, IA, US |
| Hometown: | MOUNT PLEASANT, IA, US |
| Web Views: | 180 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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