It’s Veterans Day. And, as the US Department of Veterans’ Affairs points out, this day is to be “a celebration to honor America's veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.”

And, the Bluegrass Institute would like to start this post by adding our thanks to the many men and women who have served our country in military uniform. We value your sacrifice for our country. And, there is no question that Kentucky as a state also intends to honor our veterans.

For example, the state has a law, KRS 158.075 Veterans Days observance in public schools, that specifies the following:

All public schools shall observe Veterans Day under this section.

1. On Veterans Day, or one (1) of the five (5) school days preceding Veterans Day, one (1) class or instructional period shall be devoted to the observance of Veterans Day.

2. Students shall assemble in one (1) or more groups, as decided by the school principal, to attend the Veterans Day program.

3. The program shall be approved by the principal and, at a minimum, shall consist of a teacher and a veteran speaking on the meaning of Veterans Day.

4. To develop a Veterans Day program, Kentucky public schools are encouraged to seek advice from the Kentucky Department of Veterans' Affairs and veterans' service organizations, including but not limited to the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

But, this is the year of COVID-19, and a lot of school practice has been highly disrupted. Some schools in the state are not even meeting in-person at present.

So, I’d be interested to hear how schools are meeting the KRS 158.075 requirement. I’ll bet some have come up with a creative way to complete the mission despite the virus, and I would enjoy hearing about that.

So, drop me a comment or shoot me an e-mail if you know of a unique, COVID-19-won’t-stop-us, example of how students heard about Veterans Day and what it means.

And, if you are a vet who was asked to take part in a school program, I’d like to hear about that, too. And, thanks again for your service.

Picture: Official US Marine Photo of Amphibious assault on Iwo Jima from Wikipedia https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USMC-17446.jpg