Commitment. Integrity. Sacrifice. Courage. These are the core values the National Medal of Honor Museum’s Griffin Institute hopes to instill in American youth.
The Griffin Institute aims to inspire, equip and connect people to live the values of the Medal of Honor. The center explores the stories and lessons of recipients through national and regional conferences, seminars, forums, team-building experiences and immersive programs.
One of these programs Moments That Matter takes middle school students on a Medal of Honor character journey. The lessons and stories highlighted seek to motivate and provide participants with practical tools and skills to put these values into action, becoming their best selves for others.
Jacqueline Kennedy, Griffin Institute associate vice president of education and experiences, said the group recently completed its pilot program in the Arlington Independent School District.
The full program consists of five modules, each with five lessons spanning about 15 to 20 minutes. It maintains flexibility in deciding how many values are taught and at what grade levels, how much time is spent working on lessons and taking students to the museum, Kennedy said.
“Start with one value, see how it feels and how it resonates with your students and where it all starts coming together for them,” she said. “We saw that in Arlington and it was quite amazing to see how students really latched on to some of the content and how they rolled it into their own lives.”
Seventh-grade students at Gunn Junior High and Fine Arts and Dual Language Academy participated in the commitment portion of the program during the fall and will be one of the first student groups to tour the museum this spring.
By the 2025-26 school year, all 10 AISD middle schools will be enrolled, Kennedy said.
Matt Varnell, Gunn Junior High principal, said most of the lessons asked participants how they practice commitment and to think about the specialties they have to offer, allowing students to self-reflect and determine how they can become the best version of themselves.
Varnell said lessons were taught during social studies to ensure students had access to the program. The Medal of Honor spans the country, and although Texas history is taught in seventh grade, the school felt this was a good segue into eighth-grade American history.
Bethany Turner, Gunn Junior High social studies department lead and seventh-grade Texas history teacher, said she was able to connect the program’s overarching themes of leadership and sacrifice to the regular curriculum.
“Self-sacrifice and service, being willing to sacrifice yourself for something that you believe in strongly,” Turner said. “You can tie that into really any part of history, not just specifically for Texas history.”
She said she loved giving the institute suggestions from herself and her students. While some lessons felt right, the students thought others could be more engaging. She said the institute was very receptive to feedback.
One of Turner’s and her students’ biggest takeaways was how the program allowed participants to slow down and think about who they are.
“Twelve and 13-year-olds don’t often have a lot of time in their busy lives and in their developing brains where they actually sit and think about, ‘Who am I?’ and ‘What are my core values?’ and ‘What is important to me?’” she said.
Turner was able to open up and be vulnerable with her classroom as well. While her students were shy and quiet the first few weeks, she said they became more willing to share personal topics and thoughts with her and their peers.
“A huge part of it was comfort and confidence in being willing to share, and part of that comes with the classroom culture of having an open and accepting dialogue,” she said.
While not in a classroom on his day-to-day, Varnell said has seen the program’s influence on students. The program provided individual cards of Medal of Honor recipients to participants. He soon saw them wearing these cards, like collectibles, with their student IDs.
“If they didn’t find value in it, they would’ve just thrown it away, but they see value in it, and so they’ve kept it near to them as a reminder of how they can continue to be their best selves,” he said.
Kennedy said the institute plans to have over 8,000 students across several districts enrolled in Moments That Matter by next year.
“Developmentally, it’s the time where students are starting to think about the choices they make that define their character,” she said. “Deciding to do the right things, standing up for others or how they face challenges. It’s a ripe time to have these dedicated conversations.”
@hjgarcia0
