Sample Speaker Questions
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Give students a background sheet on the invited speaker, which could include a brief biography and source of expertise. Students should prepare questions that can be reviewed by the teacher and, possibly, forwarded to the speaker ahead of time. Return these questions to the students just before the visitor arrives. (This allows students to feel more comfortable asking questions in class. Spontaneous questions can also be encouraged.)
- It seems every veteran fought a different war. Do you feel that way?
- How do you feel about the POW issue? Do you think there are still living POW's in Southeast Asia?
- What have you learned most from your experience in Vietnam?
- What were your feelings about the Wall when you first heard about it? Have those feelings changed?
- What are your views on draft dodgers? Do you think they should have been punished? If so, how?
- What was your main mission while in Vietnam?
- Do you feel like relationships among the soldiers changed after the death of Martin Luther King, Jr.?
- Was Vietnam worth it?
- Twenty-five years later, what is the outlook for Vietnam?
- What do you feel is the most important thing we should learn from this war?
- What are your thoughts on how the war was handled by the administration? The military leaders? The media?
- Were there any lessons you learned that you have been able to carry through life?
- What do you want future generations to learn from Vietnam and the era surrounding it?
- If you could change anything about war, what would it be?
- Do you think some people still view the US as a "babysitter" to third-world countries?
- Do you think the US should have developed a clearer purpose before sending anyone into Vietnam?
- What do you envision as the role of the US military in the future?
- What is your view of Agent Orange? Do you think we should have used it in Vietnam?
- The purpose of the war was to contain communism. Do you think this is a good enough reason to go to war? If not, what else could have been done to prevent its spread?
- How did the war affect the daily life on campus at UNC and other universities?
- Did your feelings about the war change over time?
- Do you think the media had any limits or should there have been any censorship in coverage of the war?
Teamwork can be a very effective way to develop guest speaker questions.