TWIN FALLS, Idaho — A Twin Falls elementary school principal is using Veterans Day as an opportunity to teach students about service, character and community by sharing his own military experience.
Jorge Pulleiro, principal at Bickel Elementary, served in the Army until 2005. After his service ended, his wife transformed his old uniforms into a meaningful quilt that he now uses as a teaching tool.
"When I was in the army, one of the things I loved the most was that I didn't have to pick my outfit," Pulleiro said.
On Veterans Day, Pulleiro showed the quilt to first-grade students, pointing out details like the USA flag patch that identified him as an American soldier. He used the moment to teach students about leadership and service.
"As a veteran, you're a leader in the community and a leader serves, so I really tried to be an example to the students and also be an example of the community," Pulleiro said.
Pulleiro explained to the children what it means to serve your country and why someone would sacrifice for people they don't know.
"You can be peacefully sitting right here learning math, English, PE, and it's all because of a soldier who doesn't know who you, and he or she is somewhere willing to defend you so that you can enjoy all of these things," Pulleiro said.
Bickel Elementary is a dual-immersion school where students learn to become fluent in both English and Spanish. During the presentation, students shared their own family connections to military service, with one child mentioning that their uncles served in the Army.
As an immigrant from Argentina, Pulleiro explained his personal motivation for joining the military.
"I have received so many amazing things from this country a family, my children education, the opportunity to be a teacher. I need to pay back to this country. So I said to my wife, 'let's do it,'" Pulleiro said.
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