Aurora -- Valley Christian Academy history teacher Robert Hrabak has been holding after-school American history sessions since the 1980s.
"There's just not enough time in class to go over everything," said Hrabak. "The textbooks give a general narrative, and all the interesting things are left out."
According to Hrabak, History Channel DVDs and documentaries are shown to the students who show up for the sessions. "The movies show re-enactments of the wars," he said. "They are not too graphic and are very informative."
Each topic lasts for about six weeks, according to Hrabak, and topics include subjects such as the Civil War and World War I.
"I want to do one on World War II, but so far everything I've found is too graphic for students," said Hrabak, who added the classroom is usually full for each session.
"I first got interested in American history when I was in eighth grade," he explained. "We visited Gettysburg and I kept thinking 'these guys had to have been totally loyal and brave in order to fight in this war.' American history is a great story."
Thirteen-year old Caitlin Gentry attended Hrabak's sessions on the Civil War back in fall 2011.
"I went because the sessions were more in depth on the subjects than in history class," said Gentry. "I liked the Civil War re-enactments. It was really cool to see what it would have been like if I would've been there."
According to Gentry, she attended every session because she did not want to miss anything.
Hrabak hopes to keep offering the sessions, but the start of the next one is undecided. "I would definitely like to go to the next one," said Gentry.
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