Teaching our children about Remembrance Day... or something like it

Earlier this evening I answered the phone. A good friend of mine was on the other end of the line. He and I share a keen interest in many issues, and in one in particular: Canadian war veterans and anything associated with our military history.

He told me that his granddaughter brought something rather interesting home earlier today, and I was quite pleased to hear that her teacher decided to educate his or her class about the special nature of November 11, a date that comes each year and should cause everyone to take a moment to reflect on those who sacrificed themselves for the country we have come to know and love.

The handout was read to me and it took mere seconds for my demeanour to change. Why? It was a document that taught little boys and girls about Veterans Day - a day to "honor and remember the military men and women who have served America, in any war and during peacetime." It goes on to describe Arlington National Cemetary and its Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. I'm told that this handout was downloaded from the internet (I can only hope it's not from our province's curriculum!!), printed and copied for distribution to a classroom full of Canadian children.

I found it unfortunate and somewhat disturbing given the close proximity to our own National War Memorial in downtown Ottawa, mere kilometres from this child's school. Also found on this site is the Canadian Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Just down the road is Beechwood Cemetary, home of the National Military Cemetary of the Canadian Forces. It should have been easier for this young girl's teacher to Google information on these sites and would have better served the purpose of the lesson.

We have a hard enough time convincing the powers that be that Canadians have their own distinct culture. Lowell Green has a hard enough time finding high school or university students who know who Canada's first Prime Minister was. To have a teacher who is moulding young impressionable minds by using information that clearly is inappropriate given that she is in a Canadian classroom is frightening to me... and to a proud grandfather as well.

Not one to let something like this go, and certainly not being someone who passively sits there allowing injustices to go unnoticed, my buddy took it upon himself to write to the Director of Education. With his permission, I post his letter here because I really couldn't say it better myself. Contact information, of course, has been removed.


Dear sir,

Recently my granddaughter was given an information sheet on Veterans' Day. She was required to read this sheet and answer two questions on the American holiday called Veterans' Day. I have attached a copy of this document for your convenience.

Sir, I have the utmost respect for the United States Armed Forces and for the immeasurable sacrifices made by their fighting men and women. I harbour even stronger sentiments for Canada's military, both past and present. These men and women have, in some cases, made the ultimate sacrifice, in that they gave up their lives to preserve the freedom and way of life that we, today, take so much for granted.

From the Crimean War to Afghanistan, our forces have stood in harm's way to guarantee that we, in Canada, can live in comfort and safety.

Why then, sir, is the (school board) not teaching our children about *our* veterans?

Why is the (school board) not keeping the memory of our veterans alive in its classrooms?

Why do our children not know about Vimy Ridge, Paschendaele, Dieppe, Juno Beach, The Scheldt, Kap'yong, Cyprus, The Balkans or Afghanistan?

Why are you not telling our children about Canada's 'Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier'?

Do they know that Lt. Col. John McRea wrote "In Flanders Fields" and that he was a Canadian?

Do they know how Captain John Weir Foote won his Victoria Cross at Dieppe?

Do they know that when he died last year, Ernest Alvia "Smokey" Smith was the *last* surviving Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross?

The stories of our birth as a nation are rapidly disappearing into the graves of our veterans.

Teach our children about who we are! On this, the eve of another Remembrance Day, we must NEVER FORGET!

It's time to preserve *our* history! It's time to tell *our* story! We are Canadian!

Respectfully,


That just about says it. The knowledge I gained over the years on these subjects did not come from the classroom. My interest in learning about war veterans and everything they did stemmed from other injustices I observed and subsequently chronicled in my archived newspaper columns.

To see that a teacher is taking the initiative is great. I just wish that he or she had enough knowledge him or herself to know that in Canada, we celebrate Remembrance Day. That he or she did not is somewhat disconcerting! Here's hoping these impressionable children all have parents or family members who are informed enough to teach them the distinct differences between the ways Canada and the United States celebrate each year on the eleventh day of the eleventh month.

Those Canadians who did so much for us and who continue to do so today deserve at least that much.