Well, this is week 3 of my new adventures of blogging. Actually, I'm enjoying it. In fact, I hear that eStudents and eTeachers are actually reading it. Cool. Not sure how much I'm actually contributing to pedagogy, but it is fun to ramble on.
This week I want to focus on Remembrance Day, November 11. Personally, I'm a big fan of our veterans. I try to think of what it must have felt like to ship out from Canada on a boat across the Atlantic to fight in World War I & II. I really can't get my head around it. I think it would have been terrifying. I'm a peace loving guy to begin with, and I imagine most of those who went to war were also peace loving family guys, who had a deep commitment and loyalty to Canada.
It still strikes me when I watch the Remembrance Day services and see the dwindling numbers of veterans with tears streaming down their faces, like the memory of the war was just yesterday, and they are still grieving the loss of that buddy, or buddies like it was today. I don't think we appreciate the significance enough of what happened and what they did for our freedoms. It is so easy to take it for granted.
I love history, so I have spent lots of time with veterans, and listened to their stories. They love to tell their stories. Pretty soon they will be gone, and those stories will go with them. We need to hear those stories, record those stories, and honour they stories by keeping them alive. So here's what I would like us to do this week.
We are going to combine a little History with Language Arts. I want you to watch this video called Learn about Remembrance Day.
In the video, she mentions Lt. Col. John McRae poem, "In Flanders Field's." Now that poem has been put to music as well, and this video combines images from WWI & WWII with the song.
Now after hearing about the history of Remembrance Day and the Poppy, combined with the poem/song, In Flander's Field, write your response on my blog here. "What does it make you think about? How do you feel about what the veterans did for us? What do we need to do to keep their stories and memories alive?" Tell me what you think, even in a few sentences.
For those of you with a video camera, and you know a veteran, go out a record a story and post it on my blog, or your own blog site.
Lest we forget!
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