It's Remembrance Day here in Canada. A non-writing post today to ask each of you to take a moment out of your busy lives to think of our brave soldiers and veterans. Such courage. Such loyalty.
It was interesting to talk to the kids at school today about Remembrance Day. They, thankfully, have limited knowledge of war. They are fascinated by the stories of courage, the horrors and the sheer will it took to survive. Kids pore over the fiction and nonfiction books in my classroom about war. They have endless questions and boundless compassion.
Today, during our conversations, several of the kids asked how it was possible to hate that much. They completely don't get racism and prejudice. We have kids from 8 different cultures in our class. No one hangs out along cultural lines, there are no racial comments, no stereotyping. Not everyone gets along, but that's due to personality conflicts and nothing else.
It gives me hope, and fills me with pride for the small part I play in raising these kids.
Two of the songs we sang during our Remembrance Day service today were Let There be Peace on Earth by Vince Gill, and Everything I Do, I Do it For You by Bryan Adams. Powerful songs, powerful lyrics, powerful images to go along with them. The kids sang along and it created this amazing buzz of love and hope.
I hope you managed to find a corner of peace in your world today. We certainly did, and the future looks good.
14 comments:
Posts such as this jolt us back to reality. If it were not for those who sacrificed their lives we would not be 'who' we are, nor 'where' we are today.
Lest we forget.
We call it Veteran's Day down here in the states, but it sounds like the same thing. The day is a national holiday set aside for honoring those who serve or have served in the armed forces. Peace is the ultimate goal. Hopefully, we'll achieve it soon...
Quill - You're so right - such amazingly brave and selfless people. We owe them so much.
Debra - Yes, it does sound very similar. Only our government people and banks get the day off. It works well for the kids. I think they get more out of it by being in school where we really discuss it.
This is a day to honor, respect and remember those who have risked so much and so selflessly. Loved hearing about the kids in your class. They are our hope for future peace. It can happen.
That's cool, Jemi. We have a bi-lingual school and what I realized was that none of the French kids knew how to sing the national anthem en englais. Na pas bien! Ack!
Shoot. I think I switched to Spanish. I meant 'anglais?'
Yeesh.
I wish we had more teachers like you, Jemi.
What a lovely post. So nice to have someone wish peace for you. There used to be an old greeting--it was very common at one time: "Peace be with you." I don't know why we stopped using it.
VR - Yes, kids are definitely our future - and from where I'm sitting, I'm not worried :)
Jean - Yikes! We tend to sing it half-and-half, but we switch it up so we can all sing it all ways :) Good Spanish skills!
Annette - thank you so much - what a kind thing to say :)
Carol - Thank you! That is such a nice greeting. It would be nice to see it come back into vogue again :)
Our kids are a message we send to the future about oureselves. Can't remember who said that, but its always stuck with me.
Stephen Tremp
Stephen - What a great quote!!! I'm definitely going to search that one - it would be a great one to post in the staffroom and the classroom :) Thanks!
Your kids are so blessed to have YOU. What you do each day matters.
Jenny - Thank you so much! What an incredibly kind thing to say :)
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