At 11 o’clock today, Remembrance Day, I will be standing in front of my students. Most of them are in their twenties. Few were born before 2000.
I will ask them about their relationship to Remembrance Day. I will tell them about my grandfather and the significance Remembrance Day has for me.
I will ask them to give a minute for reflection.
As we move farther from the world wars and the veterans who fought, I feel like the lessons of those wars are diluted. For many of us, war is something we see on our screens. It’s not something that happens to us. Yet we know there is trauma, violence and injustice happening right this moment in the world. Some of it very close to home.
Whether we are able to remember or not, Remembrance Day is a moment for reflection. Nov. 11 is not just for respect and recognition of those who have fought and died. It is for remembering the lessons they have taught us, so that we can do our part to create a world of peace, respect, care.
This is the lesson I am trying to share with my students today.
Home on 129 Acres 
Perfectly spoken Julia. Absolute truth. Your students are fortunate to have you.
Today Jaro and I celebrate 30 years together, 19 of them married. Jaro said he has a hard time remembering dates. November 11 is a date he always remembers. It is a day of reverence being Remembrance Day and a day of joy for us in our union.
Wishing you a good day.
Pam
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Happy anniversary to you and Jaro, Pam.
Thank you Julia.
Sent from my iPad
What a beautiful image you created for this post, Julia. I watched the ceremony in Ottawa this morning. I was very moved when the 103 year old veteran laid his poppy on the cenotaph.
I should have included in my first comment, my dad would be almost the same age as that old man if he were still alive. He left his Nova Scotia farm at age 18 and signed up. He did his basic training in Ontario and then went overseas for the last two years of the war. (He was born in 2024.)
The personal connection makes it so meaningful. I think that’s one of the challenges with younger generations that there is more distance and less personal connection. However, my moment of reflection and remembrance went very well and a lot of students were very engaged in it.