Today was Veteran's Day. Most of my students were aware of it only due to the fact that their friends at public school had the day off.
None...that's right, none...were aware that "Veteran's Day" began as a way to commemorate The Great War, or World War I.
Now, I'm not sure I can exactly articulate why that bothers me so much, but it does. The lack of knowledge and awareness of that war, and its cultural, historical, political and social significance has long bothered me.
People will tell you, no doubt, that we don't know or care much about that war because the USA's participation in it was minimal. And maybe there is a grain of truth in that somewhere, but no matter the length or breadth of the USA's involvement, the impact of that war on contemporary culture...what and how we think, write, say, how it influenced later events...is enormous.
And most people my age don't know or care, let alone the generation we are raising or educating.
Soon...literally, it could happen any day...firsthand experience of the Great War will pass out of living memory. There are 10 verified veterans of the Great War left, all who served in the Allied Forces; there are no more Central powers veterans. Two of those remaining saw trench warfare.
No doubt their passing will be remarked in Europe. The last 'official' French veteran received a state funeral, as did the final German Army veteran. Will that happen here? I imagine it'll have a one minute piece on the evening news and little else.
I'm not sure why this bothers me so much. I'm not suggesting some kind of "Veteran Death Watch" or anything, I just think it's something folks ought to be aware of, and certainly aren't. And frankly, the certainty that this is unlikely to change makes me too sad to really be angry about it, much less make a joke.
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1 comments:
So teach them.
;-)
Here's what I'm wondering - how would it be obvious that kids would learn about it if not in school? When you're a kid all you care about is getting the day off. You have to get older to appreciate some of this stuff.
The younger generation isn't doomed to forget or anything like that. That's why the day exists. Someday, at some point, it clicks that this stuff matters. You're in the unique position of being able to help them along the way. Don't lament the ignorance of these kids when you come across it - celebrate the chance to help destroy that ignorance.
Otherwise I'm not sure how anyone in your profession would be capable of maintaining their sanity and/or perspective for longer than a few years!
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