Remembrance Day

By: Maya Paddon

Across the country, Remembrance Day is a time dedicated to acknowledge and commemorate the countless individuals who have made profound sacrifices serving their nation during war and conflict worldwide. In Canada, Remembrance Day is commonly observed through long-established practices, particularly the moment of silence, wearing poppies, and the reading of the “In Flanders Fields” poem. 

These deep-rooted traditions undoubtedly have, and continue to hold, impactful meaning. And while continuing to respect and practice them, the teachers and students who arranged this year’s KCI Remembrance Day assembly also opted to explore more unfamiliar themes in hopes of bringing forth different perspectives, engaging viewers, and introducing new information to the school community. 

M.C. and coordinator of the assembly, Mr. Ashley, made it clear that while also examining new topics in this year’s assembly, he still wanted to honour all of the soldiers and individuals that went to war as usually done in these assemblies: “Being a history teacher, I’m constantly engrossed in the idea of the sacrifice that people made.” He continued by explaining why he still thinks it’s crucial for us to acknowledge those who fought for us, saying, “For us in Canada in the modern day, I think it’s still essential because a lot of those people gave all, and we’re still benefiting from what they sacrificed at that time, so it still has resounding effects.” Grade ten student Sophia Bean, who was also a part of the assembly, communicated a similar opinion: “Remembrance Day is to remember what they gave up for us, and we don’t have connections to it in this generation, because it didn’t affect us. But it did affect others.” she said. 

The new additions to this year’s Remembrance Day assembly were also very important to the group of teachers and students responsible for putting it together, one of which being the idea of “Caught in the Crossfire” being explored. Mr. Ashley noted that he had wanted to create specific themes for each Remembrance Day assembly as one of the primary staff members planning it: “When I became Department Head of History, one of the ideas that was on my mind was that every year I do a different theme. This year I came up with “Caught in the Crossfire.” 

Mr. Miller, a KCI history and geography teacher, mentioned his goal was to “bring a slightly more different and updated perspective to the Remembrance Day assembly. We were really working to shift the focus into a more civilian-based look, and how war and conflict affects people across the board.” He added, “In high school, I think the most important thing we should be doing is trying to get across just how brutal and awful and dehumanizing war and conflict can be. And I think it takes a little bit of sacrifice on our part to put ourselves in uncomfortable situations, and maybe challenge some of our preconceived notions. But I really feel like it’s our duty as educators to get the message across how brutal conflict can be.”

Another major topic introduced during the assembly was the significance of the white poppy. Sophia, who described the meaning of the white poppy during the assembly, felt that it was a great addition to the annual ceremony: “The goal was to remember all of the victims of the war, and the red poppy is more for soldiers. I did some research and found the white poppy, which fit really well into the theme of the assembly, because it applies to more people that are affected.”  Mr. Miller, who noted that the white poppy can serve different meanings, and be interpreted differently by various people: “I like the idea of the white poppy, and how it symbolizes that you remember the fallen and honour their memory, but also that you’re not supporting modern day conflicts, and that you think we should be working towards a more peaceful world.” He added that introducing new types of poppies can allow us to acknowledge the marginalized individuals involved in war: “Having different poppies might help to shed some light on their experiences and what they went through.” he said. 

Ultimately, Mr. Ashley and Mr. Miller agreed that the goal of the assembly was to bring forth fresh, relevant information that would captivate the audience. Mr. Ashley explained, “I want to make Remembrance Day assemblies more engaging and more appealing and more relevant.” Mr. Miller built on this by saying, “We were really trying to get people to put themselves into other peoples’ perspectives, and understand what some people in the world have to go through.”

In the end, Mr. Ashley noted that his fellow teachers who helped arrange the assembly were happy with how it turned out: “That’s how I wanted it to be presented,” he said. “There’s many different elements of war and Remembrance Day, because people were displaced from their homes, people were caught in the crossfire, and those people need to be remembered, as well.” Sophia was equally content with how the various new messages and topics were communicated, and hopeful that they brought connection to the remainder of the school: “Remembrance Day, I think, is a way to try and make a connection. It lets us be more empathetic and understanding. So I think adding different things helped people connect more.” she stated.