Canadians losing knowledge of military history

[Nieghorn]

And just quickly while I'm thinking of Dieppe, I DO think it's a significant battle if you're teaching Canadian history.  There are some very important reasons as to why we signed on for it, and how we felt after it failed.  I always think it's good to paint the clearest picture possible to allow your students to understand it as best they can ... on one level you can say 'it happened, here are the key players and figures' but I think once you give more details as to what the plan was, what happened, and why it didn't work, then you've just gone up another level or two of understanding.

 

[MOOXE]

The thing that you need to keep in mind is that you are speaking from your own perspective and background. You are obviously a well educated adult; I'm talking about 14 and 15 yo teenagers. They lack the experience and background to grasp some of the ideas you speak of. Remember, these students are there because the gov't says they need a Cdn history credit to graduate. You can expect that at least 50% of your class has no interest in history, and many don't give a rat's a**! We hope that at least something will make an impression on them, whether it be 1000 dead at Dieppe, 6 million Jews or tens of millions people worldwide. The end goal is to have students with some understanding and appreciation of what happened during the various wars of the 20th century...whatever helps them do this is great.

You know I think I'v actually made the same point in other conversations with friends. Basically, providing a basic framework is what high school is all about.

 

[Nieghorn]

I often pull that one out the bag when I need to.  "But it's not like I'm going to remember this next year!"    Well, school isn't always about what you learn, but also about 'learning HOW to learn', make consise arguments, analyse data, etc. etc..    I also use that defence when people say a degree is a waste of time.