Well, where to start? Lots of things to tackle.
Why is it important to learn military history? There are many more things that make us Canadians and proud citizens, arent there?
Agreed. However, the topic of this post was that many Canadians lack a general knowledge of events and/or people in our military history. It seems at times that these things are overlooked. Is it the end of the world if they don't know these things? Not really. I think the general point was that we often don't regard ourselves as a militaristic people and tend to forget the sacrifice that was made by many thousands of Canadians.
I challenge those here in this thread that are giving examples of teaching specific battles like Verriers Ridge, or the Somme. What goal is accomplished by teaching someone about a single battle? I have read the books, seen the movies, seen the documentaries, taken the courses including the HIE208 and I see nothing anywhere that sets our military histories importance above certain other accomplishments of Canada and Canadians. (I have a strong, strong interest in our military history, and my family is military to way back when) We have a long proud history that has many different aspects to it, all of which make us what we are today.
I don't want to get snippy here, but you seem to have hit a nerve. I'm assuming that this comment was directed at me. As is often said on this site, "stay in your lane!" Nowhere in your profile does it indicate that you are a teacher. Does taking some history classes and watching some programs on TV suddenly make you a history teacher? Your comments reflect your own opinion. As teachers we don't decide what we want to teach. There is a curriculum that we must follow...check it out:
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/secondary/canworld910curr.pdf
What goal is accomplished? To begin with, it's our job.
"...describe Canada’s and Canadians’ contributions to the war effort overseas during World War I and World War II (e.g.,Ypres,Vimy Ridge, Passchendaele, Hong Kong, Battle of the Atlantic, Dieppe, Sicily, D-Day)." Secondly, these battles add context to the war. You cannot teach the significance of a war without examples of the conflict. Does it not make sense when teaching students about the costs of war, to state how mistakes lead to massive loss of life ie. Somme, Dieppe? Why Verrieres? I choose to add this topic because it is a tragic event in the larger battles for Tilly-la-Campagne that is never mentioned. How better to illustrate how destructive a war can be when an entire battalion is annihilated. Examining events without grasping the larger picture is fragmentation and a disservice.
What is important about our military history? Not the battles, not the countless Generals and Majors, Privates and.... Germans. Whats important is why we fought, why the men and women before us volunteered to put thier life on the line for Canada and quite literally, strangers. What makes us pick up arms against our foe? And why we should tailor a world to avoid war. A battle may teach someone that the casualties suffered is bad - war is bad, but I dont think thats the point of telling someone how Verriers Ridge went down. I think the point of teaching battles are generally to glorify them, and the people involved. Glory ends on the battlefield. Respect and understanding of how and why the big picture happened is whats important to know.
No, the battles are not the most important part, yet an examination of the war cannot be done without them. Students today are so far removed from the war that the battles are a way to make your point. For them, war is something they see in a movie or in a video game. No one attempts to glorify war. I spend a lot of time before we even start into the events of WWI talking about why we study war. It is a constant in human history...in the nearly 10,000 years that civilization has been around conflict has always been present. It is important to understand why it happened, what happened and what we learned from it. I tell them that it isn't exciting or cool. Watching our friends die and taking other people's lives is not something we do or take lightly. We are lucky that we don't have such conflicts and we should be thankful for those that give them the opportunity to live where they do with the life that they have. Telling them that the British suffered 57,000 casualties in one day at the Somme or that only 15 members of the Watch were unscathed after Verrieres drives the point home.
I hope that every student who leaves my classroom has a greater appreciation for history, including the conflict. That includes all parts of conflict; the causes, the events, the impact and the results. This is how we approach history. You speak of the big picture; you cannot get a sense of the big picture by omitting parts of its foundation. Yes, there are many other things that Canadians can be proud of. We have been able to accomplish many important things outside the realm of conflict. However, we cannot and should not dismiss the impact the wars have had on our history. They are part of our collective history and shape the Canada that we live in today.
) I also found UNB has a sizeable amount of military history courses. You can also get a good assortment at Carleton, where the History Dept is good, but can also add courses that deal with the origins and politics of war in the poli sci department. I'm looking into finishing up 4th year at CU, and applying for MA at UNB.
