In Three Oaks Senior High School in Summerside, PEI, the students have created posters and plates on local soldiers who died in World War II.
But David Chisholm, the vice president and former teacher of social studies, knows that there is no learning experience as an excursion to make history come alive. About 20 years ago, he had a transformative moment during a professional development trip to Europe, where he learned about the life of a fallen Canadian soldier.
“I said that all children need to do this because we were at a time when I think the day of memory was a thing of one day a year. And we decided that we are going to try to do it a little different.”
At the end of April, about 50 students in grades 11 and 12 of three PEI schools, including those of Chisholm, traveled to the Netherlands to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the release of the Nazis country, an allied operation in which the first Canadian army played a key role, with 7,600 soldiers losing their lives in the process.
At least 280,000 Dutch civilians died during the Nazi occupation, from causes ranging from starvation to deportation to the extermination fields, a destination that took the life of the young writer Anne Frank.
The feeling of fraternity and gratitude towards the Canadians has been left with the Dutch since then, with Canadian veterinarians and delegations that still extend the welcome of the heroes decades after the war.
Students talk about the connections they feel with the release of the Netherlands, and why we need to make sure that courage and sacrifice stories never forget.
During the trip, which began in France, students will walk through the steps of Canadian soldiers who helped free the Netherlands from the Nazi occupation in April 1945, and will place a plaque in the tomb of a PEI soldier, Alvah Ray Leard. They are among the students of 34 secondary schools in Canada who will participate in the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of La Victoria on Europe Day, or VE Day, which took place on May 8, 1945.
In an interview before the trip, the 12th grade student, Ian Sharpe, said he will reflect on the life of Leard and his great -great grandfather, a stretcher bearer who also died during the release of Europe in 1945.
“You can experience things you have seen in books and movies,” he said. “When you are learning about things like that, to be there and to realize the true sacrifice made by the Canadians, there will be a very moving experience.”
Make the story important
Experimenting history in the ground where it took place is a way to make it relevant to students.
For young people born to the 21st century, many without living relatives who fought in the war, the role of Canada in Ve Day 80 years ago may seem remote and abstract.
Even so, teachers like Jackie Shaw at St. Stephen Catholic High School in Bowmanville, Ontario, say that interest is there, sometimes in surprising places.
“Some of these children have a connection through their parents that serve in the Canadian army,” Shaw said, while preparing his group of about 15 students for their trip to the Netherlands and France during a pizza lunch. “Some of them alone, I naturally believe history, which is great … I think some of them are interested in playing video games at some point.”
Tomas Kovacs, one of Bowmanville’s students who went to Europe, commented on the youth of the fallen Canadian soldiers: “We live at the time, we would also have to go to war, because they were two years older than us. So an age gap is not so great.”
Chisholm, three oaks in Summerside, said that the connection with the young people of the fallen soldiers is something he has seen first hand during his previous trips to Europe with the students.
“I will have teenagers who will arrive at the tombs and kneel and leave their letters. And then we have to comfort them because, suddenly, they are overwhelmed with emotion because they look at an age, you know, an 18 -year -old boy, a 19 -year -old boy, a 20 -year -old boy. And are they thinking about how they could do that?”
‘Canada is a nation that is very respected’
Another teacher who took his students to Europe for ceremonies, David McKinney from Parkland High School in North Saanich, BC, said it is not just about the lessons of the past.
He said he hopes that the Dutch perceive how Canadians gives students a greater feeling of patriotism and pride.
“I think it is also very important to remember that Canada is a nation that is highly respected throughout the world. And although lately we have been … intimidated a bit for the school of school, it is important to remember that we are guests of honor of the kingdom of the Netherlands as a nation that heroically helped to free them.”
Jonathan May, one of the 30 students who made the trip, said they are preparing for hugs and celebrations.
“They probably love us more than we love,” May said. “It’s, as, really humiliating.”
“I think it will be something that I will remember for the rest of our lives,” added his classmate, Drishti Balaiah. She, together with other students, created works of art to commemorate individual soldiers who perished in the release of Europe.
“And how incredible it will be to be able to tell my children, you know, I was there for that, the 80th anniversary of Ve Day.”
Students reflect on personal stories of Canadian soldiers who fought during the liberation of the Netherlands in World War II and how the sacrifices of the past allow them to defend freedom today.
