If it wasn’t for Facebook or Twitter, I wouldn’t have any idea what is going on in the world! Having said that, I read about a Remembrance Day Service being cancelled in Catholic school in Ottawa.
The reason given is because replicas of war-items are brought in from the local museum. From what I can gather, the event has been happening for 20 years and the students look forward to it every year. Can you imagine being able to look at and touch replica items, and interact with and learn directly from veterans about their experiences and the tools they had at their disposal, while defending our Rights?
I was fortunate to get both of my grandfathers back from WWII…some of my friends weren’t so lucky. One of my grandfathers retired at the age of 75, moved across England and went to university. One of his courses was History of War, and he happened to be taking it on the 50th anniversary of WWII. Basically, the professor (who was about 40 years old) just sat back and let my grandfather talk about his experiences in WWII…can you imagine the learnings those university students took from that class, hearing it first-hand??!!!
Thankfully the reporter included part of the School Board Weapons Policy in the article as well. Some questions are circling around in my brain after reading this article and the Policy.
- If “any knife” is not allowed on school property, are there cafeterias in any of the schools in this school board? Are knives available in these cafeterias?
- “Any device which can propel a projectile, i.e., slingshot, compound bow, crossbow, paintball gun, etc.;” Does this include elastic bands, hair elastics, bras (you have to get creative with this but it can be used as a slingshot), etc? I remember other kids using elastic bands to shoot paper across rooms, when I was a kid.
- “Any explosive device or the materials used for making an explosive device.” Does this include fertilizer that may be stored onsite by Maintenance? If I’ve learnt anything from CSI, one can use fertilizer to create a bomb.
- Is this a brand new Policy? If not, why is this event an issue now?
- I wonder if all the textbooks and library books in the school have also been checked for war-items because perhaps a picture might not be acceptable either.
- Do any schools in this school board go on field trips to the museums that have any of these war-items on display, including the museums they receive the replicas from for this event?
It seems to me that the School Board has covered their due diligence by stating “any unauthorized person…” in the beginning of the Policy:
“The Board shall not tolerate the use, threat of use, or possession of weapons or replicas thereof by any unauthorized person on its property or in buildings or at Board-sponsored activities. The Board shall not tolerate the presence of weapons or replicas thereof in lockers, schoolbags, handbags, vehicles,or in any other place on its property.”
Give these amazing Veterans written “authorization”, send home permission forms for each student, and let these kids learn about something they hopefully NEVER HAVE TO EXPERIENCE FIRST HAND.
Must be nice to have the freedom to discuss this type of issue, rather than have to worry about whether we’ll be killed by a landmine on our way home from school or work.
Lest We Forget
I'm A Mom Too 