I had to bollock a couple of younger work colleagues for giggling during the two minutes (afterwards of course).
I also had to put them right that it was NOT some Americanism brought over here like "trick-or-treating"
What the hell do they teach kids nowadays?
That makes me so sad (the giggling, not the fact that you bollocked them!)
I work as a member of the support staff for a local high school/sixth form college, and the Remembrance Service there is an important part of the yearly calendar. Pupils sell poppies in the school for a few weeks beforehand. Two year groups from years 7 - 9 attend. Representatives from the local Royal British Legion also attend, together with local Normandy veterans. Past members of school staff, and representatives from local churches are also invited, although it is not a 'religious' service , but very much a service to honour and remember. During the year there is a school trip to Ypres, organised by the Humanities department. The children who go on this trip are encouraged to produce poetry, prose, art-work, musical compositions, presentations etc., about their visit and how it affected them. They are also encouraged to show and present these to other pupils. Some of these works are then selected for the Remembrance Day Assembly. I am always touched by the work that the pupils produce.
We have an international partnership with a school in Germany, and staff and pupils from that school attend every year and also take part in the service, with their own poems, readings and other work.
There is also considerable time spent in lessons on the subject of wars, their history, the sacrifices made by so many, and the importance of forging links with other countries and cultures to look to the future. Visiting speakers who are refugees displaced from their own country by war and conflict also visit the school during the year to give presentations to pupils.
Because of the date of 11/11/11 this year, the theme for the lesson study was 'numbers', looking at war from the viewpoint of numbers, - eg: the number of casualties and then extending that to realise that every 'one' of those numbers was a real person, and what that really means.
It is always a moving service, and the whole school honours the 11.00 o'clock silence, (after a member of the school orchestra plays the Last Post,) whether in the assembly, or in normal lessons.
The highlight for me this year was after the service when four of our pupils, who are members of the youth ATC, formed a guard of honour as the veterans left the assembly. One of the veterans saw them, stopped, straightened up, and saluted them, and they returned the salute - definitely a lump in the throat moment!
Like everyone else I moan about my job sometimes, but at times like this I am as proud of those kids as if they were my own!
I don't suppose this is the norm in schools nowadays? Perhaps it should be...