Remember 11.11.23
The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month marks the signing of the Armistice, on 11th November 1918, to signal the end of World War One.
WWI
At 11am, a two minute silence is observed at war memorials and other public spaces across the UK.
The First Two Minute Silence in London (11th November 1919) as reported in the Manchester Guardian, 12th November 1919.
'The first stroke of eleven produced a magical effect.
The tram cars glided into stillness, motors ceased to cough and fume, and stopped dead, and the mighty-limbed dray horses hunched back upon their loads and stopped also, seeming to do it of their own volition.
Someone took off his hat, and with a nervous hesitancy the rest of the men bowed their heads also. Here and there an old soldier could be detected slipping unconsciously into the posture of 'attention'. An elderly woman, not far away, wiped her eyes, and the man beside her looked white and stern. Everyone stood very still ... The hush deepened. It had spread over the whole city and become so pronounced as to impress one with a sense of audibility. It was a silence which was almost pain ... And the spirit of memory brooded over it all.'
World War II:
And in a 1948 speech, Winston Churchill said, “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” No matter the origin, the sentiments are eternal.
Condemned, doomed- both are synonyms for “wrong,” “reprehensible,” “Evil”
Learn. Remember. (or not).
List of wars from 1945 to 1989
Israel, the Middle East… The List goes on. The effects are nearly identical from, Historic Shell Shock to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. PTSD
2023 United States
Education. Multiple sources have deemed todays children are in Crisis.
“for youth in the United States, leading to a mental health crisis as declared by the United States surgeon general just over a year ago. But U.S. children and teens have been suffering for far longer.” APA January 1, 2023
Factors such as homework, social life, perceived parental pressure, university applications, and never-ending workloads all generate stress;
This, on top of growing concerns about social media, mass violence, natural disasters, climate change, and political polarization—not to mention the normal ups and downs of childhood and adolescence—can feel insurmountable for those who work with kids.
Not to mention a pandemic.
Much has been said about the pandemic's effects on kids' mental health. And while that's true, the pandemic added to problems that have long existed, said Joseph Feinglass, a research professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, in Chicago.
in fact, suicide is now the leading cause of death for 13- and 14-year-olds in the United States, said senior researcher Dr. Sarah Wood, a professor of pediatrics at Florida Atlantic University's Schmidt College of Medicine. US
November 11, 2023
As part of I.School. I would encourage silent reflection. Two minutes, half-hour, an Hour, A Day of Silence.
No, you students were not around for WWI or II. Neither was I. I was born in 1968: Vietnam War's Tet Offensive, riots in Washington, DC, the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1968, and heightened social unrest over the Vietnam War, values, and race.
Most Recognized wars have not been on US soil. Who remembers the Civil War? Nope. 9-11 is the nearest in time. 22 years ago.
Today’s students are all post 9-11. War, riots in DC, landmark Supreme Court decision, protests against systemic racism, values, and education. So, as things change- so painfully similar, in systemic ways.
Of course I have no authority, no power to change laws (remember, I’m the loser teacher ;)
However, This Remembrance Day, I will honor all students. All Students. Honestly, I think about you Every Day! But today is more of a lesson.
At Least, please remember to take a moment and well, remember anyone you know who has lived through school shootings; or who have thought about suicide, or have taken their own life. Make it personal. Wear white, black, an armband, or a poppy. Just surgestions. Don’t be pushy or disrespectful especially to veterans- many are in pain. Like you.
Remember what you precious students have already lived through. You are not alone.
One for you. One for me.