Today, April 25, is ANZAC Day. You probably do not know what this means, so let me explain.
April 25 is the day when Australians, New Zealanders and various other peoples associated with a remembrance of the efforts of the armed services of those countries pause to celebrate the memory of fallen comrades.
Personally, I have a great recollection of this day. I spent many years in Australia when I was young and I have distinct memories of mandatory school appearances at ANZAC Day events that took place at the Shrine of Remembrance on St. Kilda Road in Melbourne. Drilling soldiers and bagpipes haunt my recollections of that day very vividly. I will never forget the stories of the soldiers that fought at Tobruk, Gallipolis and other sites around the globe, all permanently etched into the consciousness of every Australian.
Australia has a rich history, but as a still young country, it is not a long history. So Australian children learn many of the same stories from that history every year in school. As a result, most Australians know their own history very, very well.
Would that the same could be said in the United States.
One need only spend a few moments watching Jay Leno interview average people on the street to get a very clear and accurate idea of just how poorly many Americans do know and understand the history of this great nation.
And far too many Americans underestimate the importance of history in their lives. How many times have you heard some young person complain that history is boring? Well, it is not. But far too many of us are taught that it is by time spent in the presence only of adults who undervalue it’s importance and are mostly ignorant of it themselves. A great and creative teacher can, of course, counteract this problem. But today, teachers in most schools are under the gun so forcibly to meet standards (imposed by the state or federal governments) that too often focus only on Reading and Math, that there is precious little time left to devote to a proper look at History.
In lieu of a gifted teacher, or large amounts of time spent in classrooms, a talented school assembly performer can often help to rectify the problem.
Skilled in story telling, and in mesmerizing children through professional performance techniques, a gifted school assembly performer can bring history to life in such a vivid and exciting manner that it will be forever embedded in the mind of a child. Forty five minutes in the presence of Abraham Lincoln or Ben Franklin or Thomas Edison can easily impress a child far beyond what is possible by a good teacher in weeks of classroom time, and the impressions will last and last.
So as we approach the end of this school year, and as you search for great assembly ideas for 2012-2013, please pause to remember those who have gone before, and give a thought to the impact on your children of the choices you are making. A magician or a clown may be fun, but a character from history, while just as much fun, will have a lasting effect of the future.
