Political Correctness vs My Nephew's School

The teachers didn't ask the kids to write about the horrific attempts at genocide, or the politics of a psychopath. It was about the blitz, which I take to mean the intensive air raids where whole cities were reduced to rubble.

If the school had asked a 7 year old to write about innocent families being snatched and sent to concentration camps to die, or mass graves being filled with the people that were forced to dig them before being cut down with machine gun fire, some of whom initially survived the gun shots and were therefore buried alive among their dead comrades, then I think I'd have been a bit outraged. Its stuff kids need to be taught, but not at 7 years old, and thankfully it seems the teachers understand this.

These are tales that need to be told at some point, and kids need to understand the evil capabilities of a few extremely twisted people. More importantly, they need to understand that such evil people can get to power unless good people prevent it, preferably through peaceful means. I also think its important for kids to realise that just because we won the war, doesn't make it a flawless victory.

As I understand it, it was a hell of a struggle, and I give credit not just to the young men that actually fought with guns, but also to all those young and old that were for various reasons not combat worthy enough for the front line, so worked tirelessly to keep the country running, keeping people fed, putting fires out, erecting prefab homes, collecting scrap metal for the ammo factories etc etc etc. There's a lesson there in what can be achieved if people pull together selflessly rather than wanting everything for nothing, and there's another lesson there that people who lived through it, even if they never fought, are worthy of respect.

World history would be very different if the ordinary people of 1930's Germany hadn't succumbed to hitler's brainwashing, and had not elected him to power, and had stopped to consider that what he was saying might just have been wrong. There's a lesson there, that we shouldn't take one side of a story as fact, but should instead look at all angles and use our brains a bit more.

 

I Came through WW2 ,Born 1940. I cant remember much about it. i vaguely remember Gasmasks, Air Raid Shelters, Whistling Bombs, And Baffle Walls outside the close mouth.

The reason i remember Baffle Walls because many a sore face i had running into them ,as a wee yin. :wallbang::wallbang:..

 

Trouble is, Hallowe'en is not exactly a Christian festival but it's definitely British, and British Christians often oppose it.

 

I would say that it is more American than British, we never 'celebrated' Halloween when I was a child, this is all relatively new!!

Val

 

Technically its neither. Its ancient Celtic (Samhain), and the Celts came from mainland Europe.

 

We had a wild time at Hallowe'en, dressing up as ghosts, traipsing about in long black clothes, apple bobbing, playing with candles....

No Trick or Treating, that is definitely American.

 

Nobody remember Mischief Night then?? - trick or treat without the option. (or was that just in Yorkshire?)