All teachers shape the skills and capabilities of the students in their charge.
But you as history teachers take on the extra and essential mission of giving our youth a collective memory. Last April in France, I was privileged to take part in the eightieth anniversary celebrations of the battle of Vimy Ridge. The French Minister of Veterans Affairs spoke eloquently about the Canadian breakthrough at Vimy, and what it meant for our country, for France, and for freedom. He praised the anniversary ceremonies because, as he put it, a country with no memory has no future. Then I came home, and found myself reading news reports about a survey of historical knowledge among young Canadians.