Weekend addition

I’m normally not going to blog on the weekend but my hour-and-a-half drive with my son Angus today led me to post this.

Angus is in grade 8 and he is studying WWII in social studies. We spent the drive talking about the Canadian contribution to the war effort.

His late grandfather, Jack Morgan fought in the Battle of the Atlantic as a signal officer in the RCN and was an officer on a Bangor Class Minesweeper clearing mines ahead of the assault on Omaha Beach. His great-uncle, George Slipp, dropped with the Canadian Airborne on D-Day.

Our conversation came as the result of his viewing of the film, WWII in Colour, a remarkable collection of colourized footage. It’s not new, but is certainly worth exploring as it’s available on YouTube.

As anyone with children knows, YouTube is quickly becoming the default source of information and entertainment for kids born after 1995. His teacher’s use of this resource in class is a great example using the Internet to give valuable access to important teaching tools.

While on Maritime Morning, I spent a considerable amount of time talking about education in Nova Scotia and at times was critical of the efficacy of the curriculum. I have always believed our teachers in Nova Scotia need better tools online to prepare our kids.

Kudos to his Social Studies teacher at for recognizing this excellent resource which allows kids to explore important material at home.

When we got home we spent the better part of an hour watching the episode on the war in the Pacific and talking about its impact. It’s great quality time and beats the hell out of looking at Vines.

If you would like to check out The Second World War in Colour video below .

If you’d like to read more thoughtful exploration of education in Nova Scotia and beyond, please visit the blog of Paul Bennett at Schoolhouse Consulting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4gLURNf_h4