A timer to remember

This week we began our time of remembrance in school as we move towards our whole school assembly next week, when we will be focusing on the reasons behind the poppy appeal. 

Remembrance is a key aspect of life, it is a part of who we are and also it can help to define what we seek to become. There are so many things that are or have been important to us in our lives. People who have loved us, cared for us, inspired us, challenged us or nurtured us. Places and events that have brought special experiences into our lives.  But remembrance is more than just an individual thing, it is also a communal thing, something that can unite us as a community, something that reminds us of the importance of such things as national, religious or cultural identity. Remembrance can be a unifying force that enables us to all be grateful for the service, contribution and sacrifice of others.

In this sense the poppy speaks a thousand words. It speaks both of our history, our present and our future. It unites us in a sense of what is right and wrong, what it truly means to ‘lay down a life for a friend’. It reminds us that the contribution of an individual has a wider impact than just their family and friends, that in some way all of our actions matter and contribute to the greater good.

I am always very moved by the moment of silence that we take in school to remember all those who have given so much for our country and our way of life, but also at that time I am always drawn to my own memories of those who have given me so much. The two together define so much of who I am and who we are as a community.

In assembly this week I was encouraging the KS2 children to consider how important remembering is as well as what the impact of not remembering can be. I used the illustration of the time when I was at university and forgot my Mother’s birthday. By some coincidence I decided to call home on that day. The response on the phone told me something was wrong. Maybe I could have redeemed myself if the purpose of the call had been to share birthday wishes. But the complete ignorance that I communicated to my mother in the first few minutes of the conversation, only sought to make the situation worse.

My point to the KS2 children is that forgetting is the opposite to remembrance. It devalues what has been given or who people are to us. The challenge with the poppy is that at times it ‘remembers’ people who we never knew or still don’t know. However it is important that we still remember what those people have given to us. As the words of the famous poem ‘In Flanders field’  says

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

In our act of remembrance we seek to ‘hold the torch high’ to not forget and as a community to seek to be the lights that we are called to be.

May next week encourage us all to remember, to reflect and to be thankful for everyone who has made a difference in our lives, known or unknown.