Orillia Secondary School

Leanne Young, a teacher and the chair of Canada and World Studies, helps guide and encourages students to remember and participate in commemorative activities. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Young and her students quickly brainstormed unique ways to remember from their own homes.

“One of the student’s ideas was ‘let’s do a walk,’ and so the goal came to be – can we walk 75 kilometers, can we get each student to walk at least one kilometer in honour of remembrance.” Students were joined by their friends and family to go on individual walks around their neighbourhood, all sporting red t-shirts representing Canada.

The walk encouraged students to talk and think about soldiers’ experiences during the war and reflect on why they decided to partake in the Walk to Remember. “It was really nice to have some quiet time and think about all the people who have fought for our country…to take some time out of your day to appreciate what they have done,” said Emma Thomson, a student at Orillia Secondary School who participated in the project.

Several students also used this time to reflect on a previous school trip to France where they visited locations pertinent to Canadian History. “We actually attended the 75^th anniversary of D-Day at Juno… it was one of those days that you will never forget. Doing the Walk to Remember brought you back to that day,” said Paige Hannan, a student at Orillia Secondary School. “It was a really good time to reflect, and you realize how lucky we are to be in the position we are today, because of those events, as terrible as they were.”

“History is about more than learning from a textbook. It is about feeling experiences.”

Young uses these initiatives as a learning tool to help keep her students engaged and motivated. “History is about more than learning from a textbook. It is about feeling experiences. It’s about understanding people's voices, it’s looking at various perspectives, and its understanding that these are human experiences.”

For Young, it’s all about building that special, personal connection. “Placing them in the shoes of what it would have been like to be a soldier during the First or the Second World War is very important for them to feel that empathy and a sense of pride.” The students enjoy the learning environment and as a result have a deeper connection to Canadian History. “I think a lot of young people might think history can be boring, but if you really take the time to learn about it, you’ll realize how important it is,” said Emma Thomson.

“…this event is not just a fictional event that they see in movies or read in a book, these are the experiences of men and women, boys and girls, that were not much older than our students.”

Young’s passion for history is clear in the way she engages with her students. Using accounts and records from the Second World War helps her students understand that many who enlisted were ordinary, young Canadians. “The more primary sources we can use: the letters, the voices of some of these Veterans experiences on the battle field, the more our students will understand that this event is not just a fictional event that they see in movies or read in a book, these are the experiences of men and women, boys and girls, that were not much older than our students.”

And it’s apparent that this style of teaching has had an impact on her students. Student Cameron Pepper sums it up with his message to Canadian Second World War Veterans: “Thank you for your service and sacrifice. Know that you are appreciated, and that you did a great job.”

In honour of the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, Leanne Young and the students at Orillia Secondary School are featured as Faces of Freedom. The school is an example of a new generation of Canadians who continue to commemorate and honour the sacrifices of Canadian Veterans, both past and present.

You can also hear their story first hand by listening to their episode of our Faces of Freedom podcast.

More Faces of Freedom