Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 8881
Post from the teachers husband
11/8/2019 at 9:12 PM
'Mitch Obach
Over the past day and a half hundreds upon hundreds of people have called for my wife to be fired. They have phoned the school or division office, emailed or posted on social media. This stems from a falsehood tweeted by Cyara Bird stating Kendra demanded students wear “Rainbow Poppies” at the SCI remembrance service. Ironically this tweet went viral, as did Anna Slatz’s pseudo-journalistic article in the Post Millennial (think Rebel News with fewer followers) before Kendra had even heard of Rainbow Poppies. Fortunately, real journalists have been diligent in setting the record straight and those in the school and community have been quick to show her their support. Kendra never demanded students wear rainbow poppies, their was not class discussion regarding rainbow poppies, she had in fact never even heard of rainbow poppies. I’m a sure that apologies from Bird and Slatz are on their way…
But enough about what Kendra didn’t do that has made her infamous among social media haters, I’d like to let people know what Kendra actually does each year for Remembrance in our community. She has her fingerprints on not one, not two, but three different services in the Interlake, dedicating a considerable amount of her personal time and effort to each because she believes it is the right thing to do. I guess these are the values she is pushing on people and should be fired for.
At Stonewall Collegiate she is the lead teacher on the Remembrance Day service, which takes place the final day of classes prior to the 11th. Each year she collaborates with interested students to create a unique program that includes choir and band performance, speeches, poetry, multimedia, dramatic performance and concludes with a traditional service components such as the Last Post, and a moment of silence, etc. These services are educational and moving and students are reverent in attendance. This year she also secured a service member as a guest speaker. While music for the choir (different each year) is selected months in advance and songs are rehearsed in class, as are any speeches and dramatic elements in drama class, much of the planning and preparation is completed on Kendra’s personal time. The final result is a poignant service with students presenting to students in somber attire and red Legion poppies, not because she demands that of them, but because these mature student participants respect the significance of the occasion.
That is only one of the services Kendra is involved with, as the choir director at Warren Collegiate as well she also choses and studies music with them and while she is not able to be in two places at once, she prepares recorded accompaniment and anything else this assemblage requires to contribute to their school’s service.
Finally, for years now, as conductor of the Selkirk Community Choir Kendra looks after the musical program for the Selkirk service every November 11th at the Rec Centre. She selects music in the summer and the ensemble of over 40 adults rehearses selections to contribute to our community’s service. Kendra is often the first to arrive to set up sound in an arena space not designed for the required acoustics, and while the hockey ice affects the temperature of all attending, it is often during the choir’s pieces that chills or goose bumps are most felt by attendees.
So many people seem to have the time to criticize Kendra on social media, or on the phone to the school, but I doubt many put in the time to preserve the memory of those that served that she does. To those of you that chose hate, or chose to use Remembrance Day to push your political agenda I would ask you to stop. Remembrance Day exists to honour the sacrifice, heroism and loss of greater Canadians that any of us. It is not a pulpit for politics, but a time for the preserving history for future generations. As you have all this free time, why not connect with your local Legion and volunteer at their service, and if you have experience and context to add to our history please be in touch with schools in your neighborhood to see how you can further community knowledge. They would be happy to have you. If nothing else please attend a service on November 11th.
And if all that is too much to ask, at very least, log off your social media on Monday and spend some quiet time reflecting on why we have Remembrance Day.'