Students in the Grade 10 cross-curricular English/Canadian history travel education course at Trinity College School hit the road for a weekend exploration of our nation’s capital, December 2nd to 4th. While the group is excitedly preparing for its 11-day journey in Europe, taking place over the March Break, the Ottawa trip provides a chance to bond as a group and to take in many homegrown sites related to the course curriculum.
The trip began Friday evening, with dinner and a walk around Byward Market. Founded by Lt-Col. John By in 1826, it is one of the country’s oldest and largest public markets. The Byward Market website notes, “The legendary builder of the Rideau Canal, Lt-Col. By himself laid out the street plan of the market, designating George and York Streets to be extra wide to accommodate the horse-drawn carriages that brought foodstuffs to the market every day.” Today the Byward Market is home to hundreds of vendors and shops and was a great home base for the TCS crew at meal times.
An evening walking tour was postponed due to rain, so the group headed back to the hotel early to rest up for an 8:30 a.m. wake up call the following day.
Saturday was a full, busy day, with two busloads of students embarking on separate itineraries (with the groups meant to “swap” locations in the afternoon). The first group was off to the Canadian War Museum. Armed with a makeshift scavenger hunt as they arrived, the students spent the next 90 minutes exploring the various exhibits and discovered such artifacts as a TCS cadet uniform from the First World War era, Adolf Hitler’s bullet-riddled car, a unique UN vehicle as well as some directed questions about a variety of battles and sites they will visit in March.
At the same time, the second bus was off to Beechwood Cemetery. While it may seem odd to visit a Canadian cemetery as part of our itinerary, Beechwood is a great jumping-off point for a number of important TCS and Canadian stories. Beechwood Cemetery is the home of the Canadian National Military Cemetery and a visit to this section gave the students a small glimpse of the type of military cemetery they will see in Europe. Also buried at Beechwood is Archibald Lampman, who was the head prefect at TCS in 1879. Lampman is best known for some of his nature poetry. Indeed, the Canadian Encyclopedia notes: “He has been described as ‘the Canadian Keats;’ and he is perhaps the most outstanding exponent of the Canadian school of nature poets.” The students spent some time reflecting on Lampman and read his poem, “In Beechwood Cemetery.” There were two other visits in Beechwood, too. Having just completed the First World War unit, the students understood the associated history as the group visited Sir Robert Borden’s grave. Borden’s legacy is important. He led the country through World War I, introduced conscription and gave some women the right to vote. Students came away with an understanding of the contentiousness of Borden’s role in suffrage. And just beside Borden’s grave is a small pagoda that covers the grave of Tommy Douglas, one of Canada’s most important politicians. It was Tommy Douglas who led Canada to universal health care and his fight for this program is what led him to be named the “Greatest Canadian” in 2004.
Both groups returned for lunch in the Byward Market before setting out for an afternoon of visiting. While the groups were meant to swap sites in the afternoon, the weather forced the chaperones to call a small audible. While the second group did head into the Canadian War Museum, the schedule was adjusted for group one, and took them to the Canadian Museum of History, where they were able to check out a floor dedicated to Indigenous history and another that tracks Canadian history through the years. Many also spent time in the special exhibit, looking at “lost” children’s shows that were once mainstream.
The group had about an hour in the evening to freshen up before the group headed to dinner and the movies. Students picked from a number of restaurants around the theatre and then moved inside the Scotiabank Theatre for a movie.
Sunday morning was intentionally lazy. The students slept in and then grabbed breakfast in the morning before heading out for a short tour to see some of the central sites around downtown Ottawa. The group visited the monument dedicated to the Famous Five and the Persons Case, an important Canadian event that impacted the lives of Canadian women forever. From there, the group stopped at the National War Memorial and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. After a few minutes to look around, the group skipped across the road to the Canadian Parliament buildings before heading back to the market for a final lunch in Ottawa.
This was the largest group, by far, to undertake the joint travel education course, and throughout the journey showed their respect and diligence. As teachers, Ms. Barb Brough and I are excited about the prospect of travelling with them in Europe in March.
- By David Ingram, social sciences department
