Jay (age 7): Mom, do you believe that the Canadian warriors in Afghanistand (sic) are important?
Me: AfghanisTAN.
Jay: Yah, that’s what I said, Afghanistand. Well do you?
Me: Well, that’s a tricky question. It’s complicated. What do you think?
Jay: Yes. They’re important because they’re making peace. That’s what my teacher said.
Me: If a Canadian soldier kills an Afghani soldier, and that soldier was a daddy, do you think his children would like the Canadian soldier very much?
Jay: No.
Me: So it’s complicated. When you say that they’re fighting for peace, what does that mean?
Jay: I don’t know.
Then we had a discussion about peace and pacifism and fighting and protecting ideals. Now my little daughter is a whole lot less clear than she was when she came home for lunch, but I think that’s appropriate. I don’t think that a subject like war should be simplified, even for second-graders.
team effort 