Just to support the other teachers here, I am also an ex-reservist with an interest in military history. It all depends on the teacher. I have a Spitfire model hanging in my classroom and for DEAR (drop everything and read) times I have a good selection of books on military history topics (not just WW1, WW2, but W of 1812, 7 Years War, etc). There are a few other odds and ends in the classroom that always bring up questions about Canadian military history which I answer for anxious ears with many stories and anecdotes.
Language Arts reading and writing assignments can have various topics. For example, we did a shared reading week on the the Berlin Wall that included aspects of WW2 the kids loved. There are interdisciplinary projects, current event themes, social studies themes that can all be very flexible with the topic according to the teacher's interest. But it does depend on the teacher, and not a lot of teachers have the background in military history. This is not necessarily the fault of the teacher (the majority of teachers in Elementary school are women, sometimes 10 to 1, who usually don't show an interest in this area), but even the universities, particularly the history programs, have few courses in Canadian military history, if any at all (unless you are at RMC
. In university Canadian history courses are often survey courses with specialization in certain areas through essays and seminars chosen by the student. Again, if you have an interest in the military, you may choose a specialization. And then how many of these students in university that choose a Canadian Military history specialization become teachers?
And how many high school or elementary students are interested in military history given the choice? I recall a weekend field trip we took to Ottawa a few years ago when I was in high school. The War Museum (the old one) was on the list of things to see. But a majority of the students on the trip (almost all the girls) voted to change the plans to include a trip to several of the large malls instead. The teacher, who was a good history teacher, went with the majority, unfortunately.
Now, however, with Afghanistan and the number of casualties there may be more interest.