Teaching 9/11 to students who don't remember
On this day last year, the essential question posted in my classroom read: “How has life changed since September 11, 2001?”
My students barely noticed my flag shirt or the sketch of the Twin Towers on the board.
No moment of silence came over the loud speaker. The morning was business as usual. With tight deadlines on mandated curriculum to cover, time dedicated to teaching the tragic events of 9/11 seems to diminish with each passing year.
That only made me more determined to discuss that day with my classes. I played videos of the hijacked airliner crashing into the second tower which every adult has probably watched hundreds of times. For months, the shock and horror of those scenes numbed the country and left people feeling somber and imperiled. The horrendous cleanup effort at Ground Zero lasted for years.
But for today’s elementary and middle school students, September 11 holds little personal meaning.
When I mentioned that my generation would forever remember where we were on that fateful day, some remained unfazed. One student reminded me he was just eight months old then.
Students appeared surprised to learn President Bush was visiting a classroom of elementary school children in Florida that morning. A Secret Service member whispered in his ear as Bush sat at the front of the room.
I described how the loss of more than 3,000 men and women could actually have been worse considering the Wall Street financial firms typically open at 9:30 a.m. Many people had not yet arrived at their offices at 8:46 in the morning. I asked students to imagine the scene of confusion and mixed messages about evacuating the second tower. Without electricity, there would be no elevators, air conditioning or lights.
Some appeared mesmerized by the concept of people racing down seventy flights of dark, hot, smoke-filled stairways while colliding with the brave New York City firefighters climbing up those same steps in heavy gear.
You could hear a pin drop as I described how every plane in US air space was directed to land. Some inbound planes from other countries were forced to turn back. The Stock Exchange remained closed that week as Americans struggled with the devastation and renewed threats of terrorism at home.
Nearby, State Road A1A had been shut down on both ends of Patrick Air Force Base, also in fear of a potential terror strike. The road remained closed for months, inconveniencing many beachside residents.
A few students appeared surprised to learn the Pentagon was also attacked. Maybe they forgot. But we should never forget. Last year, the headlines read “Fading memories worry 9/11 survivors.” One of the bloodiest and saddest days in American history deserves this one day in every classroom across America.
Writer, parent and educator Terri Friedlander can be reached at www.terrifriedlander.com .