Sunday, September 11, 2016

Never Forget: Teaching 9/11 in the Classroom

It was 8:46 AM ET on September 11, 2001. I was sitting in the library as a 5th grader at New Boston Elementary School reading a book when a woman walked into the library and announced that a plane had just flew into the North tower of the World Trade Center. Our librarian immediately turned on the TV and allowed us to watch the events unfold right before of our eyes. By 9:03 AM ET the second plane had crashed into the South tower of the WTC and at that point everyone had realized that we were witnessing a devastating terrorist attack. As a 5th grader I was struck with one important question...why? Why in the world would someone fly a plane into a building? Why would someone intentionally try to kill other people? 

All of us have similar stories about "what we were doing when 9/11 happened" and our stories are intertwined with the moments we have lived as a result of this tragic day for the past 15 years. What's interesting is seeing how the conversations differ between those that lived this history and those that only read about it in textbooks or hear about it from the people that lived it. Of course I am talking about the young millennials (or Generation iY as I have heard it described), many of which were not even alive during the time of the attacks. My current 7th grade students were born two years after the attacks occurred, making it a much different experience and understanding of the events that transpired. 

There are many reasons to discuss the tragic events of 9/11 but I have highlighted a few key ways I have attempted to make it meaningful and powerful for my students.

1. Tell your story

  • I think it's important for kids to hear your version of the story and how you witnessed the events taking place. Every year I begin by telling kids my interpretation of the events and they seem to really become engaged...especially when I let me know I was only in 5th grade at the time. The questions I asked are usually similar to the types of questions they have right now. 
2. Tell their stories
  • This is probably the most important aspect of my focus on 9/11. I usually show parts of the History Channel documentary "102 Minutes that Changed America" in an attempt to show the students a real version of the events that took place. I warn them in advance of the possible disturbing content in the documentary, especially the parts where you can clearly see people jumping/falling from the WTC towers. This always shocks my students, typically because it may be the first time that they had heard or seen anything about this. We have a discussion about the reasons why those people decided to jump, knowing fully that they were going to die. This part in particular usually brings tears to the eyes of my students as well as myself. 
3. Allow time for reflection
  • Finally, much like in our day to day classroom, I allow students part of the class period to devote to reflection. Every year I am amazed at the conversations students generate during the documentary and after it is over. Surprisingly it has been a time to incorporate all content areas as well, discussing trajectories and speed of the planes, heat and its affects on building structures, etc... Every class I take a step back and just listen to these students bring new insights into an event that I lived through and have "remembered" for the last 15 years. It is truly amazing to listen to these students discuss an event that truly is history to them. 

The topic of 9/11 is never an easy one to discuss but it is a necessary one. It is necessary to discuss the sacrifices of hundreds of emergency personnel including firefighters, police officers, EMS workers, etc... It is necessary to discuss the multitude of decisions that were made during the 102 minutes from the time the first tower was hit until the time that tower collapsed. It is necessary to discuss how the events that took place have a profound impact on who we are today as a country and the steps we have taken to make our country safer. Most importantly, it is necessary to discuss how for at least one moment the United States was not a country of Republicans or Democrats, liberals or conservatives, black, white, or Hispanic Americans, but one country...united under a common purpose. 

If you have any other ideas/lessons/resources that you use to teach 9/11 and are willing to share please do so below in the comments. I would love to hear how you incorporate 9/11 into your curriculum. 

Until next time, Be A Light!
-Derek