I was a freshman in high school, two days shy of fourteen
years old, on 9/11/2001. It was probably the scariest day of my life so far and
the memories of the fear and sadness I felt are permanently embedded in my
heart, mind, and soul.
As a teacher for the past three years I had the great
privilege and responsibility to teach my students about September 11th
each year. I looked forward to being able to share such a weighty historical moment
with them. In my head, I was back in high school with my band teacher, bonding
over tragedy, and I thought maybe I would have a similar moment with my
students. I quickly realized, though, that this would not be the case.
A few days before September 11th of my first year
teaching I asked, “How old were you guys on 9/11?”
They thought for a moment and replied, “Second grade.”
Second grade. Only seven or eight years old. How many
headline-news-events do you remember from that age? This would not be the
lesson I played out in my head.
I began class on September 11th with a simple
question, “What do you remember from 9/11/2001?”
Students recalled being in class and their teachers turning
on the televisions (in some schools) and watching, but being a little confused,
as events unfolded. Students who lived closer to the attacks or who had family
affected had stronger memories, but for most students in the small Florida town
where I taught, 9/11 was an event that stuck in their minds, but they didn’t
really understand it. After all, they were so young when it happened and their
teachers and parents tried to shelter and protect them from the evil truth –
that we were a terrorized nation. Later, I showed these students videos to give
them a better idea of what actually happened that day, since that was what they
wanted to know most, and then we learned about the memorials and new buildings
being constructed to remember the attacks. The students then designed their own
memorials and I think they felt a bit more connected to the history.
The second year, my students were even further removed from
the events – they had only been in first grade. They were aware that bad things
were happening on 9/11, but were even more sheltered than my students the year
before. I felt like they were familiar with all the usual footage, so we
watched a great documentary about a handful of the artifacts that have been
donated to the Smithsonian and the people and stories behind them- a cell
phone, part of a plane, a badge, and so on. I asked them, “If you could pick
one object from your life on 9/11/2001 to tell your story from that day, what
would it be?” Many of them mentioned the television, or an object from their
classroom, or a comforting blanket or stuffed animal. Again, I think they felt
more connected to history after this activity. I kept thinking, “They were so
young. So innocent on that day.” My students wanted to hear my story, so I told
them that I chose my clarinet, because I was in marching band class when I
really learned what was going on. I stifled tears, and maybe I had that bonding
moment I was hoping for.
Last year I was almost despairing over what my lesson would
be. Those students were only in kindergarten on 9/11. For the third year in a
row I asked, “What do you remember?” Almost nothing. I noticed that the younger
the students were, the more their memories revolved around the adults in their
lives and how the grown-ups acted. They mostly remember getting to go home
early from school.
Over three years, responses evolved from, “I watched the
news and I was scared because the planes were crashing and the buildings were
falling,” to “I was scared but I didn’t really know why,” and finally, “I saw
that the grown-ups were scared and it was confusing.” The thing that blows my
mind the most is that there was only about an eight year age difference between
me and my students. If I had been teaching this year, I bet those students
would have recalled almost nothing.
It is frustrating from a teacher’s perspective, because the
events of 9/11/2001 mean so much to me and I wish I could truly convey to my
students what that day was like. At the same time, I am so grateful that they
have had nothing to compare it to in their lifetime, yet I fearfully wonder
what this generation’s “9/11” will be. Every age group has its defining
historical moment, whether we like it or not.
So, on this day when Facebook statuses and news headlines
proclaim, “Never Forget!” remember that there are young adults and children
among us who don’t even know and will need us to teach them what happened and
what that day was like, not just to rehash the same footage over and over
again. They will need to the stories and the details in order to feel connected
to the history. They will also need us to support them and to be there for them
during their crisis, though I pray it never comes to that.
