Friday will be eight years since 9/11. The day itself had begun uneventfully, as was true for most of us as we recall that clear morning.
I was teaching “1984” when Eliot Waxman, who shared the teaching responsibilities in our Advanced Placement class, rushed into the room to announce that a plane had hit the Pentagon. Several of our students had parents who worked at the Pentagon, so nothing about this announcement was an abstraction. Our students feared for the lives of people they loved.
When we turned the televisions onto CNN, we saw flames engulfing the World Trade Center. Additional students were worried about family members. Cell phones — normally banned in school — were taken out and used with our permission. The room was quiet as everyone watched the collapse of the first tower; we couldn’t believe this was really happening. There was no difference between the 17-year-olds and the two teachers in the room in terms of our knowledge or fears. We were all dumbstruck and fearful.
No one was allowed to leave the building because there were rumors that other attacks might occur in the Washington, D.C., area, and the schools felt students were safest staying right where they were. So 58 students spent several hours that day watching television with the two of us, sharing fears, and sharing stories. We learned of one girl’s father, who had arrived at a meeting late, and watched from the Pentagon parking lot as a plane crashed into the exact location of his meeting.
We spent tense moments as another student waited to hear about his grandmother, who was visiting New York and staying in the hotel next to the World Trade Center. She was evacuated safely before the hotel was condemned. One story after another played out in our classroom, and we knew that none of us would ever be quite the same.
9/11 is a high price to pay for a good lesson plan, but Eliot and I knew that when we returned to school on September 13, after a national day of mourning, we would need to put aside business as usual. We designed an activity where students would write down their fears and theories, share them with one another, and speak in small groups about the possible long-term effects on the country. Students appreciated the ability to exchange their stories and debate causes and solutions.
In subsequent years, the purpose of the activity shifted. Our Middle Eastern students shared events after 9/11 that illustrated others’ cruelty and ignorance. Many students exchanged narratives of being left in the dark by teachers who, on that day, had been instructed not to tell them what was happening. Some teachers gave spelling tests and math lessons in misplaced efforts to “protect” their charges from the reality outside school’s cloistered walls.
Although I will not be in the classroom this Friday, I hope some teachers will encourage their students to speak about that day. It was a terrifying time, but we bonded as a result of our shared experience. As long as students remember that day firsthand, there will be a unifying effect in allowing them to exchange their dramatic stories.
Erica Jacobs, whose column appears Wednesday, teaches at George Mason University. Email her at
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WHAT THE KIDS ARE READING
This weekly column will look at lists of books kids are reading in various categories, including grade level, book genre, and data from booksellers. Information on the books below came from Amazon.com’s list of children’s bestsellers.
Books on Sept. 11
1. What Will You Do For Peace? Impact of 9/11 on New York City Youth by Faith Ringgold (Ages 9-12)
2. September 11, 2001 (Cornerstones of Freedom, Second Series) by Andrew Santella (Ages 9-12)
3. 9-11: Aftershocks of the Attack by Jeremy D. Mayer (Teen-Adult)
4. A Pro/Con Look at Homeland Security: Safety vs. Liberty after 9/11 by Kathiann M. Kowalski (Young adult)
5. 9.11.01: Terrorists Attack the U.S. by Patrick Lalley (Ages 9-12)
6. The 9/11 Terror Attacks (Days of Change) by Valerie Bodden (Ages 9-12)
7. Trade Towers/War Clouds (Defeating Terrorism/Developing Dreams: Beyond 9/11 and the Iraq War) by Arthur Shostak (Young adult)
8. September 11 (We the People: Modern America Series) by Mary Englar (Ages 9-12)
9. September 12th: We Knew Everything Would Be All Right by Masterson Elementary School students (Ages 4-8)
10. The Day America Cried by Teri J. Schwartz (Ages 4-8)
