Volume 16 Issue 2
By Sherry Posnick-Goodwin
Billy Gene Coffey of Norman Glick Middle School, Modesto.
Do you remember where you were and what you were doing on Sept. 11, 2001 — the day the world changed forever?
Monica Stewart, a sixth-grade teacher in Palmdale, Los Angeles County, will never forget receiving a phone call from a friend telling her to turn on the television.
“I was pregnant with my oldest son and my friend said, ‘You have to turn on the TV right now, the Twin Towers have been attacked!’ And I said, ‘What?’ And I turned on the TV and watched one of them fall and said, ‘Oh my God.’ It gives me goose bumps now. I was 24 years old. Many older people have compared it to when they heard about the assassination of President Kennedy as a defining moment of their generation where they can remember exactly where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news. For my generation, it was that moment.”
Stewart’s students were just babies when the U.S. suffered the terrorist attack, but as the 10th anniversary approached, she decided to conduct a history lesson on the subject, as did other CTA members around the state.
Conveying the enormity of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon without traumatizing youngsters or making them feel unsafe was a challenge. So was making students connect with a tragedy that occurred when they were babies or before they were born.
“History has a way of repeating itself, and we have to know what happened in the past so we don’t make the same mistakes in the future,” says Stewart, a member of the Palmdale Elementary Teachers Association. “I want them to feel a sense of being an American and to feel American pride at the way we came together.”
The events of 9/11 — which killed approximately 3,000 civilians, sparked wars in the Middle East, changed civil rights in America, and impacted foreign policy, travel and a presidential election — are not included in California’s state standards, although that will likely change during the next revision. Nonetheless, some CTA members felt that, standards or not, the milestone anniversary could not be overlooked.
A glimpse at the victims
Sixth-graders in Monica Stewart’s class at Los Amigos Elementary School have seen stories about the 9/11 anniversary on TV and know people died, but are hazy about details. After being provided with a synopsis of what occurred from their teacher, they still find it hard to fathom that terrorists would intentionally kill thousands of people.
Their teacher doesn’t sugarcoat what happened, but she doesn’t dwell on the gory details, either. Her goal is to teach about 9/11 in a historical, factual way, and then segue into stories of heroism that she hopes will be inspirational to her students, who were babies when 9/11 happened.
The children look at the faces of five “ordinary” people who became heroes that day. All of them died while rescuing others. They include a police officer and a firefighter, workers in the Twin Towers, and a passenger on Flight 93 who tried to retake the plane that many believe was headed for the White House, but instead was brought down in a Pennsylvania field.
“They were just five heroes out of many,” Stewart tells her students. “Their stories are sad, but they are also courageous and inspirational. I’d like you to describe the emotions that come to mind after hearing their stories.”
The youngsters speak in somber voices.
“I feel sad for people who risked their lives to help others,” says Fernando Carbajal. “They wanted to live.”
Isabel Dorn tells classmates that she feels bad for the children whose parents walked into the Towers to rescue others, but never returned.
“Imagine your mom or dad walking in there,” she says. “People risked their lives and died. I would have wanted to help, too.”
Other students tell Stewart they are sad thinking about how difficult it must have been for passengers on the plane to call loved ones and say goodbye, knowing they were about to die.
“We must be thankful and cherish our families every single day,” says Stewart, who asks students whether they also felt inspired to help others after hearing these stories.
Students raise their hands and say yes, they are.
One student, speaking in a soft voice, says that she would like to cook for people in the military. Another says she wants to work with homeless in town. And one student says that despite the danger, learning about 9/11 has reinforced her desire to become a police officer when she grows up so that she can help others.
Next, students write letters to those who are putting their lives on the line to save others, including soldiers at Edwards Air Force Base and rescue workers in the local fire department and sheriff ’s station.
“In your letters, please thank them for their service and willingness to risk their lives for our continued freedom and safety,” says Stewart. “Let them know you appreciate the sacrifices they have made.”
As the youngsters write their letters of appreciation, Stewart says she is glad she made the decision to teach her students about the events of 9/11.
“I was surprised at how engaged they were in the lesson and how much they understood and related to what happened,” she says. “I don’t think it will be a lesson they forget.”
How the world changed
A drawing hangs inside Billy Gene Coffey’s eighth-grade social studies class at Glick Middle School in Modesto showing the Statue of Liberty, tears streaming down her face, in the aftermath of 9/11.
Over the loudspeaker, the principal asks everyone in their classroom to take a moment of silence, to remember the victims of that fateful day. The students and teacher bow their heads. Most were toddlers in 2001 and have no memory of what transpired.
Coffey, a member of the Empire Teachers Association, tells students the disaster happened in New York, but had a worldwide impact, killing citizens of 92 other countries who happened to be working at the World Trade Center.
The events of 9/11 changed the entire world in terms of the way people interact, says Coffey, noting that afterward, Muslims and Middle Easterners were targeted by hate crimes, and they still face discrimination for the actions of a few terrorists. The events of 9/11 also intensified a search for alternative energy sources to lessen dependence on Middle Eastern oil and affected the way people travel throughout the world.
“9/11 was a terrible day, but it was also a day of strangers helping strangers,” concludes Coffey. “I would like each of you to take the opportunity to be courageous, selfless and loving. This day is an opportunity for us to reflect on the things that are really important in our lives.”
A teacher’s personal loss
For Pete Simoncini, teaching about 9/11 is not just another lesson. The topic is deeply personal, this AP history teacher tells students at Oakdale High School during a PowerPoint presentation.
Simoncini served in the U.S. Army for 23 years, and worked at the Pentagon. One of the hijacked planes smashed right into his former office, which he vacated in 1996.
Two summers ago he accompanied students on a field trip to Washington and visited the Pentagon. He saw the name Sergeant Major Larry Strickland on the memorial and realized that his former work buddy died that day.
“When it first happened years ago and I looked at the casualty list, I didn’t notice his name,” says Simoncini, displaying a picture of his friend to students. “I broke down in tears when I saw his name. He was a great guy.”
After 9/11, the U.S. waged war in Afghanistan and Iraq, which also affected him personally.
“My daughter and her husband are soldiers in the U.S. Army. She has served in Iraq, and her husband is now in his second tour in the Middle East. My son is in the Marines and just got back from serving seven months in Afghanistan, where he was shot at every day.”
Simoncini tells his 11th-graders that 9/11 happened a decade ago, but legislative and political ramifications continue. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 resulted in the largest restructuring of U.S. government in contemporary history. The Patriot Act was passed to detect and prosecute terrorism, which some believe poses a threat to American civil liberties and privacy.
“Do you know what a ‘flashbulb memory’ is?” asks the Oakdale Teachers Association member. Students shake their heads no.
“A flashbulb memory is something that always stays with you as a defining moment in your life,” Simoncini says. “I remember Friday, Nov. 22, 1963, when I was on problem 11 of a spelling test. There was a knock on the door, and someone told the teacher President Kennedy was dead. For me, that’s a flashbulb memory.”
His students were in first grade 10 years ago and have their own flashbulb memories of 9/11.
“I remember waking up, and my mom came in and sat on my bed crying,” recalls Austin Jones, 16. “I had to go to school, but she was too upset to go to work that day. She had close friends working in Washington and was really worried about them.”
Liz Erwin, also 16, says she had been to New York shortly before 9/11, and was told that the building with the two towers she had just visited was destroyed.
“I was 6 years old and didn’t understand the repercussions of what was happening,” says Erwin. “I had no idea how important that event was then and how important it would be years later. But now I do understand. I guess you could say that I feel lots of emotions today.”