My All School 9-11 Announcement

I was recently asked to read the school announcement recognizing 9-11.  I began writing something pretty historical but after reading through the first paragraph I realized that it was not what I was looking for.  So I focused on the idea that most of the students who would hear it do not have vivid memories of 9-11.

I remembered my parents talking to me about their connections to history.  I know where my parents were when JFK was shot.  I could tell you every one of the my father's stories of Vietnam.  Though they were not frequent, they carried a weight that made my mind record them verbatim.  I remember their faces as they told them.  I could see the truth of the experience in their eyes and hear the cracking in their voices as they spoke.  

I have not yet decided how I will be teaching 9-11. I keep weighing the best way to address it and explain its unique place in American History.  What became clear to me was that it had to begin with the students looking into the eyes of their parents and loved ones and listening. Then I wrote this:

   

Ten years ago, Americans woke and began their daily routines.  They were little aware at the time, that September 11^th, 2001 would become a turning point in American History.   The attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the plane crash in Pennsylvania resulted in the loss of 2,977 lives.  Since 2001 we as Americans have tried to make sense of this tragedy. 

The results of 9-11 are many; changes in the basic structure of our government, severe economic challenges, and the important debate about the balance between our individual rights and our desire to be safe.  While you may have been very young when these events happened, they affect you deeply whether you remember them or not. 

So this weekend, as our country recalls this tragedy, ask those who are close to you the true meaning of these events and how the world changed for them.  Understanding their answers is key to understanding the world in which you live.