Social studies teachers in the Massapequa School District devoted a day to discussions of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, educating a generation that wasn’t alive when it happened. The history lesson on the 24th anniversary featured many personal anecdotes from teachers who shared their experiences of the day while explaining the impacts on today’s society.
Ames Campus teacher Tara Camilleri, whose ninth graders were mostly born in 2011, had her students take part in the 9/11 Memorial & Museum’s annual Remember the Sky campaign. Inspired by the clear blue sky of Sept. 11, 2001, students briefly went outside and took pictures above with their Chromebook camera. Coincidentally, 24 years later, the sky was just as clear. Back in the classroom, students used their pictures to make simulated social media posts with the tags #neverforget911 and #rememberthesky.
Co-teachers Patti McMahon and Robin Whitton welcomed a guest speaker to two of their classes. Ames security guard Steve Miller was a member of the NYPD’s Emergency Services Unit, responding to the World Trade Center on 9/11 and working there for 39 days in the aftermath. He shared his recollections from the day as well as artifacts including small pieces of steel and glass from the Twin Towers and a dented Pepsi can that was likely part of a time capsule from when the buildings were constructed.
Mr. Miller also showed students a book, “Aftermath,” that included a picture of him at the scene in his NYPD uniform. The American flag bandana he was wearing in that photo was also one of the artifacts he showed.
“There’s a generational responsibility for the young people who weren’t alive at the time to hear from the people who lived it,” Ms. McMahon said. “They’re going to be the closest to the event someday and will have to teach others about it. The idea of humanizing history is important and these are not stories from afar.”
Massapequa ninth graders are currently reading “Ground Zero,” a historical fiction book by Alan Gratz, and will visit the 9/11 Memorial & Museum in Manhattan in November.
At Berner Middle School, seventh grade social studies teacher Maria Casale noted how her Sept. 11 lessons have evolved over the years, as she went from teaching students who also lived through the tragedy, to having students born more than a decade after it occurred. She showed a Nickelodeon video that answered many common questions that children and teens have about the day, discussed the reasons that the different targets were chosen because of what they symbolized, and highlighted the acts of kindness and spirit of unity that followed.
Jennifer Bilich’s lessons spanned the entire week, culminating on Sept. 11 with a hands-on project. Students had the choice of four activities: writing a “dear hero” letter, creating a plan of action to help others, writing a poem, or drawing symbols and pictures to honor first responders on printouts of police and firefighter badges.
Ms. Bilich talked to her seventh graders about the events of Sept. 11, 2001, and showed them several covers of the New Yorker magazine in the weeks and even years after that were about the tragedy.
Curriculum Associate for Social Studies Jason Gelardi said the stories from teachers and staff provided students with a meaningful history lesson. He noted that there aren’t many events in which students can hear first-hand accounts, and it’s those recollections that they will most remember.
“Every year, the social studies department faculty does such a wonderful job educating our students about Sept. 11 through the human element,” he said. “They handle it in such a respectful and solemn manner while still teaching about the events of the day.”