Chad Denis, a social studies teacher at Old Orchard Beach High School in Old Orchard Beach, Maine, is one of many educators around the country who is designing Sept. 11 remembrance lessons. Photo Credit: Portland Press Herald
Today marks the 21st anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, and once again educators all over the country are contemplating what is the best approach to teaching about this enormous historic event in their classrooms.
For example, Chad Denis, who teaches government and history at Old Orchard Beach High School in Maine, was just hours into his first day of student teaching at Brewer High School when the nation came under attack on Sept. 11, 2001. He was already understandably nervous, but the events of the day set everyone on edge. Thinking back to that day, Chad said he didn’t fully understand the magnitude of what was happening until he went home that night. “I don’t think it hit the kids, either,” he said. “In 2001, kids didn’t have phones. They weren’t pulling up all that information on Twitter.”
Years later, Chad’s classroom is full of young before who hadn’t even been born yet when Sept. 11 events occurred. Every year, when the anniversary of the terror attacks comes around, he and professional educators around the country how best to instruct their students about what was an unforgettable personal experience, and also a catastrophic historic event for the nation.
Some schools continue to hold a moment of silence on the morning of Sept. 11. Chad often prepares a lesson that includes showing videos of Sept. 11 events. He also leads a discussion about how the terror attacks changed foreign policy.
Often, teachers approach the topic by sharing with students where they were when it happened and giving an overview of the events and the aftermath. They compare Sept. 11 to Pearl Harbor and talk about how both events changed the course of history in the United States. And, of course, many teachers include a message against harassment of the Muslim or Middle Eastern community, with the goal of preventing prejudice or misdirected anger.
Every teacher and every school community approaches a remembrance of Sept. 11 in their own way. And it is appropriate and necessary that we do this. Despite the personal cost at reliving the events of that tragic day, it’s important to continue to acknowledge what happened. We must remember the historic events that happened on Sept. 11, recognize the many acts of heroism that were displayed at the time, and, more importantly, honor the lives that were los that day.
