25 Years Later, Are We Forgetting?
By Keeley Rissman
September 11th, 2001 — A day impossible to forget. Americans across the country watched in horror, whether through their television screens or with their own eyes, as the sense of security their country once felt began to crumble. The familiar saying is “Never Forget,” but as time passes, the number of Americans alive to remember the day will diminish. Educators will explain the day in historical terms, lacking depth that fully captures the emotional experience. Even today, although many people remain alive to attest to the day’s events, many students feel that they don’t know more than the most basic account of what happened on September 11th, 2001.
For the younger generation, there is no terrifying memory of that day, loved ones lost, or fear experienced firsthand. This is where the role of adults, especially educators, should come into play. Many educators, understandably, focus on formality and age-appropriateness when discussing such a sensitive subject. However, in an effort to avoid unsettling students or worrying parents, these lectures often become repetitive and lack depth, including only basic information and a steady death toll. While sensitivity is important, reducing 9/11 to a mere history lesson prevents students from understanding the true impact of the day.
As a high school student, I have been taught about 9/11 throughout my elementary and middle school years. Each lesson felt familiar: a repetitive lecture that hardly extended beyond basic facts. It was only freshman year that I began learning beyond the death toll and gained a new sense of understanding of what September 11th meant to those who experienced it, and how it changed the world’s perspective. Although being age-appropriate is important when discussing a sensitive topic, there are many aspects of the day and its lasting influence that can be introduced early and would benefit students’ understanding.
It’s important for teachers to share their individual experiences as well. Data collected by Pew Research Center shows 93% of those 30 and older say they remember exactly where they were on September 11, 2001. This additional perspective would help students to see different sides of a story that affected so many people. After interviewing an educator at my school, I learned more about the public’s reactions to tragedy in our country. Nease teacher, Holly Bourquin said she wants the younger generation to think about September 12th. “On September 12th, everyone woke up as one nation, and that was a powerful feeling, and we were all on the same side momentarily. And that is something that our current political climate seems to have forgotten.”
Students want to know more about 9/11/2001. They shouldn’t be shielded from emotion. They don’t have the same vivid memories as those that were alive to experience the day, meaning that how they are approached with the topic is more important than anything. In light of the 25th anniversary of the day, action in education must be made if 9/11 is to be remembered for what it wholly was — “Terrifying, stressful, and Life-altering (Bourquin).”
Sources:
Bourquin, Holly. “9/11 Teacher Interview.” 6 Oct. 2023.
Chris Benson. “Teaching Tragedy: How the 9/11 Attacks Are Taught in Schools.” The Daily Item, 11 Sept. 2022, https://www.dailyitem.com/news/teaching-tragedy-how-the-9-11-attacks-are-taught-in-schools/article_9c0293f8-308d-11ed-87d3-2f546fd7d481.html.
Hartig, Hannah, and Carroll Doherty. “Two Decades Later, the Enduring Legacy Of 9/11.” Pew Research Center, 2 Sept. 2021, https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2021/09/02/two-decades-later-the-enduring-legacy-of-9-11/.
Turner, Cory, and Sarah McCammon. “How to Talk About 9/11 With a New Generation of Kids.” NPR.Org, 9 Sept. 2021, https://www.npr.org/2021/09/09/1035454983/how-to-talk-about-9-11-with-a-new-generation-of-kids.
