Most students of this generation, from kindergartners all the way up to college students, were not even born when 9/11 happened.
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – For people who were school-age the day of the September 11th attacks 2001, many can remember vividly what happened that day in their classroom. But most students of this generation, from kindergartners all the way up to college students, were not even born yet. It can present teachers with the challenge of making students feel a connection to that defining day in our nation’s history. “Today, we are going to begin talking about September 11th. This year is the 20th anniversary,” Stephanie Hernandez announced to her class. “They know the gist of it,” she explained. “They know how Twin Towers fell, and the buildings collapsed, and many people passed. But they don’t know exactly why it happened, or what caused it to happen, and how it affected us as a nation.” For her 11 and 12-year-old students,9/11 is not a current event. It is a textbook history lesson. “I think, at first, they’re a little bit apathetic, because they think ‘oh we’ve already learned about this. Why do we need to continue learning about this?’ As I’ve begun talking to them, I think they have been able to understand why it’s important and gain a little bit more feeling toward the subject,” Hernandez says.
