In response to nycchic_24's 9/11 post...especially for nyc teachers.LONG!!

I just want to say first of all that I agree what Noreen said that you should have a choice of where you want to be that day. For alot of people even if you were not in the immediate area it is a terrible day to have to live through and if an individual feels more comfortable at home or not taking a particular training class ( like Noreens Hubby) i can totally understand that.
In addition to that I wanted to put my $0.2 in as a nyc teacher i asked my Ap last week if we are doign anything with the children ( 6,7,8 graders) for 9/11. The response I got was a bit disturbing b/c i was in fact two blocks away and was actually stuck downtown for quite a few hours on that day. i was told that 9/11 affected the adults more than the children (i agree to a point)and that to bring it up is like bringing up an event in history that happened ages ago. I disaggree b/c it was only TWO years ago and thse children were then in 4, 5 and 6th grade and i think they will have more memories of it than some adults may think. My school is basically ignoring the whole day and we were told to have bisiness as usual.
Just curious on what your opinions are on this and if any teachers can share what they were told to do or if they got the same advice.

My thoughts are with anyone who was there or who has lost smeone on that terrible day.

Re: In response to nycchic_24's 9/11 post...especially for nyc teachers.LONG!!

My school has not mentioned 9/11 at all yet. I don't think they intend to bring it up either. Granted we are on LI and not in the city, I think that it's sending a really disturbing message to the children if we don't address the issue. I understand the not wanting to upset the kids part, but I also think that this is something that we all must live with now and forever and they should at least be recognizing it in schools.

Re: In response to nycchic_24's 9/11 post...especially for nyc teachers.LONG!!

I agree! I think it is a shame and really sad on the schools part that they are not addressing the issue. I can understand for the younger kids (preK and K) however 9/11 had such an impact on everyones lives that it should not be ignored.

Re: In response to nycchic_24's 9/11 post...especially for nyc teachers.LONG!!

I know last year they told us to do what we felt we could handle...since I lost someone...I had a regular day...teachers of the students who lost parents were aksed not to bring it up in those classes...but the students didn't come to school that day

Re: In response to nycchic_24's 9/11 post...especially for nyc teachers.LONG!!

june...I understand that it should be addressed at some point...however it is too hard for me to do it...even though I am a SS teacher...its too emotionally draining...

teachers are people too

Re: In response to nycchic_24's 9/11 post...especially for nyc teachers.LONG!!

I definately agree with you Noel. How dare they say that you guys should go on like any other day basically. It is not every other day! I also agree with you in the sense that children more than likely have the most vivid memories of this horrible day. Sometimes its hard to get our memories in order when we cant truly understand what happened as I am sure most kids for the most part didnt. I think that the entire district should have some sort of memorial service (of course for the older ones) commemorating those who lost their lives, those who tried to save others, etc. There is so much in this world that our children shouldnt have to be exposed to but obviously are in this day in age and the one day that they should know about, be able to speak about freely and discuss, they are keeping it hush hush?!?!

As I said in my previous post, this is a day where no one should be dictated by another. This goes for kids as well. It should be remembered. It should never be forgotten. I think this is one of the examples of why our children these days become numb and seem to have no feeling towards anything. We should show them that this day was and always will be important, a day that should be honored. I think that if they are making children attend school, then we should be responsible for allowing them to think about the past events. No one will ever understand the heinous acts of September 11th but I believe that we as teachers should be allowed to at least make children understand that this was not only a day of sadness and cowards but a day of heroes as well.

Its so sad that we have to be dictated once again how we feel by higher ups. We go through this every day of our lives, I think we all deserve this one day to have our OWN feelings. No one ever will be able to tell us how to feel about 9/11, where do they get the right to show children that it never happened? Some of these children come from homes where parents dont even acknowlege their existences. I think that it is our resonsibility in a way to be there for them, so they can talk about things and bring up things that maybe no one else allows them to do.

I am extremely opinionated on this topic! As you can see....

Something else to think about..what about those children who have lost a parent in the attacks? What if they attend school and nothing is mentioned at all? A 6th grader understands the concept of it being swept under the rug...school should be a place where it is shown to them that 9/11 was one of the most horrific events of our history but we lived through it. We have to focus on letting our children feel instead of walking around like machines all the time. Its actually very sad.

Re: In response to nycchic_24's 9/11 post...especially for nyc teachers.LONG!!

bump because I think its a great topic

Re: In response to nycchic_24's 9/11 post...especially for nyc teachers.LONG!!

This should be a national holiday, a day of recognition for those who lost their lives, not a workday, IMO.

Re: In response to nycchic_24's 9/11 post...especially for nyc teachers.LONG!!

Bush has declared it Patriot's Day. I don't know if it will end up a federal holiday or not.

Re: In response to nycchic_24's 9/11 post...especially for nyc teachers.LONG!!

The social studies, English, and art teachers will be doing something related to 9/11 on Thursday and the math, science, and foreign language teachers will continue with regular lessons. Our principal feels that it's too much if every subject teacher does something related to 9/11. I think this is a good compromise. I asked one class today if they intend on coming in on Thursday and almost all said yes. During our lesson on Thursday, I'm going to ask the students how we, as a nation, should observe 9/11 and what role should the schools play in observing 9/11. I teach 10th graders and I'm really interested in what they have to say because it may determine how I will teach about 9/11 in the future. My principal lives not far away from Ground Zero and used to have a view of the Twin Towers from her own apartment (her husband was home and saw the 2nd plane) so she's very emotional about 9/11 and wants to make sure that we take care of the students.

Re: In response to nycchic_24's 9/11 post...especially for nyc teachers.LONG!!

Julybaby, you just hit the nail on the head. The day, for teachers, should not only be about remembering, but taking care of the kids. If it's this hard for us adults, I cannot even imagine how hard it will be for the kids. I think that their emotional well being shoudl be the first thing on our minds as teachers that day.

Re: In response to nycchic_24's 9/11 post...especially for nyc teachers.LONG!!

We have a morning activty that the entire school(6,7,8) participates in. We are discussing FREEDOM and what that word implies. Ads ran last year in the NYTimes about freedom, and we use that as our spring board.