Trinity School Teaches Values Of 9/11

Educators are saddled with the task of explaining the importance of 9/11 to the youngest among us. Children need to learn about that sensational event in U.S. history. The question becomes how do we do it without scaring them?

Trinity Christian School tackled that very issue at a memorial service Wednesday. Over three hundred students, plus another hundred parents joined teachers and staff for an hour. Special guests included about 20 local first responders.

Most of the students were born after 2001. The eighth graders were only 3 or 4 at the time, explained Jon Vugteveen, dean of students.

The school's goal was to have a service that commemorated the lives that were lost but was sensitive to the age of the students, he said.

Accordingly, the service and photo slide show focused on the values of that fateful day, said school Administrator Mark Lones.

One value is that there is no greater love than people who lay down their lives for their friends, Lones explained. A second value is how we define heroism. 

Often, kids look up to athletes and rock stars. In one sense, the events of 9/11 helped our society reassess who our real heroes are, he said. The slide show featured photos of first responders as examples of America's true heroes. 

Also, police, firefighters, sheriff's deputies, and members of homeland security, as well as other first responders who were in attendance, received a standing ovation for about three minutes. At least one police officer was moved to tears, Lones said.

A third value the school taught its students is that after 9/11, our society came together as a community in prayer. Lones said he recalls his congressman singing God Bless America.

That is exactly how the service ended. Teachers, students, families and guests sang God Bless America.