How Glen Cove Schools Teach 9/11 to Students Who Didn’t Experience It

Students in the Glen Cove City School District were sitting in class fifteen years ago when two planes struck the Twin Towers at 8:46 a.m. and 9:03 a.m.

Many younger students knew something happened, but weren’t aware of the details. Some classrooms turned on the news to watch the tragedy unfold while other teachers tried their best to continue on with their lesson plans. Parents arrived to school to bring their children home and teachers were in the hallway speaking in hushed tones on their cell phones, unsure of which details were acceptable to share with their students.

September 11, 2001 wasn’t heavily taught in schools during that time or years following as it was something that everyone lived through.

All Long Islanders knew multiple people whose lives were changed that day and while communities and local law enforcements remind residents to “Never Forget,” it’s impossible for those who live through it to erase 9/11 from their memories.

Fifteen years have passed since the tragedy that seems like it occurred yesterday and a lifetime ago at the same time. Students enrolled as freshmen at Glen Cove High School are the first-ever high school students that weren’t yet born on 9/11 while high school seniors are likely too young to remember the chaos.

Glen Cove Schools are now responsible for teaching this new generation about one of the most devastating moments in American history.

Glen Cove Superintendent of Schools Dr. Maria Rianna told Patch how teachers in elementary, middle and high school teach 9/11 to their students.

“Glen Cove students will take part in a variety of educational and reflective activities in remembrance of those who tragically lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001,” she said.

Elementary-age students will be educated by the 9/11 attacks and how that day forever changed our nation through the public address system. In the classrooms, teachers will hold an age-appropriate discussion and assign students a reflective-writing project. “The children will be asked to reflect on this day and why this date has significance for our nation and country,” Rianna said.

Discussions about 9/11 become more serious at the high school level. All high school Government students will watch a documentary of real footage from the day of the attack, while AP World History and Global History students will take part in classroom discussions about the causes and outcomes of 9/11. History students will also view a short video clip from the program ‘New York: Center of the World.’

Across the country, some teachers focus solely on the patriotic response to the attacks, barely mentioning the devastation; others share their personal stories of 9/11, including their profound sadness. Still others show students the graphic television coverage of that day seared in the hearts and minds of adults who remember.

These lesson plans and classroom discussions allow the post-9/11 generation to shape their own experiences of a day, that while wasn’t experienced firsthand, they will hopefully Never Forget.

To go into deeper detail on how schools across the country teach 9/11 to students who didn’t experience it, read: How Do You Teach 9/11 to Kids Who Didn't Experience It? A Patch Investigation.