Seaford Students Learn History At 9/11 memorial

Press release from Syntax:

Sept. 15, 2020

September 11, 2001 is a day forever etched into the memories of adults, while for the current generation of students, it is a part of history. Throughout the day on the 19th anniversary of the terrorist attacks, Seaford High School teachers took their students to the 9/11 memorial in front of the school to help them make connections to an event that impacted the world, the nation and their hometown.

The monument is dedicated to five Seaford High School graduates who died in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks – Thomas Haskell (Class of 1982), Timothy Haskell (1985), John Perry (1982), Robert Sliwak (1977) and Michael Wittenstein (1985). A piece of steel recovered from the World Trade Center was added to the memorial in 2016.

Seaford’s annual memorial service, one of the largest on Long Island, was not held this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic but individuals could still come to the memorial to pay their respects to loved ones. Additionally, teachers who brought their classes outside livestreamed it for students learning remotely.

Social studies teacher Scott Gilbert’s freshmen and senior classes visited the memorial, which includes a plaque for each of the five graduates. He noted that his students were born two to five years after the attacks, so their knowledge is largely based on discussions in school and recollections from family members.

“They’re learning about it as history,” he said. “Bringing them to the memorial makes that history real, it helps it mean something to the students.”

Mr. Gilbert noted that each generation has that moment where people knew where they were and what they were doing when it happened. For his generation, that is Sept. 11, and many of the changes that took place following the attacks are just normal parts of life for today’s children and teenagers.

English teacher Christine Lindquist’s New York City in Literature Class visited the memorial for inspiration for a writing assignment about patriotism, as hundreds of American flags placed on the high school’s front lawn waved behind them. She shared her own recollections about the strong sense of patriotism that followed the attacks.

Choral students, under the direction of teacher Yvonne Bendzlowicz, also came out to the monument where they sang a social distancing rendition of “God Bless America."

This press release was produced by Syntax. The views expressed here are the author's own.