View 91101 Opinions

Show Top Posts:	Show All Posts:
I was teaching my high school students...
Posted by: High School Teacher from Probably shouldn't say... Thursday November 22, 2001 @ 02:54 PST
i am a teacher in a small massachusetts town. i was in the school library at the time of the attack, and one of my colleagues came barreling in to the library shouting, "the world trade center's been attacked! the plane just flew directly into it! they think it's an act of terrorism!" in shock, i walked back to my classroom -- my students had no idea what had happened, and i was unsure whether i should tell them. i tried to get online for more information, but the internet was haulted. next, my principal appeared in the doorway, "do not turn on the television," he said, "and do not let them get on the internet." i was very afraid. i have to admit, although our admin did the best they could with little time to prepare, i did not agree with the way we as a school handled the situation. the administration decided that it was best for the parents to handle the crisis at home. nearly 20 minutes later, the principal came over the pa to tell the kids what had happened. he relayed very little info, but he offered enough to send them into a frenzy: "there has been a catastrophic attack on our nation... two planes originating from boston (20 miles south of our town) have hit the twin towers at the wtc... thousands of inhuries, deaths, expected... kids we're petrified, and since the planes originated here, they were paralyzed by the thought of who may have been on the planes. our admin told us to "carry on the day as usual." i felt it would have been appropriate to sit and watch t.v. -- history in the making. two hours later i was scheduled to teach american studies to my juniors and we were forbidden to turn on the t.v.! i was so frustrated -- how can we send the real message about the destruction of terrorism if we shelter the kids from it when it happens? we had a chance for some real learning, but we wimped out. although our kids have responded in a very serious manner since, they were yearning for info onthat day and we would not release it. the entire day was an absolute nightmare.