The Crosby Chronicles: Remembering 9/11 in my classroom

Currently memories of September 11, 2001 are filling the airwaves and periodicals. I can vividly remember going to work that morning, not wanting to teach, desiring instead to watch all TV coverage of the horrific events.

The whole feeling at work was somber. I spoke to a few of my colleagues who had families in the New York area (thankfully none directly affected by the attacks).

I felt it was my duty as a teacher to discuss the happenings with my students, and to watch some of the TV coverage.

I also recall that once the immediate horror of what happened subsided, a profound sense of patriotism surfaced within most people. Not the usual jingoistic chants of “USA, USA” but a true neighborly togetherness of showing how much our country meant to us.

This Friday, I will ask my students, who were 5 years old when this event took place, to share any memories at all that they may have. Strange how they have grown up with terrorism ever so near all the time.

Brian Crosby is a teacher at Hoover High School and the author of Smart Kids, Bad Schools and The $100,000 Teacher. He can be reached at brian-crosby.com.