What did your/your kid's school do for 9/11?

[anp1215]

I student teach at a Catholic school. We offered our morning prayer on the announcements for the victims and their families. In our class we read a picture book that had to do with 9/11.

The mood of the day was actually celebratory because we had a special day due to our reception of a special award. I don’t want to go into any detail because I don’t want to give away where I work.

I felt the celebratory day was a little inappropriate. I don’t know why we couldn’t have had it the next day. And I kind of wish we had done more to remember 9/11, like a special prayer service or something. Though I understand we are short on time.

So, what did your school do to remember 9/11, if anything? Did you feel it was appropriate?

Feel free to answer in regards to public or private school.

 

[Allegra]

I work in a public grade school and we really didn’t do much for 9/11 this year. After the Pledge of Allegience, we had a brief moment of silence and of course the flag flew at half mast. The older kids may have written about it in their classrooms.

 

[fif1189]

I work in an after school program with 5th and 6th graders. They didn’t do much of anything during the actual school day but I showed them a brief slide show of what happened since they were all too young to remember (makes me feel old). I also answered some questions they had.

 

[SaintPatrick333]

I look forward to the day we stop doing anything about it. Isn’t it time we let the victims rest in peace? I’m sure their families (at least most of them) are tired of having annual reminders of a tragedy that changed their lives forever. It doesn’t help the media always trys to politicize it one way or another. No one lets it go. Everyone kicks it around like a political or ideological football. “Never forget”. All that stuff. No one is ever going to forget anyways. It made the history books at least for the next several centuries I’d wager. We owe it to the families and victims themselves to let them move on with their lives/rest in peace. Making a big deal out of it every year only encourages extremism since they have visible proof then of the power they have over us. So this is bad from all angles. I pray the victims are at peace and that those who lost family and friends find the peace to live out their lives as well. But that’s it. I’d rather spend september 11th focusing on the millions of children worldwide who are starving to death. People we can help “now”. People who really need our prayers more than ever. I know I sound unsympathetic and that’s not the intent. I am not cold and heartless. I am simply saying it’s time as a nation to move on. If the victims families were able to pick up what was left of their lives and move on then we as a nation need to do the same.

 

[TheRealJuliane]

I donated platelets. I did that for several years after 2001 but got out of the habit when one of the phlebotomists stuck the needle in wrong and really messed up my arm terribly. It is a tangible thing to do that reminds me of that awful day, and the days afterward.

While I was donating, I watched whatever 9/11 videos were on the Military or the History channels. Unlike the previous poster, I think it is very important that we DO NOT forget what happened that day to our nation. Every year, fewer and fewer programs are shown, and the footage is more and more edited. People NEED to see this, to understand the world we now live in and how things changed that day.

If I had lost someone on 9/11/2001, I would be sadder to think that my nation had forgotten my loved one, and “moved on.” It has been 11 years and the towers are not rebuilt and the museum isn’t even open! Shocking.

 

[maryjk]

I look forward to the day we stop doing anything about it. Isn’t it time we let the victims rest in peace? I’m sure their families (at least most of them) are tired of having annual reminders of a tragedy that changed their lives forever. It doesn’t help the media always trys to politicize it one way or another. No one lets it go. Everyone kicks it around like a political or ideological football. “Never forget”. All that stuff. No one is ever going to forget anyways. It made the history books at least for the next several centuries I’d wager. We owe it to the families and victims themselves to let them move on with their lives/rest in peace. Making a big deal out of it every year only encourages extremism since they have visible proof then of the power they have over us. So this is bad from all angles. I pray the victims are at peace and that those who lost family and friends find the peace to live out their lives as well. But that’s it. I’d rather spend september 11th focusing on the millions of children worldwide who are starving to death. People we can help “now”. People who really need our prayers more than ever. I know I sound unsympathetic and that’s not the intent. I am not cold and heartless. I am simply saying it’s time as a nation to move on. If the victims families were able to pick up what was left of their lives and move on then we as a nation need to do the same.

I thought I was the only one that felt like this.

Yes, 9/11 was horrible. I knew people living in New York, people driving through PA near Shanksville (my parents) and people that worked at the Pentagon and DC (my brother in law). It took days to verify that everyone we knew was okay. A friend of mine lost his sister and nephew. Yes, it was horrible.

But at some point, we need to recover. There is a time to mourn, but we should be past that time now.

 

[AB_Juney]

As we get further and further away from 2001, it’s going to become more normal for more mundane and even happy things to occur on 9/11. Think of December 7th; yes, we remember Pearl Harbor, and do memorials, but essentially, we live our lives. The vast majority of kids in school right now don’t remember 9/11, if they were even born. Not to say it isn’t important to keep a day of rememberance, but it’s not something that’s going to forever be a somber and joyless day.

 

[anp1215]

I look forward to the day we stop doing anything about it. Isn’t it time we let the victims rest in peace? I’m sure their families (at least most of them) are tired of having annual reminders of a tragedy that changed their lives forever. It doesn’t help the media always trys to politicize it one way or another. No one lets it go. Everyone kicks it around like a political or ideological football. “Never forget”. All that stuff. No one is ever going to forget anyways. It made the history books at least for the next several centuries I’d wager. We owe it to the families and victims themselves to let them move on with their lives/rest in peace. Making a big deal out of it every year only encourages extremism since they have visible proof then of the power they have over us. So this is bad from all angles. I pray the victims are at peace and that those who lost family and friends find the peace to live out their lives as well. But that’s it. I’d rather spend september 11th focusing on the millions of children worldwide who are starving to death. People we can help “now”. People who really need our prayers more than ever. I know I sound unsympathetic and that’s not the intent. I am not cold and heartless. I am simply saying it’s time as a nation to move on. If the victims families were able to pick up what was left of their lives and move on then we as a nation need to do the same.

OK. I disagree with you.

 

[Allegra]

I look forward to the day we stop doing anything about it. Isn’t it time we let the victims rest in peace? I’m sure their families (at least most of them) are tired of having annual reminders of a tragedy that changed their lives forever. It doesn’t help the media always trys to politicize it one way or another. No one lets it go. Everyone kicks it around like a political or ideological football. “Never forget”. All that stuff. No one is ever going to forget anyways. It made the history books at least for the next several centuries I’d wager. We owe it to the families and victims themselves to let them move on with their lives/rest in peace. Making a big deal out of it every year only encourages extremism since they have visible proof then of the power they have over us. So this is bad from all angles. I pray the victims are at peace and that those who lost family and friends find the peace to live out their lives as well. But that’s it. I’d rather spend september 11th focusing on the millions of children worldwide who are starving to death. People we can help “now”. People who really need our prayers more than ever. I know I sound unsympathetic and that’s not the intent. I am not cold and heartless. I am simply saying it’s time as a nation to move on. If the victims families were able to pick up what was left of their lives and move on then we as a nation need to do the same.

I sort of agree. I don’t think the whole day needs to be given to this. Say a prayer for the souls of the victims and the comfort of their families. Then move on. It was such an awful event, even for those who didn’t know any of the victims personally.

 

[CallMeDad]

I agree that it’s time to move on, and I disagree that doing so disrespects the victims.

Last year, around the tenth anniversary of 9/11, I visited our public library to see if the tenth anniversary of Pearl Harbor Day (12/7/1951) was commemorated to the same extent the tenth anniversary of 9/11 was. I checked two different newspapers, each on microfiche, and what I found surprised me - there was hardly any mention of the Pearl Harbor attack in the 12/7/51 paper at all, and even less on the next day, 12/8 (I looked for articles of commemoration ceremonies etc.). There were a couple of articles deep in the paper about small observances, but nothing else.

Our attitude was different then. We saw what we needed to do, and then we did it. And then we moved on - we got on with our lives. By 1951, we had defeated both the Germans and the Japanese, rebuilt the economy and the vets were home finishing college and building their new families. There was little thought of looking backwards - we were a country looking forward. Getting things done.

No one gets out of the past who doesn’t want to. We need to want to - we need to be willing to put the past behind us, whatever it takes.

Sorry to say it harshly, but wallowing is un-American.

 

[XiWang717]

I student teach at a Catholic school. We offered our morning prayer on the announcements for the victims and their families. In our class we read a picture book that had to do with 9/11.

The mood of the day was actually celebratory because we had a special day due to our reception of a special award. I don’t want to go into any detail because I don’t want to give away where I work.

I felt the celebratory day was a little inappropriate. I don’t know why we couldn’t have had it the next day. And I kind of wish we had done more to remember 9/11, like a special prayer service or something. Though I understand we are short on time.

So, what did your school do to remember 9/11, if anything? Did you feel it was appropriate?

Feel free to answer in regards to public or private school.

In truth, the reaction in China to the “terrorist” attacks, when they occurred over a decade ago, may surprise you considerably (though the excitement has died down greatly since). There were actually much celebration of bin Laden’s actions, apparently due to admiration for his bringing America to its knees where no one else could, and fireworks were let off that night. There is considerable displeasure in China even to this day concerning American interference in internal affairs, such as Taiwan and Tibet. I remember someone on blog site discussing mainland reactions to this, who mentioned that he recalled his entire elementary school class rising up and cheering when they heard the news, quieting down only when the teacher asked them to consider the victims.

I have found several English-version sites detailing a typical reaction:
danwei.com/a-chinese-student-on-9-11/
commondreams.org/headlines03/0909-06.htm

Nationalism is very strong in China, evident in even our national anthem - and there is a saying among Chinese people that, “Nationalism is not a sin.” Many Chinese thought that America had simply received what it deserved, nothing more. Even after bin Laden’s death, most Chinese (60%) on an online poll of 500,000 thought that his death was a tragedy several years ago.

These were some of the translated online reactions to his death:
“A salute to the great anti-U.S. fighter; long live bin Laden‟s spirit!”
“Laden, rest in peace, you have fallen but there are still millions of you who will stand up! I pay my tribute to you.”
“An old friend of the Chinese people, you know what I mean.”
“You will always live on in our hearts.”
“The good die young.”
“Saddam is dead, Osama bin Laden is dead, Gaddafi, you must hold on, hold on.”
“Now have a memorial ceremony for Comrade Bin Laden. Comrade Bin Laden’s life was a glorious life. Comrade Bin Laden dedicated his youth and life to the greatest undertaking in this world, which is to struggle against American imperialism. Comrade Bin Laden’s sacrifice does not represent the end of the struggle against America. On the contrary, Comrade Bin Laden’s sacrifice will only inspire countless people who are against world hegemony to continue forth! Because Comrade Bin Laden was a leader, was an elder, was a great person, was a perfect and faultless person!”

That is the ultimate contradiction: The nation which China relies most on is at the same time perceived as our greatest enemy. Many Chinese believe that with al-Qaeda’s collapse, the U.S. would then be able to focus its attention and might upon the PRC. As for me, despite some controversy in American foreign policy, I personally see 9/11 as a truly terrible tragedy that took the lives of countless innocents. Honor the dead with actual tribute or not, I do not know, but that day is one that will never be forgotten.

 

[ATeutonicKnight]

Well, I don’t think the world should stop simply because it’s the anniversary of 9/11. It was eleven years ago. We don’t celebrate Pearl Harbor Day anymore even though more people died on that day than on 9/11 (The numbers are close, but we lost 2,400 men on Pearl Harbor as opposed to 2,000 people). You had a memorial and that was sufficient. Not even the News or president did much, really. They gathered at the moments the planes hit and the moments the towers fell, and the president and vice-president gave speeches on it, but after that it was over. We don’t have to spend every waking moment thinking about what happened every anniversary of 9/11. At some point it is good to finally move on. We of course need to remember what happened and teach our children what happened and why, but we don’t need to teach it in every class whenever the date comes up. I think praying for the victims was good (Though I hope your school added praying for the souls of the hijackers and all of the terrorists involved as well) and I feel it was sufficient seeing as how it has been eleven years. The ten year mark was a bigger deal, but after the first, fifth and tenth year anniversaries nobody is really going to pay as much time as they did on the subject.

 

[maltmom]

I think the difference is that the attack on Pearl Harbor was a military attack on a military post. 9/11 was an attack on civilians by civilians. If it could happen to civilians going about their day in such a horrific way it can happen to any of us. On 9/11 we watched the horror unfold. Pearl Harbor was announced over the radio. The impact on an average person would be different.

God bless the family and friends of those lost that day.

 

[ATeutonicKnight]

I think the difference is that the attack on Pearl Harbor was a military attack on a military post. 9/11 was an attack on civilians by civilians. If it could happen to civilians going about their day in such a horrific way it can happen to any of us. On 9/11 we watched the horror unfold. Pearl Harbor was announced over the radio. The impact on an average person would be different.

God bless the family and friends of those lost that day.

Well, Pearl Harbor was just an example, but you get what I mean. We can’t dedicate every hour of the day whenever it’s 9/11. This is not practical.

 

[anp1215]

Well, I don’t think the world should stop simply because it’s the anniversary of 9/11. It was eleven years ago. We don’t celebrate Pearl Harbor Day anymore even though more people died on that day than on 9/11 (The numbers are close, but we lost 2,400 men on Pearl Harbor as opposed to 2,000 people).

Actually, 2,977 victims died on 9/11.

You had a memorial and that was sufficient. Not even the News or president did much, really. They gathered at the moments the planes hit and the moments the towers fell, and the president and vice-president gave speeches on it, but after that it was over. We don’t have to spend every waking moment thinking about what happened every anniversary of 9/11. At some point it is good to finally move on. We of course need to remember what happened and teach our children what happened and why, but we don’t need to teach it in every class whenever the date comes up. I think praying for the victims was good (Though I hope your school added praying for the souls of the hijackers and all of the terrorists involved as well)

I would have liked that too, but it probably would have caused an uproar among parents, or at least some anger.

and I feel it was sufficient seeing as how it has been eleven years. The ten year mark was a bigger deal, but after the first, fifth and tenth year anniversaries nobody is really going to pay as much time as they did on the subject.