911

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Lest we forget the lessons of the September 11 attack on the Trade Centers, it’s wise for us to commemorate this event and underscore its lessons. Below we’ve given a simple approach that an individual class might take. Following, we provide links to Websites for further ideas. 

Supplies needed: Ask students a week ahead of time to start bringing names and addresses of friends or family who serve in the armed forces, serve as firemen, serve as police officers. Also, have them each bring a stamped envelope. You might want to bring extra envelopes and/or stationary for those who forget.

a. Ask your students where they were when they first heard that the trade centers had been attacked. Let them share how they felt at the time. (You might want to avoid a video presentation of the bombings, since some may have lost loved ones or have such intense associated emotions that you only succeed in stirring up turmoil. They’ve probably viewed the clips on the TV all week anyway.)

b. Tell them that as terrible as this tragedy was, good can still come of it, if we learn from it. Ask them what we have learned or should have learn from this tragedy. They may come up with ideas like...

1) Be kind to people you love today, since we're never promised another day with them.
2) We need to respect and encourage our firefighters and emergency teams, since they put their lives on the line daily.
3) We need to respect and encourage our military, since they risk their
lives to protect our country.

2. Let them do something practical to help.

Say, “Often we feel kind of helpless in the face of a tragedy so large. We’d like to do something to help, but we just don’t know how to help. I’d like to make a suggestion. Let’s each write a note of encouragement to the people we’ve collected the addresses of. At first, you might think this insignificant. But we underestimate the power of a simple, kind, word of encouragement. Many firemen, police and soldiers think they’re taken for granted and forgotten. They risk their lives daily for us, while we forget their sacrifice. A simple note can keep them going, knowing that people do care.

Mother Theresa impacted this world in a way that few have before or since. She once said this about the importance of kind words:  

has a great set of general resources and links to sites with lessons to use on the anniversary of 911. (For lessons, click down to the “One Year Later Materials” following the “General Resources”)

911