I had just finished the introduction to my presentation Dollars and Decisions to a group of seniors at Faribault High school when the first plane hit the tower.
The teacher, who was sitting in the back of the room as I spoke, heard a commotion in the office next to his and went to check. He came back and whispered to me that ‘something’ had happened and that I should just keep speaking until he finds out what was going on.
When I had finished the presentation at the end of the hour he told me that it appeared terrorist had crashed planes into the World Trade Center.
The world had changed.
Of course, we decided to reschedule the presentations for the day. Although money is an important topic, there would be much more important things to talk about that day. There is still much more to talk about today.
Since the social studies teachers knew I had lived in Japan and travelled around the world, they asked me if I could just stick around and possibly provide an international opinion and talk to some of their students. Of course I said I would.
We talked about a lot of things. A lot of things are left to talk about.
On that day students asked questions like:
- “What do other countries think of America?”
- “What do people around the world think of Americans?”
- “What is it like in _______ country?”
Students are still asking questions. Literally, there are almost no curriculum areas taught at school that do not connect directly or indirectly to the 9/11 attacks.
History. News. Politics. Government. Culture. Diversity. Peace. Civility. Justice. Business. Globalization. Media. Journalism.
And, we live in a diverse society at home too.
On that day many years ago, our students lived through an historical tragedy. All of the students I talked to at school today were not even born on the day the planes hit. The event may have happened in the past, but the opportunities to share and to learn are still with us in the present.
For good and for bad, the world our students live in is connected.
Listen to you students. Talk with your students. There are many opportunities to connect the classroom to the events of the world.