20 years later: Teaching the next generation about the 9/11 attacks

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Most of what past teachers instrumentality connected happened decades oregon adjacent centuries ago. Now, 1 of the astir devastating days successful the nation’s past happened successful their lifetime.

Four Kansas City-area teachers spoke astir wherever they were connected Sept. 11, 2001, and however they’re teaching the adjacent procreation astir it 20 years later.

On 9/11, Kirsten Nance, Zach Keith, Dillon Buck, and Andrew Long were each students.

“I retrieve being terrified and not truly knowing what was going on, “ Nance said. “I was a inferior successful precocious schoolhouse astatine Shawnee Mission West.”

Dillon Buck was successful seventh grade. Andrew Long was 7 years old.

Zach Keith was a freshman astatine Northwest Missouri State. Now, successful his 16th twelvemonth teaching astatine Platte County High School, helium said helium has watched his lessons connected the 9/11 attacks change.

“At first, it was precise overmuch a radical of students that talked astir wherever they were erstwhile it happened,” helium said.

The meaning has changed.

“It’s thing that they truly don’t understand,” said Dillon Buck, a teacher astatine F. L. Schlagle High School. “I mean, astir of my students were calved successful 2005, truthful they’ve lived successful a post-9/11 world.”

It's an absorbing timeline for students.

“We weren’t there, and truthful we don’t person that, like, the first-hand experience,” said Platte County precocious schoolhouse elder Maria Molinari.

However, she and others bash accidental they consciousness idiosyncratic connections to what happened.

“So my uncle was successful the Pentagon connected 9/11, and helium was really connected the different broadside of the building,” Molinari said. “My dada is inactive progressive duty.”

“My dada was a firefighter during that time, truthful helium knew a batch of people,” said Jake Knudson, different elder astatine Platte County High School.

He and different students privation to cognize more.

“I inactive don’t cognize what the failures successful our information were that day,” helium said.

Keith wants to cognize what the students know.

“What bash you and your radical members really cognize astir 9/11, and past the 2nd happening being what bash you privation to larn astir 9/11?” helium asked his people to assistance him program his acquisition connected the upcoming 20th anniversary.

Each of the 4 teachers said having truthful galore images, and videos of the 9/11 attacks and what followed helps them teach.

“We’re beauteous fortunate to person truthful overmuch video of things that happened, and I deliberation that helps radical recognize however superior it was due to the fact that they tin ticker it,” Keith said.

“And I consciousness similar arsenic a teacher now, it’s our occupation to supply discourse alternatively than conscionable images. Let’s speech astir why, when, where,” Buck said.

History is inactive penning itself.

“I’d accidental due to the fact that of the pandemic, a batch of our students recognize now, you know, a large lawsuit and the effect that it has connected society,” Long said.

“And our students are increasing up successful a satellite that’s truthful divided,” said Buck.

Learning astir the attacks successful a antithetic governmental clime is unique.

“The time aft Sept. 11, 2001, was the astir connected our federation has been that I’ve seen, and truthful I privation that they would get to acquisition a small much of that,” Nance said.

“There’s truthful galore factors progressive successful a large humanities lawsuit similar this,” Keith said.

The teachers effort to assistance the adjacent procreation recognize a time that changed America.

“Working to marque definite thing similar that happens again, and I anticipation I tin beryllium a portion of that,” said Knudson.

Lindsay Shively astatine KSHB archetypal reported this story.