Blog post - VHP’s Newest Online Exhibit: Twenty Years of Service: Post 9/11 Veterans

Stories - Twenty Years of Service: Post 9/11 Veterans

#VHP

Lakeview High School Library in Battle Creek, Michigan has been grateful for the opportunity to display the exhibit "September 11, 2001: The Day That Changed the World" from the 9/11 Memorial & Museum so that our students might learn the lessons of the tragic attack on America.  The Battle Creek Enquirer wrote about the exhibit project in today’s newspaper.

As part of the exhibit, we’ve also included newspaper headline stories from the Battle Creek Enquirer offering local coverage from 2001. For example, the article below focused on the reactions of Lakeview students back on 9/11.

Additional examples of primary source material incorporated into the exhibit are several original letters (part of an assignment) which former Lakeview students wrote to international pen pals as they tried to make sense of what had taken place worldwide.

While students have viewed the exhibit, we’ve played in the background a video containing the reflections/reminiscences of current Lakeview teachers who were on board in 2001

As a former New Yorker, born and raised in midtown Manhattan, I shared in the video how the events touched me on a personal level, providing photos of visits back to NYC over the years with my husband and children.

My family atop the 108th floor of the World Trade Center in 1983

My family at Ellis Island in 1997 with the Twin Towers in the background.

Fortunately, the 2021 commemoration events marking the 20^th anniversary of 9/11 have been peaceful.  Lakeview High School Library will keep the 9/11 exhibit on display throughout the month of September.

We encourage students and teachers to watch (on demand) an excellent program from the 9/11 Memorial & Museum highlighting personal stories from 9/11 family members and first responders.

Thank you to all for your interest and support.

  September 11     9/11    9/11 Memorial & Museum  

TPS Consortium member  Elise Langan , one of the admins of this Teaching 9/11 group, recently shared an article with me about how New York City's teachers are approaching discussions about 9/11 this year: As 9/11's memory fades, teachers show city students just how relevant it is.

I know you'll enjoy both the article and its many quotes from Elise herself!  

  Teaching Strategies  

Please use this link to access a webinar hosted by the 9/11 Memorial and Museum: 

https://www.911memorial.org/learn/students-and-teachers/anniversary-schools-webinar 

_{Skyline of Manhattan with smoke billowing from the Twin Towers following September 11th terrorist attack on World Trade Center, New York City. Sept 11, 2001. Prints & Photographs Division}

The 20^th anniversary of 9/11 will be observed as the new school year gets underway.

Although it may not be feasible to include a complete lesson as part of the curriculum at this point in early September, Americans everywhere will commemorate the day.

A moment of silence and a short reading on a school’s PA system is at least a mark of remembrance.

Librarians and educators with access to sufficient physical space may want to display an exhibition such as “September 11, 2001: The Day that Changed the World” available from the 9/11 Memorial & Museum.   

The educational exhibition recounts the events of September 11, 2001, through the personal stories of those who witnessed and survived the attacks. Told across 14 posters, this exhibition includes archival photographs and images of artifacts from the Museum’s permanent collection.

Librarians and educators need to register to download the posters or request a hard printed copy through this site by August 6.  Registration will also enable you to contact Museum educators, pose questions, share expertise, offer advice, and engage in peer sharing and learning.

As you prepare your exhibition, here are some Library of Congress resources to supplement the poster display:

• Primary Source Learning: September 11, 2001 (Resources from TPS-Barat updated 2/1/21)
• September 11, 2001 Web Archive (this collection preserves the web expressions of individuals, groups, the press and institutions in the United States and from around the world in the aftermath of the attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001)
• Teaching About September 11 Using Primary Sources from Library of Congress (Teaching with the Library of Congress Blog post from   Danna Bell )
• Today in History - September 11 (this entry is an exception to the Library of Congress policy that “ordinarily presents events that happened at least twenty-five years in the past.” See also “Learn More” section for additional resources)
• TPS Teachers Network 9/11 Tag Details (26 items with connection to September 11)
• Witness and Response: September 11 Acquisitions at the Library of Congress (online exhibition with powerful eyewitness accounts and commentaries) 

Please share your ideas for 9/11 Commemoration and thank you for your support.

  September 11    9/11    9/11 Memorial & Museum    Memorials     Exhibitions    Commemoration  

Although most of my students (High School) were born after 9/11, the events of 9/11 are usually fresh in the minds of their parents and grandparents, so I like to use instruction on 9/11 to help them understand that history is constantly happening, not just something in the past.  I am looking forward to gaining fresh insight and resources!

I teach English 9 and 11, both self contained and gen. ed. in Woodbridge, Virginia. Since we are so close to Washington, D.C., 9/11 is an important topic of discussion in my classes. Even though my students were not born, they have family and friends that were deeply affected by the tragedy. It is an excellent opportunity to have them interview an adult and report on that person's memories/experiences. I look forward to learning from and contributing to this group.

Thank you for the new member add!

I teach mathematics and always think it's important to be ready to discuss important life events.  Are there any ideas for an appropriate way to incorporate this into a math classroom? 

Previously I would make it more of an SEL warm up activity.

thanks so much!