WILMINGTON, MA – Wilmington School Superintendent Mary DeLai published her weekly blog post on Sunday, discussing the importance of teaching 9/11 to Wilmington students. Read DeLai’s blog post HERE or below:
As adults, none of us will soon forget that fateful, life-changing moment when the first plane flew into the South Tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Many of us remember exactly where we were at that moment and how we learned of the news. We remember the confusion we felt as we tried to sort through the details. How could a plane have crashed into the World Trade Center? When we learned that terrorists had hijacked and crashed not just one, but four planes killing nearly 3,000 people, our world seemed to change in an instant.
Our students, however, don’t remember that day. Most were not yet born and the rest were just three years old or younger. That fact has left many of us wondering how the events of 9/11 impacts our teaching of history today. This past Friday, U.S. News and World Report ran a story entitled, “How to Teach 9/11 to Students With No Memory of It.” As the article noted, while those events have had a profound impact on the world our students now live in, they have no memory of them. They are unaware that, prior to 9/11, peopled did not have to remove their shoes or toss their water bottle to get through security.
Teaching students about the events of 9/11 is challenging for a number of reasons. First, there are no official guidelines as to what to teach or how. In fact, curriculum standards in fewer than half of the states in the country even reference 9/11. The Massachusetts History and Social Science Curriculum Frameworks were adopted by the Board of Education in October of 2002, just 11 months after 9/11. There is very limited reference to September 11, 2001 in the World History and U.S. History frameworks, where the “contemporary” world is defined as 1989-2001. Students are expected to be able to “describe America’s response to and the wider consequences of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack[s]”.
Another challenge with respect to teaching about 9/11 is the fear of offending students or parents. Let’s face it – many controversial issues are surfaced in discussions of 9/11 – not just among students but among adults as well. In our middle school classrooms, we teach World Geography in grade 6, Ancient Civilizations in grade 7 and World History in grade 8. The Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks in these grade levels and content areas are designed to expose students to such themes as the evolution of freedom, the growth of centralized state power, the birth, growth and decline of civilizations, and the influence of religious and cultural ideas on societies. The teaching of world religions has been the subject of great controversy in many communities, including ours.
Our state’s History and Social Science Frameworks contain standards that reference religion and the influence of religion in nearly every course. It is impossible to study history without studying religion. For example, a key to understanding ancient Egypt is understanding Egyptians’ belief in many gods (polytheism). This is in direct contrast to many other ancient civilizations that were based on monotheism – the belief in one god. When students study early American history, they learn about the Puritans religious beliefs and how their flight to the new world was based on a desire for religious freedom. When students are asked to study Christianity, Judaism or Islam it is in relation to the culture and historical events being taught not for the purpose of converting students to a particular religion, offending individuals of differing faiths, or promoting one religion as superior to another.
Beyond religion, there is controversy surrounding responses to terrorism, both by the United States and other countries. For example, students in World History are asked to explain the rise and funding of Islamic fundamentalism including the financial support of radical and terrorist organizations by the Saudis and the increase in terrorist attacks against Israel and the US. Discussions of the US response often focus on the Patriot Act and debate regarding the balance between personal freedom and national security.
The reality is, these are exactly the conversations we want our students to be having. Our teaching of history cannot focus on rote memorization of names, dates and places. Instead, we need to teach our students to think like historians or political scientists. We need them to focus on inquiry, discourse, and debate. We need to address multiculturalism and global citizenship.
Fortunately, the effort to revise the Massachusetts History and Social Science Curriculum Frameworks will begin in earnest this year with a group of over 40 representatives from elementary, secondary, and higher education as well as the non-profit sector. The current timeline calls for new standards to be adopted by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education in June of 2018 with dissemination, curriculum adjustments, and implementation occurring between 2018 and 2020. There is even a plan to develop and administer a History and Social Studies Assessment with first administration in the Spring of 2020.
The decision to revise the 2003 Frameworks was influenced in large part by the findings of the special commission on civics engagement and learning in our schools. Civics education prepares our students for active engagement in public life and was central to the Jeffersonian view of public education.
“A core purpose of education is to prepare students for participation in democratic processes and institutions through deliberation that is informed, civil, thoughtful, respectful and constructive.” (Education Commission of the States)
The special commission also advocated that schools promote and ensure college, career, AND civic readiness. This is clearly important when national surveys show that nearly one-third of Americans are not able to name all three branches of government and one-third can name none. History and social science instruction must promote inquiry into historical events and how those shape our current reality. We must teach students how to examine and corroborate evidence, make informed conclusions, and engage in critical inquiry. We need to promote collaboration and thoughtful discussion of how to succeed in a diverse, global society. We must encourage empathy and create classroom environments of tolerance.
In the introduction to the 2003 Massachusetts History and Social Science Curriculum Frameworks, the authors describe why instruction in these subjects is vitally important.
While the realities of our own society are daily evident, many students remain ignorant of other, quite different, worlds. How can they be expected to value or defend freedom unless they have a clear grasp of the alternatives against which to measure it? The systematic presentation of reality abroad must be an integral part of the curriculum. What are the political systems in competition with our own, and what is life like for the people who live under them? If students know only half the world, they will not know nearly enough.
The kind of critical thinking we wish to encourage must rest on a solid base of factual knowledge. The central ideas, events, people, and works that have shaped our world, for good and ill, are not at all obsolete. Instead, the quicker the pace of change, the more critical it will be for us to remember them and understand them well.
It goes without saying that teaching about 9/11 is challenging. Given the nature of history and social science instruction, the issues to be examined will often generate controversy and passionate discourse. Knowing that, we must support our educators so they can address the controversial topics within their classrooms, encourage civic discourse, and create opportunities to engage in critical inquiry around complex global issues. In so doing, we allow them to realize our vision for students – to be confident, empathetic, healthy, life-long learners with a commitment to ethical citizenship, an optimism for the future, and a passion for making a positive contribution to their community and world.
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