The multiple terrorist attacks of 9-11-2001 occurred during my second year of teaching high school....I remember the day vividly. The second bell rang, and students were dismissed to their next class. I moved into the hallway to supervise student traffic and noticed an eerie calm, but I was somewhat oblivious to its significance as a second-year teacher. Next door, I could see my colleague's television through the open doorway. I noticed many students were not in the hallway walking to their next class, and many students were standing around watching the television. By this time, my students were trickling into my classroom and one student, Heather, told me that "we were under attack" and to turn on the television.
I was taken aback by this comment from Heather and asked her to get ready for class because we had a lot to get done today. She replied by saying that I probably would not get anything taught today because someone bombed the Pentagon. I was perplexed by her comment, and suddenly the atmosphere of the hallway and the eerie behavior of the student body began to make sense there was something wrong. I turned on the television to the news and could not believe what I was watching. I saw the Pentagon on fire. At that moment, a fellow teacher walked into my room and stated that the United States is under attack. I was stunned. I did not know what to say, and all I could do was watch the reports of the news with a room full of impressionable minds now locked on to the moment. Then a student asked me: " Mr. Spencer, what is going to happen?"
Being dismayed by the images of the Pentagon attack, I could not find any words to comfort the students. Shortly, after that comment, the news reported that a plane flew into one of the Twin Towers in New York City, and images began to pour over the television. Then the next plane hit the other tower and students were crying and getting very upset at what they saw. I could not believe what I was witnessing, and then more destruction continued. I honestly thought this was the day of Armageddon. I turned off the television to try comfort the students the best way a second-year teacher could at this point. This confusion turned to panic and dismay - and then to anger. The students had so many emotions to try and manage. It was chaotic, and I was overwhelmed. In a refreshingly familiar (but odd moment in public education), we all began to pray for the victims. Yes, we brought prayer back to school that day. That was the only logical thing that made sense to do was to pray. There was complete unity and comfort as our minds raced with the horrific images while trying to make peace with such horror.
As the days followed the attack, it was important for me to continue talking to the students about what it means to be an American and the great respect we should have for our troops and our way of life. This tragedy taught me a lot about being a teacher very quickly. The main thing it taught me was that we have a great country and love for American values. Importantly, students look to adults to make sense of all that is good and bad with our world. Being prepared to teach students about a tragedy of this magnitude is not taught at the teacher's college. Feelings of togetherness began to permeate throughout our school and small military community. The emotion of patriotism and American pride in our country began to show brightly in the face of this tragedy. It was a moment that was so impressionable on the students. A moment of pride for our country's values was palpable across so many different people and ideologies.
Even though it has been 15 years since this horrific day, this moment in our history is a good reminder that America is not immune to evil forces, and we must continue to educate our students on what it means to be an American and how we should value our freedom. Since 9-11, there have been a lot of changes to our perspective as a nation: bickering, bloated budgets, insurmountable debt, widespread felonies, a broken educational system, and divisiveness at every turn in our culture. Was this the real intent of that attack? Did this attack allow our familial capacity as Americans to unwittingly embrace such actions as being tolerant at the expense of jeopardizing the welfare of successive generations? Such problems cry out for America to unite once again. We need to be reminded of our history (good and bad) and what it has taught us about the best qualities of being an American citizen and seek out the lessons learned from 9-11. We should never forget that day. That day changed America's mindset as a people, forever. Patriotism is a double-edged sword, and sometimes it can blind us of what we are truly supposed to fight for and instill in our young people.
The deeper meaning behind 9-11 is not the sense of patriotism we need to instill in our young minds, but that the United States of America is not finished. Our nation's exceptionalism has not come and gone; however, our exceptionalism is being suppressed by internal political and ideological forces which may be causing more damage than what occurred fifteen years ago. This suppression is larger than the 9-11 terror attack, and this concern should cause Americans to be more unified than ever. We can blame our leaders for this suppression, but we the people elected them. I believe some our society is mistaking oppression for suppression, and this misinterpretation is remedied by guaranteeing that our young people are taught the principles of liberty and freedom. The act of 9-11 has had a deleterious effect on our morals and has misconstrued our mindset as a free people. Remembering 9-11 is not enough, but we must continue to unite around the cause that represents freedom for all with an unwavering resolve.
- Jeremy Spencer
