The 9/11 Curriculum Wars
HENARY, BETH
The 9/11 Curriculum Wars What should schools be teaching about the war on terror? BY BETH HENARY LAST MONTH, as schools were preparing to open their doors, a heated debate erupted in the media...
...Many chose to give teachers free rein to address the issue as they saw fit...
...The district recommended to parents and teachers websites including those of the NEA, the Families and Work Institute, and the Public Broadcasting Service...
...BY BETH HENARY LAST MONTH, as schools were preparing to open their doors, a heated debate erupted in the media over how students should observe the anniversary of september 11...
...Don't be afraid of the truth about the terrorist war against America," they wrote...
...Though the lesson plan in question was only one of about a hundred posted on the site, columnists across the country seized on the incident to denounce the NEA and opine on properly patriotic ways of marking Year One...
...The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, an education-reform advocacy group, released "September 11: What Our Children Need to Know," a collection of contributions from such personalities as Lynne Cheney, William J. Bennett, and Richard Rodriguez...
...For inspiration, they could look to dozens of new books about the war on terrorBeth Henary is an editorial assistant at THE WEEKLY STANDARD...
...Like most of those interviewed for this story, she said she was unaware of the NEA's recommendations for observing September 11...
...One elementary school principal in McLean sent an e-mail advising that there would be no memorials, but that teachers should deal with the subject if it came up...
...Montgomery County, in the Maryland suburbs, took a different tack...
...All social studies teachers were to "implement age-appropriate lessons using the events of September 11 to initiate a focus on themes such as democracy, patriotism, world cultures, government, and communities...
...Maybe, but I think I know what my students need...
...Some teachers also planned to address the anniversary in their classrooms...
...In nearby Fairfax County, Virginia, principals were urged to read a brief statement supplied by the district about the heroes and victims of September 11 before their daily moment of silence...
...Social studies curriculum director Martin M. Creel referred instructors to the Aval-on Project at Yale, an online compilation of presidential and congressional documents with links to sources like the European Union's statement on September 11...
...In the Los Angeles Times, for example, Abraham Cooper and Harold Brackman of the Simon Wiesenthal Center offered six suggestions for what to teach on September 11...
...Principals were notified that there would be no system-wide requirement for teaching about September 11, though the district social studies office encouraged teachers who chose to discuss the anniversary to talk about facts, not feelings...
...In the Washington area, where the reconstruction of the Pentagon is nearing completion, most districts called for some observance of the anniversary...
...This is a great way for my students to look at the elements of logos, pathos, and ethos in persuasive speeches," she said...
...Elementary school teachers were to read an age-appropriate statement to their classes...
...A news release from the district encouraged principals to "maintain a regular instruction program throughout the rest of the day...
...she asked...
...A literature and composition teacher said her advanced placement composition class would analyze one of President Bush's war speeches from 2001...
...Is that terrible...
...Conservatives howled at this "blame America" approach...
...One was an explicit response to the NEA plan, which Cooper and Brackman said promoted "historical amnesia...
...But at least one Fairfax County high school opted for a patriotic display: Students and staff were asked to wear red, white, and blue, and the art department planned to make banners that would stretch from the school to a nearby highway...
...She welcomed the opportunity to discuss persuasion in politics and to bring current events into the classroom without compromising content...
...Politically correct euphemisms and evasions shouldn't hide the fingerprints of those responsible...
...In the end, the media frenzy appears to have had little effect on the policies adopted by schools...
...ism, as well as lesson plans assembled by groups eager to capitalize on a "teachable moment...
...But despite the deluge of ready-made materials, districts and teachers decided to rely mainly on their own resourcefulness to address their students' needs...
...According to the Washington Times, a lesson plan on the National Education Association's website was urging teachers to use the occasion to "discuss historical instances of American intolerance" so as to avoid "repeating terrible mistakes" like the internment of Japanese Americans after Pearl Harbor...
...In secondary schools a brief statement about the anniversary was to be read over the intercom, followed by a period of silence...
...Some, like the Baltimore County Public Schools in Maryland, took a centralized approach...
...One member of his staff said teachers had "enough on their minds with the beginning of school" and probably weren't preparing any special lesson plan...
...The Families and Work Institute in New York posted a series of lesson plans entitled "9/11 As History...
Vol. 8 • September 2002 • No. 1
