Metro Schools Teach Students About 9/11

At Cimarron Middle School in Edmond, 7th graders were barely toddlers on 9/11, so many of them were learning about the tragic events for the first time.

Tuesday, September 11th 2012, 7:03 pm

By: News 9


Abby Broyles, News 9

EDMOND -- On the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy, Oklahoma kids are learning about the terrorist attacks in our schools. Students in the metro are studying about the day many people will never forget.

Most of us remember exactly where we were on 9/11 and what we were doing. At Cimarron Middle School in Edmond, 7th graders were barely toddlers on 9/11, so many of them were learning about the tragic events for the first time.

It's a tough lesson for kids to learn. Cassidy Seigler and her classmates studied the 9/11 tragedy Tuesday, some seeing pictures of ground zero for the first time.

"They got on the plane that day and were taken away by the terrorists," Seigler said.

"Parents didn't make it home to their children, which is just an awful thing to happen," Yazied Rawashdeh said.

And 11 years later, the attacks that forever changed our country still aren't in history books in some Oklahoma schools. Edmond Public Schools uses supplemental curriculum to teach the events of 9/11.

"The biggest challenge of preparing for the 9/11 discussion in class is how to bridge the gap," teacher Andrew Everson says, "How do I as a teacher inform them of all they need to know in a 50 minute time span?"

Tuesday, the students learned the destruction of the twin towers, the Pentagon crash, and the fourth strike halted by passengers over Pennsylvania.

"The passengers didn't know about what they were going to go through. They didn't know what there was going to be.. [and] if they were going to be alive tomorrow," Seigler said.

Now teachers hope students will understand the magnitude of this day in history.

"Not only the lives that were lost but also for the men and women in uniform continuing to fight," Everson said.

The lesson also focused on domestic terrorism, including the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. For years, that curriculum was limited. The class plans to visit the memorial downtown next month.

Other schools across the metro also used supplemental curriculum today. Nationally, pilot programs have been launched to help students learn about 9/11.

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