It’s a sobering fact to any adult to think that today’s high school students do not remember the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. It was 12 years ago now, so those students would have been 6 years old at best, and most of them even younger.
For today’s students, a moment of remembrance does not hold the same weight as it does for those who lived through 9/11, and schools are left in the position of figuring out how, or if, to recognize the anniversary.
“To me, the grief (of 9/11) is the same as when I think of events like the Civil War, Hiroshima, World War II and other events worthy of a moment of silence,” said Marissa Heffernan, a junior at Biddeford High School, which recognized the anniversary with a moment of silence. “I have no personal connection with the 9/11 attack besides the stories told to me by adults who remember the event, and so during the moment of silence our school has, I tend to extend my thoughts to all who died needlessly.”
Some of her peers said they feel the remembrance is unnecessary.
“I think it (a moment of silence) makes sense in a big crowd or sporting event, but not as much in schools because most students don’t even remember what happened,” said Madison Perry, a freshman at BHS.
Senior Danica Lamontagne agreed, “I think it’s important to keep students informed about what happened and what that event meant for our country, but I don’t know if we necessarily need to acknowledge the exact moment of the attack with silence every year.”
With their students’ perspective in mind, one York County school is taking a different approach to remembering 9/11. Bonny Eagle High School, which in York County serves Hollis and Buxton students, did not have a moment of silence this year, but instead chose to have a school-wide assembly on Sept. 11 focusing on respect and responsibility, said Principal Paul Penna.
“As we move further away from the historical event, it becomes more relevant to put it into the curriculum because these kids were very young,” he said.
The assembly, and corresponding “Teaching Tone” curriculum the school is beginning this year, takes a wider view toward creating a safe and caring environment, he said.
“With what’s going on nationally, it’s a pretty important issue to make kids feel safe and connected,” he said.
Bonny Eagle appears to be an outlier among York County schools, however, the remainder of which do directly recognize the 9/11 anniversary ”“ and that has caused hard feelings for some. Area veterans say they would like to see a formal remembrance of 9/11 and other important dates that shaped America, even if it’s just a brief moment of silence.
Spc. Wesley Bucklin, U.S. Army National Guard, 1136th Transportation Unit, said he mentors a BEHS student and was very upset to hear from him that no remembrance was observed there on the 9/11 anniversary.
“The whole nation did a moment of silence, and the whole military did as well,” wrote Bucklin, of Waterboro, in a letter to the Journal Tribune. “It just seems very disrespectful that they did not join the rest of the United States in a moment to honor the heroes of that day.
“We are still fighting a war that 9/11 started, and men and women are still dying over this, yet Bonny Eagle finds it’s not worth a moment of silence, which takes 30 seconds.”
Gene Foster, director of the Biddeford-Saco Veterans Council and inspector general of the Maine AMVETS, said he agrees that significant historic dates should be recognized in school.
“They should take a few minutes during the core curriculum on some of the more memorable occasions, like D-Day or Hiroshima,” he said. “Those events, I think, need to be mentioned on their anniversaries. And if kids want to ask questions, the instructor needs to have some info and be able to suggest books.”
While all of the area schools teach the history of 9/11 in the classroom, formal recognition of the anniversary varies widely, though all high schools that responded to requests for interviews, except BEHS, observed a moment of silence this year. Here’s a look at how other schools in York County are recognizing 9/11, and their administrator’s thoughts on how to handle recognition of this historical event:
Ӣ At Kennebunk High School, Regional School Unit 21 Superintendent Andrew Dolloff said the annual tribute has actually grown in scope since the 10th anniversary of the attacks in 2011, resulting in a 15-minute ceremony at which the student body gathers around the flagpole, with students performing readings and representatives from each branch of the armed services raising their respective flags.
Acknowledgment of the attacks is appropriate, said Dolloff.
“For many folks, it really is a significant moment in time that changed how we go about our lives,” he said.
RSU 21 schools don’t hold similar tributes for other historic events, such as Pearl Harbor Day or D-Day, though they are taught in classroom settings. Those events have, of course, receded further into history.
“(But) I don’t feel like we’re at that point yet with 9/11,” said Dolloff.
Ӣ Administrators at Biddeford High School appear to agree, as the school held a moment of silence at the beginning of the school day and flew the American flag at half-staff on Sept. 11.
“I think it’s one of the most tragic events on American soil,” said Principal Jeremie Sirois. “It’s important that kids are able to look back and remember what took place.”
Many teachers at BHS also incorporated the anniversary into their lesson plans, said Sirois. Teacher Dave Pasquarello said he held a whole unit with his students leading up to the event.
“We talked about what happened and why and how to keep it from happening again,” he said.
Through the lesson, said Pasquarello, his students came away with “an appreciation for the sacrifices made that day.”
”¢ At Sanford High School, students and staff also observed a moment of silence on Sept. 11, said Principal Jed Petsinger. Some teachers, particularly those engaged in teaching history, suspended the regular curriculum and used the opportunity to discuss what had transpired that day back in 2001, exploring questions like how the events affected the United States as a society and how it changed everyone’s life.
Petsinger said the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 should be remembered ”“ and pointed out that the subject is included as part of the curriculum in some of the high school’s history courses.
“You don’t ever want to forget an event like that,” he said, adding that the school still teaches about Pearl Harbor Day, Dec. 7. 1941, which drew the United States into World War II, as part of its curriculum, but that the day isn’t formally marked at school with a moment of silence.
“It’s more about not forgetting,” Petsinger said, about the events, whether it is remembered in April or September or at some other time.
”¢ Such remembrance is paramount at Massabesic High School, which hosts a Naval Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program. Peter Jordan, naval science instructor at MHS, said the freshman NJROTC classes were shown a video about the attacks, followed by a discussion “about what these young students knew about 9/11 and why it was important to remember such an event.”
MHS has a school-wide moment of silence every morning, said Jordan, with an announcement made beforehand on noteworthy anniversary dates.
“If we don’t remember the past then our kids will not appreciate our culture, traditions and sense of community,” said MHS Principal Christian Elkington. “They need to see that what they have just doesn’t happen, but comes from the efforts of others before them.
“We need to look at integrating these events into our curriculum. Not just through social studies but across all aspects of learning.”
Ӣ Patricia Erickson, Thornton Academy spokeswoman, said the observance of Sept. 11 varies from year to year. Erickson said this year the flag was at half-staff and a moment of silence was observed. Teachers could also incorporate Sept. 11 into their curriculums, she said.
Ӣ Old Orchard Beach High School Principal Rick DiFusco said on Sept. 11, he made a school-wide announcement over the intercom to remind students of the tragedy, followed with a request for a moment of silence.
“I explained to the students that though they were much too young to recall the tragic event, their parents, relatives and friends most certainly did,” he said in an email.
DiFusco said the announcement was made at the beginning of a 15-minute block with advisors, which allowed for further discussion in smaller groups.
— The Journal Tribune news staff and high school columnist Marissa Heffernan contributed to this report. Kristen Schulze Muszynski can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 322 or kristenm@journaltribune.com.
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