On 10th anniversary of Sept. 11 attacks, Watervliet students remember, learn

Sept. 12, 2011

For many students in the Watervliet City School District memories of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks – if they have them at all – can be hazy. Many students can remember watching television either at home or in their classrooms at school.

“My mom came to get me in school,” Kytear Conyers said Monday relating a common memory among students as many parents took their children out of school that day.

Most of the district’s oldest students were only second graders at the time of the attacks. Despite the sometimes limited personal recall, the event and its somber 10-year anniversary can still help students make sense of the present and the future.

During the last few days, teachers throughout the district have engaged students in a variety of discussions and activities revolving around Sept. 11. For some teachers, such as 6th grade teacher Andrea DeLollo, Sept. 11 lessons are annual. Other teachers led activities specifically for the 10th anniversary. Fourth grade teacher Kelly Webster, for instance, organized the creation of a paper remembrance quilt at the elementary school. See photos of the quilt.

In Scott Emerson’s 10th grade global studies class Monday students discussed the terrorist attacks and the impact the resulting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have had on their lives and the city of Watervliet. To gauge the impact, Emerson asked the students to raise their hands if they knew someone, directly or indirectly, who was serving in either of the wars. Nearly all the students in Emerson’s second period class raised their hands. Emerson’s lesson on Sept. 11 also touched on a number of other current day issues such as the use of torture, racial profiling, safety from future attacks and more.

While the anniversary has now passed, the lessons will continue.

In Bryan Satterlee’s 8th grade social studies class students are discussing oral histories they’ve collected from neighbors and relatives who have more vivid memories of the attacks. The remembrance quilt will be displayed outside the elementary school cafeteria for the foreseeable future.