Reflections on the 20th Anniversary of 9/11

September 10, 2021

Dear LREI Community,

Hello from the first week of school.  As you heard from the principal(s) of your divisions yesterday, we are off to a terrific start. Even with our Covid precautions we have had two fairly typical days. I am hopeful for many, many more in the months ahead. Days like these will remind our students, and through them you, what is so special about the LREI experience. Stay tuned for more news from the school and be sure to follow us on social media.

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“When you are sorrowful, look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.”   – Kahlil Gibran

Tomorrow, as you know, is the 20th anniversary of 9/11. In addition to the memorial moments for the lives lost and those forever altered, this year’s landmark anniversary is prompting reflection of a deeper and more critical sort than I remember from years past. This tendency is likely to continue as the day itself moves farther and farther into history and away from a commonly shared experience.

First, I hope that you and your family will find time tomorrow, maybe during one of the Citywide moments of silence, to remember the lives lost and to offer thoughts of  peace and love to those who lost loved ones on 9/11/01.   

In our little corner of the world, 9/11 is moving farther and farther away from the community’s first-hand experience. None of our students were alive and fewer and fewer of my colleagues were at LREI on 9/11/01. I remember, like it was yesterday, the generosity and humanity shown by so many who were in school that day – the parents who helped serve lunch so that our kitchen staff could start towards home;  the high school principal who spent hours driving students home; and the members of the Village community who offered support and comfort to those walking up Sixth Avenue from Lower Manhattan. The way that teachers and students took care of each other, remained calm, and tried to understand the inexplicable was remarkable. An enduring memory for me is of a group of teachers headed towards the Brooklyn Bridge, walking home, taking along a few students and a mother and infant who had wandered into the school seeking refuge. This image moves me to this day. And I often think of the compassion, expertise, and care with which the staff reconvened after a week to plan for the students’ return to school. Finally, I will never forget the experience of a colleague who did not feel safe traveling to and from work each day, in the wake of the almost instant racist backlash against those presumed to be Muslim. 

The 20-year anniversary also allows us, maybe even compels us, to examine the challenges to, and systemic weakening of, our civil liberties, and the bigotry and the divisiveness that followed on from this day. Of course, the 20-year war in Afghanistan, the countless lives lost and changed during its course, and the question of how we welcome refugees from Afghanistan keeps the aftermath of 9/11 in our present while it also recedes into history.  

How do we discuss 9/11 with our students? Of course our conversations differ by age. That said, we find ways to speak clearly about the unimaginable – discussions of violence, loss, intolerance, of love and of courage. We respond to all questions with honesty, giving answers when we have them, finding them if we don’t. We speak from our own experiences when we can, and ask others about their experiences, as needed. Our conversations include the events of the day and the events that followed. We can help students understand the impact on the lives of the many who lost loved ones and the ongoing impact of the biases and prejudices that continue to diminish the humanity of so many. 

This is all to say that for children of all ages, and clearly for adults, there are conversations to be had on Saturday and beyond. Help your children to understand what it meant to be in NYC on this day, to have compassion for those whose lives were forever changed, to understand what it is like to live in the shadow of 9/11, and how these experiences likely differ based on one’s identity. You might want to think with them about the ways Muslims are seen and treated by some, on both personal and systemic levels. These can be hard conversations. However, if we are going to look back and memorialize the events of that day, we must also engage with its legacy. 

As always, making these connections, answering these challenging questions – those focused on the “whens,” “what’s,” and “where’s,” and certainly those focused on the “why’s” – will help your children connect with the world and think more broadly and deeply about the impact of community and governmental actions, both supportive and otherwise. They will make connections between one horrible day 20 years ago and our lives today. This will all support our goal of helping students to narrow the distance between their experiences and identities and those of others, to create greater understanding, and to envision a more inclusive and peaceful future. 

These are big and challenging questions about big and challenging issues. I have included resources below which I hope you will find helpful. Thanks to Kalil Oldham, Director of Equity and Community, and to our school psychologists, Judy Lambek (Fours-sixth grades) and Ty Beauchamp (seventh – twelfth grades) for their suggestions. And, of course, do not hesitate to be in touch if any of us can be of support to you.

Peace,

Resources:

• Using the New York Times to teach about 9/11

• NPR on How to talk about 9/11 with kids

• PBS, Suggestions for talking about 9/11 in the classroom 

• ADL, Remembering 9/11

• Talking to kids about Sept. 11 by age level

• NPR, Books Can Help Kids Learn About What Happened On 9/11. Here Are Some Good Ones

• NYTimes, To Be Young, American, and Muslim After 9/11

“As we act, let us not become the evil we deplore.” -Representative Barbara Lee on 9/14/01 quoting a member of the clergy from a 9/11 memorial service.

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