On 9/11, this 6th grader worried her dad would be deployed. She was right.
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9/11: 20 voices, 20 years later
Collectively, the ordinary and the extraordinary stories of that day show a shared history and an understanding of what it was like to be in America on 9/11.
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As part of her World History class at Ridge Road Middle School in Charlotte, Kiara Eden teaches her 8th grade students about 9/11 by focusing on details that they can relate to.
“I try to stay away from videos — with social media and video games, kids have been desensitized to trauma,” Eden said. “Instead, I use pictures and primary and secondary sources and focus on the intricate details. That’s what gets their attention. They don’t understand things like how the attackers could get on the planes so easily, that TSA wasn’t invented yet.”
Eden also shares her personal story with students, which resonates in a much more somber way, where the details don’t feel so far removed. “For them, 9/11 is the equivalent of George Washington being the first president — it’s history. But when I tell them my experience and how its impact affected my life for decades, they pick up on my emotions and that connection of ‘Oh, my teacher went through this,’” Eden said.
She was in 6th grade in a small school in Fayetteville just outside of Fort Bragg, when her teachers first told the class what was happening on 9/11. Initially, they reported to students that a bomb had gone off in New York.
“Everyone in my class was affiliated with the military, so our initial reaction was, ‘Oh my God, my dad or my mom is going to have to leave. For me, 9/11 isn’t just a historical event. It affected my life personally for 13 years, through middle school and high school. My dad had four combat deployments — two in Afghanistan, one in Iraq and one in Jordan — so my mom was essentially a single mom. My students seem to be a little bit more intrigued by that.”
This also gives Eden a segue into teaching about the War on Terror and how it differs from previous wars that our country had been in, so students leave her class with a better understanding not only of the events of 9/11 itself, but its ramifications in a broader sense.
To keep history alive and relatable, Eden will often have students interview parents or teachers. She has also had students create 9/11 memorial tribute in chalk on the school sidewalks.
This story was originally published September 7, 2021 at 6:30 AM.
