Teaching young people about the events of Sept. 11 through virtual program
SHANKSVILLE ― Teachers and students across America can virtually join the annual "Moment of Remembrance" from Flight 93 National Memorial.
This year the memorial ceremony held in observance of the Sept. 11, 2001, attack will also offer more learning opportunities for classrooms as part of the “Teach to Remember 9/11” campaign.
The National Day of Learning for Sept. 11 was created to assist educators in overcoming the challenges of teaching Sept. 11 to their students and to inspire the next generation with the Flight 93 story. The National Park Service created the programming that can be used in grades 6-12 throughout the globe.
"The program was designed to reach the next generation and audience that has not lived through Sept. 11," said Katherine Hostetler, park ranger and public information officer. "It is the generation to take up the reins after us. To teach and inspire us."
The virtual program will be a mix of pre-recorded lesson plans, a live stream of the Memorial Service and Moment of Remembrance as well as interactive sessions with rangers.
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“I welcome classrooms to join this National Day of Learning and hope students will gain a greater sense for what happened on Sept. 11, 2001, and how it shaped the world we live in now,” said Flight 93 National Memorial Superintendent Stephen M. Clark.
The National Park Service and Friends of Flight 93 National Memorial coordinated the National Day of Learning. Teachers can register now for this virtual learning opportunity at https://www.nps.gov/flni/learn/education/virtual-tour.htm.
“I’m grateful that Teach to Remember 9/11 is providing educators across America increased access to the memorial and the resources for teaching about that day. As each year passes, education about 9/11 becomes increasingly more important,” said Jack Grandcolas, husband of Flight 93 passenger Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas.
Educational sessions offered
The educational sessions will be available for educators through fall 2023 and include videos with family members of Flight 93 passengers and crew, a virtual tour of the memorial, and an opportunity for students to conduct their own investigation of what happened on Flight 93. Students can write about what they learned as part of a 9/11 national writing project through the National Writing Project through fall 2023.
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The 30-minute public ceremony begins at 9:50 a.m. Sept. 11, at the Memorial Plaza. The reading of passengers' and crew members' names coincides with 10:03 a.m., when Flight 93 crashed. The observance will be publicly broadcast live on the Flight 93 National Memorial YouTube page.
"This allows people from all across the U.S. and the globe to watch the observance," Hostetler said.
She said 9,000 students are already lined up to take part in the livestream. By comparison, for the 10th year anniversary, the memorial had 11,000 people, she said.
"This is expected to far surpass that," Hostetler said. "Anybody can watch at any time, any place. Teachers and students across the country and the world."
This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Teaching young people about the events of Sept. 11 virtually
