Educators revise coursework to answer questions about attacks

It has been 1,095 days. Much of the fear that enveloped America immediately following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks has dissipated, but students in local high schools are still asking how and why.

Accounts of the event have not yet made their way into local textbooks. Instead, teachers rely on the Internet, magazines and newspapers to teach students about the tragedy and the complicated political and religious issues surrounding it.

If nothing else, the attacks have brought about a renewed interest among students in national and international happenings, teachers say.

At Jackson High School, a recent curriculum revision changed the focus of the U.S. history classes to events that took place in the last 50 years.

"In years past, we struggled to get past the Vietnam War," said Dan Hecht, a history and current events teacher at Jackson. "It wasn't fair that the kids didn't get to study things that happened in their lifetime."

On Friday, in commemoration of the anniversary of the attacks, Hecht asked his students to list things they remembered from that day three years ago.

Hecht said his classes often make comparisons between events such as Pearl Harbor and the Sept. 11 attacks. In his current events class, students follow the war on terrorism on an almost daily basis.

"There is no doubt kids want to know about this. I've seen a greater interest in world politics in the past three years," Hecht said. "It gave us one more avenue to reach kids."

The focus isn't as great in lower grade levels, where students may have been too young to fully comprehend the attacks.

"I haven't heard a lot of talk about it. The kids haven't asked a lot of questions the last two years, not like they did after the first year," said Lee Gattis, principal at Central Junior High School in Cape Girardeau.

cclark@semissourian.com

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