by Mike Davis, Ph.D.
Head of School

As we approach this weekend’s 15th Anniversary of 9/11, there have been a number of insightful news articles and new books reflecting on this historic event.

 

Since 2002, I have taught a class on 9/11 and it’s aftermath.  The 23 seniors currently taking my class were only 2 or 3 years old on 9/11. While they don’t remember the event, their lives have been shaped in the shadows of it. They have grown up watching news stories about terrorist attacks worldwide.  While students most often tell me that they are not fearful of a terrorist attack, they live their lives amidst terror events that feel more ever more commonplace in our lives today.  

 

During their childhoods, America fought two wars.  Because of these events, today’s students have grown up against the backdrop of an intense debate of discord and divide over the appropriate role of government and other social and cultural issues. There is no doubt that the nation is divided over the best strategies to take on al Qaeda, ISIS, and other radical groups. 

 

A significant part of my course takes students on a journey to understand the ideology and rise of figures like Osama bin Laden and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS. The course looks at these groups that justify killing civilians as legitimate means of political action, and we talk about how to take on an enemy that plays by no rules and appears to have no restraint.

 

In my years teaching this course, I have always been amazed at the levelheaded approach young people take when considering these issues.   Each student undoubtedly first comes to my class holding onto some perspective that is shaped by their family’s political orientation, as well as the news sources they read or watch.  For some, films like The Hurt Locker or Zero Dark Thirty shape their worldview.  In our conversations, I have seen students become passionate about certain issues like what to do about Guantanamo Bay or enhanced interrogation.  But, rarely do I see them argue or attack others who may hold a different political opinion. I have often wondered why this is. I see adults lose emotional control when discussing policy decisions made by George W. Bush and Barrack Obama.  I have been fascinated by the anger that can quickly rise to the top.  But, this doesn’t seem to happen for my students. If anything, they should be more fired up.  Why is this?

 

Teaching 9/11 offers an opportunity to engage in developing the critical thinking skills of high school students. As an instructor, I try to create an atmosphere in which students understand that we are searching for a truth that might take us a lifetime to understand.  As a historian who has worked in presidential libraries and filed many requests to get documents declassified, I try to emphasize that because of national security concerns, there are thousands of emails, letters, and policy papers that will take decades to be released.  We also know that all the living players in the decisions made since 9/11 are battling to preserve and protect their individual legacies and defend their actions.  Students quickly understand how limited the media is (by both the secret nature of this war, as well as by the inherent challenges of television, the internet and print) to report on and analyze effectively the myriad of complicated policy decisions to a population with a limited attention span.  Teaching 9/11 offers up to students a host of ethical, legal, and political issues to analyze and discover. It gives them an opportunity to grapple with bias and perspective. It also gives them an opportunity to develop empathy— for American soldiers who have done multiple tours of duty to serve this country, as well as for the people of the Muslim world who face daily threats from groups like ISIS or whose nations have been torn apart by war.

 

When one frames these issues around the proposition of trying to understand historical reality, students respond in mature ways.  In fact, teaching this class, as absolutely depressing as much of the subject matter is, gives me hope for this country.  I have students every year who get so excited about these issues they want to study them in college.  In the past two weeks, I have received two emails from young alumni. One urged me to show a film she came across that thinks my students would love to see.  

 

Another student wrote,

 As a history teacher, it is impossible to steer away from controversial issues.  (I am not sure why any self-respecting history teacher would want to!)  Taking on challenging issues is something that propels young people to be better citizens. For me, a key factor in making this effective for student learning, is shaping our search for the truth around the development of critical thinking skills and trying to get students to look at world events rationally and with a skeptical eye.