Editorial: 9/11 curriculum worthy of study in our schools

Physics. Algebra. Social studies. Home economics. Driver’s education. 9/11? That’s right — 9/11. A classroom study dubbed the 9/11 curriculum is an educational plan that will focus not only on the attacks of that sorrowful morning eight years ago, but it will also educate students about how it effects their lives even today. That day changed American history. This class is an opportunity to understand how and get a better perspective into today’s world and war on terror.

The curriculum is the brainchild of several educators with the help of the Sept. 11 Education Trust. Instead of using text books, it will be taught with the use of videos and other interactive techniques.

“This is one of the critical subjects on which young people should develop some ideas and thoughts. They’re going to have to live with this for quite some time,” former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said. “It gives young people a framework in which to think about Sept. 11, all that it meant and all that it means to the present.”

Don’t expect the 9/11 curriculum, which is widely believed to be taught in select middle and high schools, to be part of every child’s public educational experience next year. It’s in the early stages of development and will be tested in just a few schools in New York, California, New Jersey, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas and Alabama.

Officials with the Alabama Department of Education were aware of the program, but were not positive which schools in the state would be part of the curriculum’s initial program.

The events of 9/11 have been compared to the attack on Pearl Harbor, but there were no widespread public school curriculums dedicated to Dec. 7, 1941. But it can be argued that 9/11 changed the way America operates, from foreign relations even to the federal government’s close eye on its own general public through wiretapping. It’s why the U.S. invaded and occupies Afghanistan. It’s why the stock market plunged so low in weeks following the attacks. It piqued American interests in the Middle East. It can be tied to America’s global, wary eye.

Such a curriculum, which should be an elective rather than a required course, can be a great educational experience for any child wishing to get a better understanding of what happened and how it affects their lives today.

We encourage the state to continue to explore its study in our schools.