Looking Back

Student Reporter remembers 9/11/2001

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President George W. Bush sits at his desk in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C. after adressing the nation on September 11, 2006. (Photo: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images/NewsCom)

Do you remember September 11, 2001? That fateful day five years ago destroyed the images many people had of the United States as one of the safest countries in the world. It brought to the eyes of our generation the truth of war.

It also brought many people in the nation together, helping each other throughout the ordeal. People are more aware of the world we all live in.

On this fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on America, President George W. Bush gave a speech on the changes in the world since then.

“On 9 /11 our nation saw the face of evil . . . [but] we also witnessed . . . ordinary citizens rising to the occasion,” he said. The President gave many examples of this. Whether it was the passengers of Flight 93, who summoned their courage and kept the terrorists from crashing into a building, or the many firemen who gave their lives to save others, the nation saw many examples of extraordinary acts of courage. The President made note of their bravery.

“We pay tribute to those who gave their lives so others might live,” he said in the address from the Oval Office in the White House.

My classmates in Nashville, Tennessee, also remember the day the world changed five years ago. We were only 8 years old at the time.

“It really shocks me that so many people died because of someone who actually tried to kill them. That just didn’t feel real to me and it still doesn’t today,” said Mackenzie Cunningham, who was in third grade in 2001.

Her sentiment was shared by Layth Ezzeir, another one of my classmates. He said “[because I am Muslim], I am upset that people view Muslims differently after September 11.”

I also remember that day, too. Unlike most of my classmates, I was not in school on September 11. I was home sick. As I was riding in the car, I noticed something out of the ordinary: my mom did not have the radio on. While to most people this wouldn’t mean anything, this was very strange to me. Mom usually listens to public radio when we are in the car.

When I asked why she wasn’t listening, she said she just wasn’t in the mood. Later I learned it was because she didn’t want to upset me while I was sick.

I don’t quite remember how I felt about it when she told me. I suppose it was probably sadness for the people who had died, and shock at the fact that something like that could have happened. And maybe I also felt a little anger at the people who could have done such a thing.

While I don’t know for certain how I felt then, there is one thing about 9/11 that I am certain of now: I will never forget. None of us will ever forget. 

Read more about President Bush's address to the nation.

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This year marks the fifth anniversary of the attacks on September 11, 2001. A group called myGoodDeed.org is encouraging people to remember 9/11 by doing a good deed.

How will you remember 9/11?

Join the discussion.

Aaron Broder is a member of the Scholastic Kids Press Corps.

Remembering 9/11
A new study published this week links the dirty air at Ground Zero after the September 11th attacks to lung problems of many rescue workers. In the largest study to date, doctors at Mount Sinai Medical Center found almost 70% of rescue workers exposed to the polluted air at the site soon became sick. The study will be published in the Journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

Remembering 9/11
A nonprofit group called One Day's Pay wants you to do a good deed. The group has set up a Web site for the fifth anniversary of 9/11 to encourage people to honor that day by volunteering. The new program was announced at a press conference at Scholastic headquarters in New York City on Wednesday. U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, and U.S. Representative Peter King, both of New York, joined the Web site's president and co-founder David Paine at the conference.

Remembering 9/11
Student Reporter Nathan Kahn recently sat down with Joe Daniels, the acting president of the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation. They talked about construction on the memorial and the Foundation's plan to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

LESSON PLAN	Remembering September 11 with history lessons and activities from the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at The World Trade Center and Scholastic With a focus on the events of September 11, 2001, these lesson plans and activities teach the value of primary sources as a means to remembering...
UNIT PLAN	History in the Making: Remembering September 11, 2001 With a focus on the events of September 11, 2001, these lesson plans and activities teach the value of primary sources as a means to remembering...