Reflections on 9/11: A Teacher’s Journey and Educational Evolution
On September 11, 2001, Sarah Kopplin stepped into her first classroom as a student teacher, a day that would alter both her teaching approach and the world. Scheduled to teach a 10th-grade world history class in Stillwater, Minnesota, the events of that morning shifted her lesson plans dramatically. By 7:46 a.m. central time, the trajectory of the day—and her career—was irrevocably changed.
“The principal went on the loudspeaker and announced that all teachers needed to stop teaching and turn on the television set attached to the wall,” Kopplin recalled. “And we watched the second plane hit the tower.” The school dismissed students and staff for the remainder of the day.
The following days were challenging, as a Sikh student in Kopplin’s class faced hostility and violence from classmates who mistakenly associated his appearance with the 9/11 attackers. This incident deeply impacted Kopplin, influencing her teaching philosophy for years to come.
Now a social studies teacher in the Shorewood School District, Kopplin uses the attacks as a framework to promote empathy in her classroom. “Having students mistreated because they were Muslim and Sikh and having them associated with terrorists, even though that’s not who they are. That’s really shaped me as an educator,” she explained.
Educators face the challenge of teaching 9/11 to students for whom it is merely history. According to Jeremy Stoddard, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, 30% of the current U.S. population was not born at the time of the attacks. This generational gap has prompted varied approaches to teaching about 9/11 across the nation.
Stoddard’s research at the Wisconsin Center for Education highlights how teaching about 9/11 and the subsequent War on Terror has evolved over time, with ten states mandating educational activities or curriculums related to the events. For example, Florida requires 45 minutes of instruction on 9/11, while Pennsylvania’s Department of Education has developed a curriculum for schools to adopt.
In Wisconsin, the state legislature has designated September 11 as a “special observance” day in schools, but there is no mandated curriculum. Local districts decide how to address the topic, with resources provided by the state Department of Public Instruction to aid educators (source).
At the University School of Milwaukee, a commemorative ceremony will take place, featuring six teachers who were present on campus during the attacks, two of whom were students at the time. Social studies teacher Chuck Taft emphasizes the importance of public memory, drawing parallels with other pivotal events in American history like Pearl Harbor and the Challenger explosion.
“We’re trying to get a conversation started in our school, and then we’re asking students to take that conversation home and ask their parents ‘Mom, dad, what’s your 9/11 story?’” Taft said, aiming to bridge the gap between personal and collective memory for a new generation.
