nmah6506.xml

nmah6506.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2004-04-25

On the morning of September 11, I was teaching my fifth grade music classes at A.L. Lotts Elementary in Knoxville, TN. I started teaching at 8:00 a.m. and did not find out what was going on until a teacher whispered it to me as she dropped off her class for music. Not knowing what was to happen that day, I had chosen to teach a song called "Harmony." Here are the words:

Verse 1: The time has come, let us begin, with all our voices joining in, to sing of love and brotherhood, and people doing what they should to help their fellow man be free and fill this land with harmony; the young, the old, the rich, the poor, making sounds never heard before.

Chorus: Harmony, harmony, let's all join in harmony and sing away the hurt and fear. A great new day will soon be here.

Verse 2: Like the shepherd guards his sheep, watch your children as they sleep, and like the potter turns his clay, help us shape a better day. Let us sing a song of love, for there's one thing I'm certain of: love will fill the hearts of men, and peace will come on earth once again.

After I found out about the planes hitting the World Trade Center, it was all I could do to continue teaching the song without bursting into tears, but I had no choice. These were young children who in some cases did not yet know what had happened or at least did not know the grave importance of these events. I'm sure they saw the fear on my face, though.

I will always be glad that we were singing that song on September 11, and I hope that those words will resonate loudly among their memories of that horrible day in their young lives.