story8342.xml

story8342.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-10-03

September 11, 2001, was my second day of student teaching at Pulaski Middle School in New Britain, CT. At around 8:40 A.M., my cooperating teacher and I had sent the kids off to gym class. Shortly after, I logged onto the classroom computer to check my e-mail and the news. When I looked at Cnn.com, the graphic of the plane hitting the first tower struck me-I first thought that this was a movie that was being filmed. Shortly thereafter, one of the school volunteers came into the classroom to tell me that one of the World Trade Center towers had been hit by an airplane, and it was at that moment that I discovered that this tragedy was all too true. As I had to teach until noon, I did not hear about the other three planes until that hour. The children were scheduled to have a class called Character Education (to be given by the PE teacher) at 2:00 P.M. that afternoon, but instead, she spoke very eloquently about the tragic events that had occurred. Driving home that day, I wanted to get home as fast as possible, as I was not sure if other attacks would occur. Listening to the radio and hearing nothing but news was shocking and surreal to me-I couldn't believe what was happening. On arriving home, I turned on the TV and watched news coverage of the attacks as I tried to grasp the dimensions of what had occurred. Later that evening, while still watching media coverage, tears began to well up in my eyes-even though I had not lost anyone at any of the disaster sites. It is my sincere hope that America NEVER forgets the events of this day-it is our responsibility to teach our children and grandchildren about this horrible day in US history and instill in them a responsibility for them to tell future generations so that this NEVER HAPPENS again.