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Gold9472
09-16-2011, 08:46 AM
New 9/11 curriculum available for schools

http://www.northjersey.com/news/129935943_New_9_11_curriculum_available_for_school s_.html

Friday, September 16, 2011
BY MARK J. BONAMO
MANAGING EDITOR

The start of the 2011-2012 school year coincides with a focal event in the New York/New Jersey metropolitan region: the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Just in time for the commemoration of this dark event in our nation's history, a new 9/11 curriculum is now available to the Garden State students and educators trying to make sense of the events and issues linked to that fateful day.

The 4 Action Initiative, a collaborative effort involving Families of September 11, the Liberty Science Center, and the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education, created the new curriculum, entitled "Learning from the Challenges of Our Times: Global Security, Terrorism and 9/11 in the Classroom."

The more than 50 lessons contained in this curriculum, which is divided into elementary, middle and high school lesson plans and themes, were developed, piloted in more than 60 New Jersey school districts, revised and refined by curriculum developers and the 4 Action Initiative team, according to the curriculum's introductory letter.

Approximately 25 volunteer educators researched the events and issues tied to 9/11 and crafted the K-12 curriculum under the guidance of the Holocaust Commission. Sixty-two New Jersey teachers representing urban, suburban and rural districts throughout the state taught the pilot lessons in their classrooms during the 2009-10 academic year, and their input was incorporated into the final curriculum design, according to the state Department of Education website.

Lesson themes include the historical context of terrorism, the consequences and challenges in a post-9/11 world, remembrance and public memory, and building better futures.

In addition to the lessons now available, 50 more lessons will be available in pilot form during the upcoming school year, so that additional input may be received and the lessons can be finalized by next summer, according to the Holocaust Commission.

In introducing the curriculum, the 4 Action Initiative specifically emphasizes their mindfulness of the needs of the youngest students. Fairmount School Principal Joseph Cicchelli, who presides over a pre-K through 4th grade student body, touched upon the special challenges of teaching 9/11 to that age group.

"A lot of children may have family members who lived through it, so we want to make sure that they understand what happened in an age-appropriate and sensitive way," Cicchelli said. "We have to consider how much a child will really understand. Some people equate terrorists with the Bogeyman, and I've heard children talk about them that way. The most important thing to focus on is tolerance. There is a right way and a wrong way to deal with things. You need to learn about other people to help prevent things like another 9/11 from happening in the future."

For Dr. Christopher Nagy, superintendent of the Northern Valley Regional school district, sensitivity when teaching 9/11 is also a must.

"We have four staff members who lost loved ones, and we have two students in each of our high schools who have lost parents as a result of the 9/11 attacks," Nagy said. "The curriculum that has come out has provided us with an impetus on the 10th anniversary of 9/11 to show us where we have grown, and what are the issues that we are still dealing with."

"We have to look at the individuality of the people who did what they did," Nagy added. "They are an isolated group that is not representative of an entire population. That should resonate throughout the entire community. That's an important piece in educating our students. We can now pause and self-reflect upon where we are as individuals in order to be better people and better citizens."

Cicchelli recalled a popular saying as he looked forward to teaching the new 9/11 curriculum.

"Don't forget, everything you've learned in life, you learned in kindergarten. There's a lot of truth to that," Cicchelli said. "You can explain on the playground that the right way to deal with a conflict is to talk through it, then come up with a better solution. There is always a better way."