As the the 10th anniversary of 9/11 las just passed, I am reminded of the day I last celebrated my birthday on 9/11. The events of that day were rolled out on TV and in the media in such a way that I no longer celebrate my birthday on September 11th. What is there to celebrate? I now celebrate it on my mother's birthday which is September 15th .
I have snapshots in my mind of a day to look forward to, racing home from work to celebrate my birthday with the family and friends only to learn of the horror of 9/11 - listening to the radio and then witnessing the fallout on national TV.
This was a day where I felt terror and despair and my heart and blessings went out to the families who had lost their loved ones. These past and present images remind me it is essential that educators in school and colleges take into account that while our mental snapshots of 9/11 are our own, for some of our students these snapshots have been handed down to them in an album created by others.
Yet despite the fact that these snapshots were not taken by our students, we must realise they are affecting the conclusions students draw about 9/11. We must encourage our students to develop multiple perspectives about 9/11 and draw their own conclusions.
This is the discussion area for Equality and Diversity UK Network members and subscribers to The Equality Review, a publication produced by Equality and Diversity UK
No comments:
Post a Comment