Educators encouraged to mark 9-11 as they see fit

Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2003 | 9:37 a.m.

There's no official lesson plan for Clark County educators to follow Thursday to mark the second anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

School principals and teachers have been encouraged to decide for themselves how much class time to devote to topic, said Agustin Orci, deputy superintendent of instruction for the Clark County School District.

Most campuses will note the anniversary in some way, such as a moment of silence in the morning, Orci said. In the elementary schools observances and discussion are less likely to extend beyond that, Orci said.

"I would imagine that every single teacher in our upper grades will make reference to it in some way on their own or have students generate discussion," Orci said Tuesday. "For older generations Dec. 7, 1941, was a day that lived in infamy. For this generation, it's Sept. 11, 2001. It's natural that students will want to talk about it."

At Lied Middle School, the school day will begin with the band teacher playing "Taps" on his trumpet, said Principal Taylor Powers. The students have also been encouraged to wear red, white and blue clothing Thursday.

Last year the staff put together lesson plans for talking about the first anniversary of the attacks. This time the topic will be limited primarily to the geography classes' weekly current events discussion, said Stephanie Hirsch, chair of Lied's social studies department.

"We try and weave current events into the curriculum all year long," Hirsch said. "When I teach the unit on tolerance we talk about Sept. 11 and World War II. It helps give the students a sense of perspective of how their experiences fit with issues around the world."

Kathryn Singer, principal of Cadwallader Middle School, said she's respecting her teachers' decisions to connect the event to the day's curriculum -- or not.

"We're giving our staff leeway to make that judgment based on what they believe is best for their students," Singer said.