Our schools need to explore the root causes of 9/11
What is being - or not being - taught in schools concerning 9/11 varies greatly from state to state, according to America, Circle, a center for information and research on civic learning and engagement.
On the 10th anniversary of the terrorists, the center presented a Fact Sheet on how the states were handling the attacks and terrorism in their curricula and textbooks. It determined there was "a startling lack of detail about what actually happened on 9/11."
A decade later, the study did find that 30 percent of states had updated their standards since 2001.
But even with the revised versions, "one would expect then that the most recently revised textbooks would contain more specific details," it stated.
Amazingly, 16 states did not even mention the 9/11 attacks or any key content related to terrorism. One area ignored by many states was examining the relationship between Islam and terrorism.
"Given the lack of attention in the standard documents to the causes of terrorism, it is not surprising that in the vast majority there is no explicit attempt to engage students in exploring the complex roots of terrorism and the complex histories of terrorist groups," it stated.
Only eight of the states included standards that require students to analyze the causes of terrorism. Even with respect to 9/11 specifically, only four states (Georgia, Louisiana, Minnesota and Texas) mentioned the 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden or the terrorist network al-Qaida.
The three states that specifically included Islam in the context of terrorism and 9/11 were Massachusetts, Louisiana and Texas.
Two years ago, state Rep. Steve Santarsiero, a Bucks County legislator, encouraged lawmakers to incorporate the events of 9/11 into school curriculums throughout Pennsylvania.
After witnessing the attacks on the World Trade Centers on 9/11, Santarsiero became a social studies teacher at Bensalem High School before running for public office.
Pennsylvania's official Sept. 11 memorial, the Garden of Reflection, is located in Santarsiero's district. Eighteen Bucks County residents died in the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.
In proposing Resolution 382, Santarsiero stated:
"Consistent with the enlightened intentions of these commemorative efforts, this commonwealth's policymakers must ensure that present and future generations of students are taught the importance and gravity of the events that occurred on this most significant historical date in American history and of this country's enduring victorious spirit and commitment to fighting terrorism and spreading the cause of freedom around the world."
Our future generations must never forget that 9/11 was a strategically planned attack against the United States that impacted individual lives and changed our nation forever.
Political correctness be damned! The fact that United Airlines Flight 93, one of the four hijacked commercial airliners, crashed into a field in Somerset County during an attempt by passengers to wrest back control of the plane from radical Muslim terrorists, adds to the relevance and necessitates that 9/11 be included in the government, history and social studies curriculums of every school in the state.
By JIM ZBICK | tneditor@tnonline.com
