[ad_1]
With the help of a colleague, retired Altoona teacher Tina Johnston developed a lesson plan that blends the story of Flight 93 with the works of William Shakespeare.
Johnston, along with other teachers, is scheduled to be featured on CBS Nightly News on Thursday to tell how the stories of 9/11 have been brought into the classroom, to teach today’s youth the story their parents had were witnesses.
Although she has retired from her daily teaching position, Johnston participates in ongoing efforts to help educators in three states develop a program on the events of September 11, 2001.
“The next generation must realize that the events of September 11 have shaped the world in which they live”, Johnston said. “It really shaped everything in the world as we know it, from the way we communicate, to the way you go on any kind of trip and even now with what’s going on in Afghanistan. These are all important lessons that we need to teach in our classrooms.
Johnston gave a presentation on Flight 93 connections and “Hamlet” to high school educators Tuesday night at a virtual teacher development panel hosted by the National Parks Service and Friends of Flight 93. Additional presentations are planned, she said.
Johnston said the lesson plan was created in 2018 with a colleague, Tanya Lucas, for the senior English course.
An avid reader of Shakespeare’s works, Johnston said she wanted to make 9/11 a part of her agenda and found a connection to the Tower of Voices at the Flight 93 memorial and “Hamlet”
In Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” as the titular prince Hamlet dies in Horatio’s arms, he tells Horatio to “tell my story” and Horatio swears to tell the story of what happened.
As the Americans promised never to forget the 9/11 attacks, the theme corresponded to “Hamlet,” Johnston said, and she felt it was the perfect way to get the message across to a younger generation.
“I wanted to link Hamlet’s story to the real world of children” Johnston said. “I was thinking of the Tower of Voices, and the theme of Hamlet telling Horatio to ‘tell my story’ was so relevant. The lesson plan is really to remember the passengers on Flight 93 and never forget their stories. “
According to Friends of Flight 93, about 60% of school districts in Pennsylvania have no requirements to teach 9/11 history.
Danielle Miller, who is the learning center coordinator for Friends of Flight 93, said that as the years go by, the need to educate young people about 9/11 becomes even more urgent.
“As a nation, we made the promise to never forget”, Miller said. “For those of us who were alive, this visceral memory will live with us for the rest of our lives. But about 75 million Americans have been born since then, and they have no memory of 9/11. If they are not directly informed of what happened on September 11, those memories will die with us. It is not keeping the promise to never forget.
Miller said the panel was aimed at helping teachers overcome the challenges of teaching 9/11 across multiple disciplines.
Some teachers may be uncomfortable teaching about the 9/11 terrorist attacks, because of the difficult memories they may relate or because they do not feel qualified enough to teach the subject, he said. she declared.
Other educators, Miller said, may struggle to fit a lesson about 9/11 into their busy schedules.
Johnston’s unique lesson plan incorporating Hamlet’s story was just one of many ideas presented to teachers to help overcome obstacles in 9/11 lesson plans.
“We don’t need to form a 9/11 unit that takes a whole week to teach” Miller said. “There are many different ways of incorporating these lessons into the classroom, such as working collaboratively across disciplines and separating materials. “
Johnston said she hopes the story of Flight 93 and 9/11 as a whole continues to evolve and become a regular part of the high school curriculum.
“It is important to keep the relevance of September 11 in our classrooms”, Johnston said. “We can’t teach it in history class either. These events have completely changed our world as we know it, and we must continue to tell their stories. “
Mirror staff writer Calem Illig is at 814-946-7535.
[ad_2]
Source link