High school 9/11 dialogue different with new generation
The dialogues Dale Vanlaningham had with students about Sept. 11, 2001, have changed over the years to more closely resemble historical recounts since high school classes have started including students born well after the historic date.
Vanlaningham, a current events teacher at Butler Senior High School, said he tackles 9/11 with his classes on each year’s anniversary of the date. In the years immediately following 9/11, he and the students conversed about their memories of the date, which is a dialogue format he has not been able to host for nearly 10 years now.
Talking to this new generation of students about 9/11 is similar to teaching them about any other historical event that took place before their birth, Vanlaningham said.
“For the first 13 years or so following 9/11, it wasn't a discussion of me explaining what happened, it was a shared remembrance,” Vanlaningham said Friday, Sept. 6. “We're almost 10 years since students could say, ‘Oh, yeah, I remember.’ Now we're discussing history.”
Although Vanlaningham exclusively teaches current events classes, he said 9/11 is like an annual current event because people and media organizations bring up memories of the day on each anniversary. Vanlaningham said he tends to also discuss the ripple effects of 9/11 on the U.S., which range from economic changes to cultural shifts.
“I try to focus on, ‘Since.’ That will lead into a discussion about the war on terror, and how that impacted politics at home, economics at home,” he said. “Even though they weren't alive, it was such a huge part of our culture; it was talked about for years.”
In addition to discussions about the date and its aftereffects, Vanlaningham said he shows videos from the date, as well as news clippings and other resources about 9/11.
Vanlaningham said students are typically receptive to learning about the event, but to them, hearing about 9/11 is similar to hearing about historical events like the attack on Pearl Harbor, because both happened before they were born.
“For them, what's the difference? To relate to it, 25 years ago might as well be 50 years ago. That's why it becomes more teaching rather than sharing,” Vanlaningham said.
“It's harder to teach them than it was before, but not harder than teaching further back history.”
