My Day Sharing 9/11 with College Students

self | 9/11/2015 | LS

[LS]

Every year, on the nearest class to the anniversary of 9/11, I show videos to my college classes. There are two---one for more general classes and one for my military history class.

The best video I have found for a general class is by HBO called "In Memoriam: New York City, 9/11" and features Rudy Guliani, who granted access to the producers to interview his staff. It makes extensive use of hundreds of news services and individual photographers to portray the events in NYC that day (it does not deal with the Pentagon or Flight 93). Underscored with a haunting musical score, this video does not hold back and includes footage of the people jumping. Guiliani is terrific as the touchstone for the story.

For my other class I use "Clear the Skies," a Brit video that deals with the FAA and military's incredible task of clearing the skies when it the attacks started. It features interviews with the four F-15 pilots who were the only ones on active air defense duty in the sector (there were only 24 active air defense crews in the entire nation assigned to protect American airspace, so remote was the threat considered). This video includes material from the Pentagon, Flight 93, but also simultaneously tracked George W. Bush as he was hustled aboard Air Force One. For those of you who remember, the Secret Service had received information that "Angel" (the code name for Air Force One that day) was itself a target. So Bush was hustled from Florida to Louisiana to Offitt then finally demanded to return to Washington that evening. While far less emotionally gripping than "In Memoriam," it does have its moments as when one of the F-15 pilots tears up discussing the possibility that he was going to have to shoot down a planeload of civilians rather than let it fly into D.C. With access to the control centers at several Air Force Bases and interviews with Denny Hastert, Porter Goss, Bush's security team, and reporters, it is also a compelling video.

Showing one of these videos, once, is emotionally draining. Watching one of them twice and the other, once, makes for a very difficult day. Of course, we all know teaching is easy.

Class length meant that I could not finish either. I found an appropriate place to stop "In Memoriam" for the first class. Students had many, very good, and very sober questions.

By the time I showed it to the last class---upper level students---I found a good place to end and asked if there were questions. The students just sat there intent, absolutely quiet. I've never seen them that quiet.

From the three classes, more than a half dozen students came up and thanked me for showing the films, frequently saying, "We didn't know."

[stanne]

Oh. Good

I used to share when I had ninth graders.

With them, I shared the story plus Joseph Mitchell’s ‘Mohawks in High Steel’

Also Raymond Arroyo has a two part (two hour) video with interviews. It’s so well done

[LS]

If you like a novel on 9/11, try my "September Day."

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0974761087/104-0426693-1426353?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

[stanne]

I will. Thanks

These are interesting. The World Over from sept 2002:

Host: Raymond Arroyo with the firefighters of 9/11
Host: Raymond Arroyo with Bill Donahue, Peggy Noonan, Paul Vitz, Bill McGurn and survivors of 9/11

[1rudeboy]

for later

[No One Special]

On youtube:

“In Memoriam: New York City, 9/11”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqen8P31jWw

“Clear the Skies”
BBC - Clear The Skies (Part 1 of 5)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpPtjGCp4Ss
BBC - Clear The Skies (Part 2 of 5)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69kDcSKnvqQ
BBC - Clear The Skies (Part 3 of 5)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWX1I6CFn3A
BBC - Clear The Skies (Part 4 of 5)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEXe-mtVOnk
BBC - Clear The Skies (Part 5 of 5)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjGZWRaFvWs

[stanne]

thx

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

"We didn't know."

Now that is a scandal.

[LS]

I think they were saying they didn’t know how bad it was, or what it looked like, not that they didn’t know it occurred. But the images have all been censored from our media.

[Chickensoup]

From the three classes, more than a half dozen students came up and thanked me for showing the films, frequently saying, “We didn’t know.”

____________________

And that is the horror show of it all. They were not taught they were not told. They were manipulated.

[Excellence]

A couple of videographers were filming a story about a rookie fire fighter’s first day on the job. They were checking out a gas leak when the first jet flew over. The camera man swung up just in time to see it go into the tower. The resulting film was harrowing. CBS aired it and I rented it later.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/9/11_(film)

[LS]

Yeah, I have seen that. That is where the video of the first plane hitting (there later surfaced a second video of the first plane-—these are the only two I know of). “In Memoiam” and “Clear the Skies” both use this video.

[tophat9000]

To this day one of the more surreal video was long lingering shot of the center plaza between the two building of that big globe....

Its after both building have been hit but not yet collapsed yet.....

the plaza is empty of living people.. debris is silently rainy down.. paper and such....

The only sound is elevator type musiz still playing in the plaza..(She Only A Women To Me i think) .. with the exception of the occasional sickly hollow thud of jumper hitting the ground...you know a life just ended

to me its gut wrenching

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

"We didn't know."

not only is that a scandal, it is a perfect illustration of the point (if I may be forgiven for preaching to the choir) that journalism is not history Not “the first draft” of history, not history at all.

History is what we know of the past, edited according to importance in a long view of human events. Journalism is what “bleeds and therefore leads” - and it is edited, not according to importance, but according to immediate interest. It is entertainment. And it is also propaganda. History can be propaganda too, inevitably expressing a POV.

[Jane Long]

Thank you for not allowing this day, this somber day in our nation’s history, to not become just another day on the calendar. The lesson you’re teaching these students is invaluable.

[BenLurkin]

bkmk

[Excellence]

I’ll have to watch them. Thanks for sharing.

[FreedomPoster]

Bravo, sir!

And that last is a stunning indictment of current high school education, or lack thereof.

[SES1066]

Darryl Worley - "Have you Forgotten?" - Verse 2

Have you forgotten how it felt that day?
To see your homeland under fire
And her people blown away
Have you forgotten when those towers fell?
We had neighbors still inside going thru a living hell
And you say we shouldn't worry 'bout bin Laden
Have you forgotten?

I have NOT!

[MayflowerMadam]

I spent most of the day watching 9/11 videos. My sister and husband made fun of me a bit, but every year I need to re-charge my anger for these wretched, evil people (Hussein included). Also, I think the ~3,000 people who died that day deserve to have us to spend some time thinking about them.

It seemed that the only channel showing them was the History Channel