For Dr. Michele Gaglione, teaching students about Sept. 11 means helping a generation born after the attacks understand both the tragedy and the people who stepped forward to help.
Gaglione, a middle and high school teacher and Model UN advisor, was just four days into her teaching career when the attacks occurred.
She and fellow teachers in her master’s degree program supported one another while helping students through the tragedy.
Gaglione recalled daily funerals and connections to first responders who had died or were working at Ground Zero. She also remembers the sense of unity that followed.
“The one true theme that came out of this was that it brought everybody together,” she said. “I don’t remember ever seeing such solidarity and patriotism as we did in the weeks following 9/11.”
Today, Gaglione brings that history into the classroom through personal accounts shared by the 9/11 Memorial & Museum. The stories from survivors and victims’ family members help students connect the events to individual lives and understand the courage shown by first responders and everyday people.
One story she highlights is that of Welles Crowther, known as the “Man in the Red Bandana,” who died helping others escape the World Trade Center.
Gaglione believes teaching about Sept. 11 is essential because it marks a turning point in history. For students with no personal memory of that day, understanding what happened gives meaning to the annual act of remembrance.
Her lessons connect Patriot Day with learning about those who survived, those who died and the acts of service that emerged from the tragedy. She wants students to recognize their own capacity to help others, too.
“Under extraordinary circumstances, people do extraordinary things,” Gaglione said.