Schools

State Releases New K-12 Curriculum Dealing with 9/11 and Terrorism

Free, non-mandatory curriculum is a collection lessons written by teachers and educators from New Jersey.

In his 36 years of teaching, Joseph Pizzo, a teacher at Black River Middle School in Chester, said he had never seen an entire room of seventh graders give standing ovations to a guest speaker.

But for two consecutive years, Will Jimeno, a Port Authority police officer and 9/11 first responder who was portrayed in the movie "World Trade Center" got that reaction, when telling students about his experiences on the day that changed history nearly 10 years ago.

Jimeno was trapped in the rubble of the collapsed South Tower with his supervisor, Sgt. John McLoughlin. They were the last two people to be pulled alive from the wreckage of the tower.

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Pizzo said that Jimeno did not spare details about his experience, but remained optimistic and told the students to tell their parents that they love them every chance they get.

"The message he had was so positive,'' Pizzo said.

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According to Pizzo, Jimeno pointed around the room to the teachers present, and renounced his given title of "Hero".

"They are your heroes,'' Pizzo remembers him saying.

On Thursday, a curriculum designed by those heroes was unveiled at the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City.

"Learning from the Challenges of Our Times: Global Security, Terrorism and 9/11 in the Classroom," is a product of the 4 Action Initiative, and is a thick collection of lessons dealing with 9/11, terrorism, understanding violence, the historical context of terrorism, and using those lessons to create a better future.

State commissioner of education Christopher Cerf said the curriculum may be difficult to teach and talk about at times, but is valuable.

"It's a powerful, important and extraordinary thing, and I can do nothing more that applaud both the mission and the execution of that mission, as reflected by the work that is being honored here today,'' he said.

According to a release from the Liberty Science Center, 62 teachers around New Jersey piloted lessons from the curriculum in the 2009-10 school year.

The 4 Action Initiative is comprised of three major groups: Families of September 11, the Liberty Science Center, and the NJ State Commission on Holocaust Education.

MaryEllen Salamone, a 9/11 widow and co-founder of Families of September 11, was lauded by several speakers as being the inspiration behind the curriculum.

Salamone identified herself as a "Hopeless idealist," and said that despite the tragic loss of her husband, she still believes world peace is possible.

A greater understanding of terrorism and hatred may lead to world peace, as it opens a door for students to find ways to eradicate them, she said.

"We need to give them the knowledge so they understand,'' she said.

The curriculum includes a number of topics outside of 9/11 itself and acts of terrorism. Related lessons on bullying, human rights, human behavior and the human psyche are also included, and span the subjects of reading, art, music, psychology, history, geography and character education.

Many lessons are supported with handouts, worksheets and discussion questions.

Mike Wildermuth, a psychology teacher at East Brunswick High School, designed a lesson with fellow psychology teacher Valerie Nugent that was included in the curriculum.

Developed in 2005, the lesson tasks students with psychoanalyzing the mind of a terrorist, relying on the methods of famed psychologists Abraham Maslow and Erik Erikson, he said.

Several students in the district had lost parents on Sept. 11, so some difficult topics had to be disscussed with, he said, and instruction dealing with 9/11 and terrorism is "Slowly beginning to work its way into our lessons," he said.

At the end of her speech, Salamone invited her three children, Aidan, Alex and Anna Salamone, to address the room.

Anna was two years old on Sept. 11, she said.

"To all my teachers of tomorrow: teach me,'' Adam said. "I can be the change our country needs."


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