After reading the two articles for this week and taking a look at the archives website I have a lot to say. First though I want to make a note that I have a very different perspective on the events of 9/11 and I do not mean to offend anyone with my comments. Please read this with an open mind and please respond with any comments or opinions.
When the Twin Towers were hit I was in 7th grade. I was in science class and my assistant principal came into the classroom and announced that the Twin Towers had been hit in NYC, it allegedly was a terrorist attack, and asked if anyone needed to make a phone call. We all looked around to see if anyone got up or raised their hand. When no one moved the assistant principal said that if anyone needed anything throughout the day to come see her in her office. After she left my teacher looked at the class, her facial expression hinted that she was trying to decide if she should continue with the lesson or stop to talk about the event. We continued with the lesson.
When I got home we turned on the television and watched the news for a half hour or so and then did our homework. In the following weeke we kept up to date about what was going on but it didn’t disrupt our lives at all, it was simply a current event. I think many people throughout the U.S. had a similar experience with 9/11. It was something that happened, it didn’t really have an affect on our daily lives until much later.
When I moved to New York 6 months ago I realized just how different of an experience I had. This event was something that truly shook the city. Looking at the Digital Archives helped me to see that. I wasn’t ever exposed and really had no concept of what people experience in New York and the surrounding areas. After reading the articles I called a history teacher from the high school I went to in Ohio and asked what their textbook said about 9/11. He told me that there is one page dedicated to 9/11. There are two pictures, one of the standing towers and one of the demolished towers. I told him about the Digital Archives website and he told me he had never visited it and wanted to look into it. I’m hoping that it is something he will use when he teaches 9/11. I think it is a fantastic way to gain perspective on the event.
Such a fantastic resource needs to be taken advantage of. I don’t think that the history teacher is naive for not knowing about the site. I think he really never thought of using such a thing because we all had SUCH a different and removed experience. Like I said it’s something that happened, it’s not something that seriously affected our everyday lives when the event occurred. So how to do expose teachers to such a wonderful resource? I wouldn’t have known about it if I hadn’t taken this course and I consider myself and educated individual and this website truly impacted my perspective on 9/11. How can we use D.H to promote and expand the viewership of such an amazing archive?
