RE: [ncte-hs] Re: Today's horrific day

["Hoyet" <hoyet@horizonview.net>]

No cable hook ups yet but I had a radio and my room became information
central- for teachers and kids alike. Spent the day reassuring kids that
WWIII was not going to start and helping them to understand what they were
hearing, how to separate facts from rumors, etc. I let them work on quiet
work due for tomorrow and kept the radio on. I encouraged them to write in
their notebooks- what are they feeling, what are their fears, their
reactions- told them about when I was a sophomore and in 6th pd history
class- could even tell them the teacher's name- the day JFK was murdered.
This day may be this generation's JFK- and they already had Oklahoma and
Columbine. Told them that when they are 40, if they have  saved their
journals, they may be glad to see how they felt when they were teenagers.
I was explaining that if it were Islamic terrorists, in jihad against
America- that those who hijacked the planes and died as they crashed are
considered heroes by people who think as they do- trying to help them
understand a cultural difference- one kid said. "I hope they had a rude
awakening when they got to whatever is on the other side." I stressed that
we don't know yet who did it and to not rush to judgment but I thought that
comment said a lot.