Re: Responses to Terrorism

[Sharon James McGee <sjmcgee@SIUE.EDU>]

I started my 101 class today doing something I normally don't do:  I
disclosed the reason that two of our classmates were not attending today.  
These two students serve in the same National Guard Unit and were called
to active duty last night.  We had an essay due today and both of these
conscientious students made arrangements for me to get their paper.  
(Which, by the way, I found remarkable.)  I was also surprised that all of
the other students in my class had their essays ready to turn in today,
though many admitted that it was very hard to concentrate as they tried to
edit, proofread, and polish.

But what struck me most was how these students seemed--finally--to have
something real to connect to: they had classmates, two people they know
(albeit for only four weeks) who were directly affected by yesterday's
events.  Nestled here in on a bluff of the Mississippi River, only three
of of the remaining students had any connection to anyone in NY or DC.  
Knowing that piece of information seemed to make what was surreal now a
bit more concrete for them. When I was a TA during the Gulf War, I never
had a student called to duty, and I found at one point when I was telling
the students about their classmates that I had to pause in order not to
tear up.  Then we talked a bit, but by the time class meet today at 3 p.m.
as one student said, "We're talked out.  We just need time now to start
figuring things out."  So, I announced about the campus blood drives and
then we continued, at their request, carrying on with class as usual.  As
Libby mentioned earlier, we need to be aware to meet our students where
they are in their development.

Peace,
Sharon