Posted By:
Alan ElefsonHi-
I was teaching in a small town (Abington, MA), just 20 miles south of Boston, on that day. One of the school aides came to my classroom and asked me to step into the hallway. She explained that a plane had just struck one of the WTC towers and she agreed to cover my class while I went to watch the news. I watched the second plane hit and I knew it could not have been an accident. I spent the next two hours ducking in and out of the breakroom to find out what was going on.
The teachers received strict instructions from the principal not to reveal what was going on to our students. Several of my students told me a few days later that they could sense something was wrong, that I did not seem "myself" as I was teaching that day. I still disagree with the principal's (and superintendent's) decision not to close the school. I thought all kids should be with their families after such a horrific tragedy. Even worse, one of the sixth graders in the classroom next to mine (I taught 6th grade) lost her father on one of the planes that hit the Towers. She was a very popular girl so the loss of her father affected her friends (many of whom were my students) for many weeks after.
The most moving memory I have regarding the following weeks was seeing the candlelit vigil several days after the attacks. I was driving home from Boston to Bridgewater and every town I passed through I saw men, women, and children holding candles and displaying flags. I have never seen such a display of solidarity amongst all Americans in my lifetime.
My hopes and prayers are that nothing like this ever occurs again, to Americans, or any other group of Human Beings.
Alan Elefson