CMS Pairs Sept. 11 Event with Celebration of Mexican-American Independence Day
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has several events and activities planned to commemorate Sept. 11, with students, teachers and staff remembering and reflecting “on this day in history through instructional lessons, ceremonies and programs,” according to a CMS media release. One event in particular caught my eye:
Garinger High School Sept. 11 Commemoration
(McAlpine Creek Parkway, 8711 Monroe Road) 5:30 p.m. –
This ceremony is in conjunction with celebrating Mexican-American Independence Day which Garinger does annually. The Honor Guard will perform and the National Colors will be posted. Mayor Foxx is the guest speaker.
Is it appropriate to blend the celebration of Mexican-American Independence Day with the observance of the Tenth Anniversary of Sept. 11, or does it serve to dilute and marginalize the significance and importance of commemorating the day? Thoughts?
As a sidebar, News 14’s Pete Kaliner has a rundown on how school districts across the state are planning to work Sept. 11 into lesson plans:
There is no formal state curricula for teachers to follow in North Carolina. Educators are free to craft their own lessons. In Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Don Mitchell, the district’s pre-k through 12 social studies specialist, helped create guidelines.
Teachers should avoid traumatic descriptions and talk about how the attacks affected a lot of people. Instructors can focus on safety improvements post-9/11 and how the date is now a national day of service and Mitchell recommends tying multiple lesson plans together.
“We do not want to politicize it, we do not want to have a political bias on this. So, when we teach about it, we want to teach about the facts. We want students to understand the event by analyzing it,” Mitchell said.
I’m not altogether certain it’s possible or, maybe even more importantly, appropriate to “avoid traumatic descriptions” when it comes to discussing a horrific terrorist attack on the United States that claimed nearly 3,000 lives.
Nobody wants to scare the daylights out of kindergarteners and grade-schoolers; but there’s a fine line between that and effectively whitewashing the facts of the day and its historical perspective by avoiding “graphic details and visuals,” per CMS’s guiding principles for educators.
And I’d be real curious to hear the district’s explanations and instructions, per the guiding principles, on how “changes made since (9/11) have made our world more safe.” Will the lesson plans include a complete rundown on the TSA’s full-body groping and naked X-Ray scans? Or is that a “visual” best avoided?
CMS Scheduled Events to Commemorate Sept. 11
Friday, Sept. 9
Olympic High School Sept. 11 Commemoration (Olympic High School, 4301 Sandy Porter Road) 8 – 9:30 a.m. – Teachers will distribute red, white and blue ribbons to students to honor the victims. Students will attend a ceremony on the football field that will include JROTC cadets forming the WTC towers and the Pentagon with a short narration. The JROTC Honor Guard will raise and lower the flag to half-mast as the National Anthem is sung by a cadet.
Myers Park High School Sept. 11 Commemoration (Myers Park High, 2400 Colony Road) 9:15 – 9:45 a.m. – The ceremony will be conducted in front of the school adjacent to their Sept. 11 garden memorial. A guest speaker who was in one of the towers will make a presentation.
Military and Global Leadership Academy at Marie G. Davis Sept. 11 Commemoration (Marie G. Davis, 3351 Griffith Street) 9:30 – 10 a.m. – Students in all grades will participate in a ceremony that will honor 9/11 victims. Assistant Principal Laszewski will give a short presentation and JROTC Corps Commander will talk to students about the significance of the yellow ribbons used during memorials. Cadets will pin on their yellow ribbons, followed by a roll call of preselected names of 9-11 victims.
South Mecklenburg High School students reflect and discuss Sept. 11 (South Mecklenburg High, 8900 Park Road) 12:45 – 2 p.m. – An Advanced Placement English class will look at history through the eyes of their teacher and reflect on pieces of work that tell the story of Sept. 11. Students will read articles related to the attacks and listen to songs that reflect this event that changed our country.
Sunday, Sept. 11
North Mecklenburg High School Sept. 11 Commemoration (University City United Methodist Church, 3835 West WT Harris Boulevard) 4 p.m. – JROTC Color Guard will present the colors for the church’s Patriot Musical Program.
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