CNN: Educators divided over what to learn from 9/11

[DeepModem Mom]

Educators divided over what to learn from 9/11
By Audrey Schewe


Flying flags at half-staff is among the ways some schools remember 9/11.

....As the fifth anniversary of the attacks approached, what should secondary students across the country be taught about this historical event and its aftermath? That depends on whom you ask.

After the attacks, numerous education, media and civic organizations published materials for teachers on a wide spectrum of topics. Lessons varied from teaching traditions of Islam and a history of U.S. policies in the Middle East to promoting tolerance of different cultures and dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder.

But perhaps the biggest divide has occurred between those who stress teaching values and patriotism and those who encourage questioning U.S. policies and examining terrorists' motives.

"There is a difference between 'America deserved it' on the one-hand and 'America is the beacon of freedom and equality for the world' on the other hand," says Chester Finn, president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute....

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Other experts, however, reject the notion that seeking to understand the motives of the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks equates to legitimizing them....

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/09/08/911.teachers/index.html

[Harry Monroe]

1. I've learned to completely distrust our government.

[BOSSHOG]

2. Yes, lets reject the notion that we should understand anything

Classic "conservative" logic. Lets just be stupid and fire big weapons. Those who teach "values" do not teach patriotism. "Conservatives" don't teach values, they force values on the young. And patriotism cannot be taught.