Some thoughts for anyone who interacts with kids today: For any of us who were old enough to be in middle school or older (I was a junior in college), 9/11 was the seismic shift of our lifetimes. That's not the case for today's kids...

I had a wonderful literature professor who stopped class and talked to us about how every generation has one of those. For him, it was the Kennedy assassination. But he also understood that it's not reasonable to expect those who weren't there for it to understand it...

It's important for us to understand that students are CURRENTLY living through their generation's seismic shift. THIS is the moment for them. Expecting them to take time out to understand and process our trauma is not reasonable and is, frankly, incredibly selfish.

Like most everyone who was there for it. I'll be taking time out to remember and process in my own way. But I'm not going to expect my students to do it. They have plenty to process on their own.

Their relationship to 9/11 is like my relationship to the Kennedy Assassination. It happened. They know it was a big deal, but it doesn't resonate in the same emotional way it does for me.