How do we teach our children about 9/11?

I was a NYC Police Officer that day, I was a first responder, and I also responded to the first bombing years before. My children all lived thru those terrible days, especially not knowing if I was down there when the towers collapsed, I wasn't but I lost 13 friends, cops, firemen and NYS Court officers. Soon after I was activated with my guard unit and stayed active for 18 months, I missed many of their funerals, but I remember them every day.

History & cultural differences in freedoms across the world need to be focused on here. It's helpful to start by explaining the US values & freedoms are not always shared across the world. There will always be people wanting to bring harm to our country and 9/11 is a prime example of this. WWII (Pearl Harbor) has a lot we can learn from here as well.

I would guard about telling the truth about being at war with Islam, your teachings will not go far because we cannot tell the truth about who we are at war with for some reason, but most importantly, I teach my grandchildren to shoot and survive and as long as there are followers of Mohammad on the planet, Infidels lives are in jeopardy. There it is, truth, and 9/11 was heinous, but I believe we are headed for something that will make that look like a trial run, stay thirsty my friends.

I was on USS Peleliu for the initial response to 9/11. My then 11 year old son made the Tiger Cruise from Pearl Harbor back to San Diego. We talked a lot about what happened and he got to meet and talk with Sailors and Marines who had been there. Then I had the privilege of addressing his class. The kids seemed to appreciate having someone speak from experience.
I have a new 6 year old step-daughter. She's curious about nearly everything, including my shadowbox. I answer the questions she asks as best I can. I don't feel the need to expose her to the full depth of evil of humanity at her age. The conversations range as her little mind makes connections between one thing and another. The depth of her perception as she makes those connections astounds me and helps me think outside the box a bit about it.
In both cases, I have found that treating it conversationally and answering the questions that come to mind honestly, but in an age appropriate manner, is the best policy.

That is truly a tough question. It's hard to keep personal opinions from leaking and in teaching you have to be as neutral as possible. You don't know if those student lost family or relitives on the day. I think in my opinion. It's a topic that can wait until they are slightly older with more critical thinking capibilites. Not to mention the grief from parents who love to attack anyone sharing an idea that isn't theirs...Never mind.

We should teach them the " pledge of allegiance, " and to worship God as we were the rest will fall in place

A few years ago Washington DC had an Earth Quake, and I was a nanny to two AF kids who had a friend (another AF kid) over for a play date. It took us a few seconds to realize what it was and after we got our bearings right after it happened one of the older ones going into 4th grade at the time said at first I thought we were under attack again. This is the first time they ever directly made any reference to war or attacks even though their parents did work at the Pentagon. The guest friend said me too... I quietly made my way to a computer to email the parents to make sure "It was just an earthquake." How odd to think that an earthquake is a lessor of evils.

We teach children about this just as we taught them about Vietnam, Korea, World Wars I and II, Civil War, Revolutionary War, and all the other things related to conflict.

As I work with children I know there are a lot of resources out there.

As to what message works, it depends on the nature of the child, and so one uses a variety of ways to give them a message. I firmly believe in talking about it, because they know it happened. Hiding it does not help and can do more harm than good.

An interesting question, and one that kind of has historical precedence... I believe this is going to be the history class lesson/essay for the future; much as the assassination of President Kennedy was for our generation. You know what I mean: Go home and ask your parents/grandparents where they were on that day, what they were doing, how they felt. I can only tell you what my personal experience was: I had just sent the five children out the door to school. Patrick was in Kindergarten. Jon in 2nd grade. Shealynn in 4th grade. James in 6th grade, and DiAnn in 7th. (All grade school here in our little town!) And, as I always did, I waved them goodbye, giving everyone a hug and kiss and wish for a good day at school, then went to the living room and turned on the TV so I could see the Local Forecast at 8:20 am, in the midst of Good Morning America. Just as it was coming on, the phone rang. I went to pick it up... beginning my second task of the morning ritual - talking to my sister. And she asked - HAVE YOU SEEN IT? DO YOU HAVE THE TV ON? And I continued to the television, where they were talking about a plane crashing into the first tower. I remember asking if it was an accident, or on purpose. They were showing live footage of the smoke rolling out of the tower, when the second plane crashed in... and I knew there was no way it was an accident. I remember thinking that there are pivotal moments in history, and that most times you don't know that you are witnessing one, but I had no doubt that this was EXACTLY one of those moments.

In the wake of it, I feel bad for my children. They don't really remember the days before. That blissfully ignorant feeling of safety that we all had, the sense that terrorist attacks just could not happen here. The children are all grown up now. Di is 28, James is 27, Shea is 25, Jon is 23 and Patrick just turned 21. Four of the five grew up to enlist. James and Patrick in the USAF, Jon and Shea in the Army. Both Jon and Shea have been to Afghanistan, and Shealynn is now our Wounded Warrior. If not for 9/11, I am sure James and Jon would have enlisted, but I think Shea and Patrick would have gone to college instead.

What was the point of this? In hindsight, I think we are going to find that the attacks on 9-11 are going to be seen as the opening salvos in a new crusade, the beginning of Islam's war to conquer the world. Of course, the vast majority of people still have their heads in the sand, unwilling to believe that THIS is EXACTLY what Islam preaches, teaches, and has as its ultimate goal. They seem incapable of wrapping their mind around the idea that there actually are people with goals like a bad cartoon character!! If you think about it, every terrorist group has a GOAL. The IRA wanted the English out of Ireland. The PLO wanted the Jews out of the Holy Land. So what do these Islamic terrorists want? And the only answer comes from their own writings, they want complete and utter subjugation of the entire world, and everyone either converted or dead.

How do we teach the younger generations? And what are the best resources? As to resources, who and what better than the actual witnesses to the events, the stories of the dead and their families; the stories of the witnesses, the first responders, the survivors, the hospital workers, the search and rescue crews, the residents of the city. And the rest of us are not worthless, either. We tell what we saw, the feeling of dull disbelief, of horror, of grief and sorrow. The feelings of anger, and our strength to stand together. For now, we tell the stories. Share our experiences, and talk to the children. Don't cover it up, don't whitewash over it, and certainly don't allow the political correctness machine to hide the truth.

I have found when talking to my students that if you share your story of that day it gives them the ability to ask questions about what and why it happened. Be honest with them and they will respond.

Today all resemblances to teaching patriotic history has been dumbed down drastically! With this CORE program and PC socialism has created havoc within pride of country! Our children are aware of 911 as a big event but unaware of why our liberty and history makes our way of life so special with confused reality! Past and present go together to ensure why we are so blessed for a complete understanding!