Where Were You?

Where were you when the world stopped turning
That September day?

--Alan Jackson

When monumental world events happen, people remember where they were, what they were doing. They remember where they were when Kennedy was shot. (I was only three.) They remember where they were when the Challenger blew up (I was a mile from home, waiting at a red light and heard it on the radio.) They remember where they were on September 11th when the World Trade Center was attacked.

Where were you when the world stopped turning
That September day?
Teaching a class full of innocent children?

I was in my classroom with my teaching partner, Mike, and the students were due to arrive in a few minutes. Our Phy Ed teacher, Paul, went running down the hallway yelling , "A plane flew into the World Trade Center! A plane flew into the World Trade Center!" Mike and I rushed into the hallway in confusion. And then went into a classroom where other teachers were gathering, where there was a TV. As we saw events unfold, we came to the realization that the first plane crash wasn't an accident and one of the teachers started to pray out loud. Someone else started to cry. Then we realized the kids were arriving and we did what teachers have to do every day...make sure their students are okay. So we went back to our rooms, stunned and shaken and greeted our kids good morning.

Did you weep for the children
Who lost their dear loved ones?

And one of our boys came into the classroom sobbing. He heard on the bus radio that a plane had been flown into the Pentagon and his uncle worked at the Pentagon and was his uncle dead? No, I'm sure your uncle is fine. And that's when it dawned on Mike and I. My God, our Country is under attack! What the Hell is going on?!? And then...the Pentagon? My sister works in Washington D.C. What's next? Was she okay? And it was her birthday to boot. And then the Towers fell...

Did you stand there in shock at the sight
of that black smoke rising against that blue sky?

Almost every teacher that day kept the students busy with mindless activities because our minds were elsewhere and we couldn't teach. We alternated between scouring the internet for information and making calls to people and checking news reports.

Did you weep for the children who lost their dear loved ones
And pray for the ones who don't know?
Did you rejoice for the people who walked from the rubble
And sob for the ones left below?

When our kids were at Specialists, and Mike and I were able to finally turn on the TV in our classroom, Mike broke down in tears watching people walk bloody and injured from the rubble. Everyone was in shock that day. And we watched as the first responders started helping people out, and normal citizens helped each other. And became heroes.

Did you burst out in pride for the red white and blue
The heroes who died just doing what they do?

My Baby Girl says she wants to fight terrorism. She may or may not go down that path. The thought of her doing that work scares me. But so does the horror of that day. Someone has to do it. There will always be people who have to address the evils and wrongs of this world. From the children who bully each other on the playground, to the adults who mastermind acts of terrorism on innocent citizens.

I was watching the Country Music Awards when Alan Jackson sang this song for the very first time. They say the inspiration for this song came to him late one night shortly after 9-11. They kept the rehearsals at the Awards under wraps. Everyone knew they were witness to Music history when he sang it for the first time and it gave me goosebumps listening to it:

I'm just a singer of simple songs,
I'm not a real political man.
I watch CNN but I'm not sure I can tell you
The difference in Iraq and Iran.
But I know Jesus and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young.
Faith, Hope, and Love are some good things he gave us
And the greatest is Love.

When teachers work with children with difficult behaviors, the theories state that you can't just eliminate a behavior, you have to replace it with something else. You can't just tell a child "don't do that." You have to tell him what you want him to do instead. When our armed forces go into a country like Afghanistan or Iraq, and occupy it long after we accomplish the military mission, there's a reason for it. We're helping to rebuild the infrastructure. On a national scale,we're helping them with what they can be doing, instead of just what they shouldn't be doing. It seems somewhat of a paradox, but there are examples small and large...tear it down so you can build it up. Just always remember to build things back up. Always. Especially for the children.

Faith, Hope, and Love are some good things he gave us
And the greatest is Love.