One area school is teaching students about 9/11 who may have been too young to remember

Many students in middle school were still in diapers or not even a year old when our nation was changed forever.

But, teachers at Strough Middle School are helping their students understand the importance of September 11th.

Students started their day off with morning announcements as the principal talked about the events that unfolded on this same day 11 years ago. Teachers also incorporated activities to remember the lives lost on that tragic day.

One student recited "United we'll stand for the whole world to see. We're the home of the brave and we all will agree... "

It wasn't Mrs. Kemp's typical science class on Tuesday. Students were reading poetry and learning about history at the same time.

 "It was a very scary time and a very real time and I think it's very important to keep that alive," said Margaret Kemp, Strough's 7^th grade science teacher.

Each student recited a few lines of the "United We'll Stand" poem. And after Mrs. Kemp asked if any of them remember September 11^th, many of the students say they have no real memory of a day that has become part of the American story.

"I think the same way I didn't comprehend Pearl Harbor and maybe never will. I don't think if you don't have your own personal memories you can. But we can try. We can try to have them get an understanding," said Mrs. Kemp.

Strough's principal Tracy O'Rourke says his students' experience with 9/11 is very different from what he and other teachers experienced.  However, he says this allows educators like himself to keep a memory in history alive.

"Reading it in a book is one thing but being able to hear a story of what someone went through can really connect those personal and emotional feelings of what someone went through that day. As I always tell my students, the best way to experience history is by living it," said Mr. O'Rourke.

Mr. O'Rourke also says the internet will allow students to read about various aspects of September 11^th and see pictures and video for generations to come.