Hands Across NYC - a 9/11 Tribute Project

Every year it gets harder and harder to talk about September 11, 2001. My fourth graders who just finished these projects couldn't quite grasp what happened that horrible day, but the memory in my mind is still so fresh and vivid. They weren't even born when it happened, and only know of the Twin Towers. So bizarre.

I think like all of you I can remember the who, what, when, and where's of that day. It was especially bizarre for us here in Venice (FL) because President Bush was reading in a classroom in our school district that morning and most of the county was tuned in via CCTV and had no idea what was going on. Only the teachers who had had their kiddos in Specials at the time came blowing through my door and told me to turn on the tv. At that moment, I witnessed in horror(with my class of third graders) as Tower 2 collapsed.

To make matters even worse the hijackers had learned to fly right here in Venice. They lived on a street in my school's population. We were put on a limited lockdown that day, no unnecessary movement of students, because of those links to Sarasota/Venice. No more Specials. I had nothing to do that day but sit and watch the news coverage.

Horrifying. And yet, these students don't really know about it. I had to teach them about 9/11 and instill in them the importance of creating artistic tributes. I love the way they turned out...

I hope they realize the significance of the work they just made and that sometimes art isn't created just to decorate a room. Sometimes you have to make art that makes a statement!