SPRINGDALE, Ark. — Now 23 years after 9/11, educators are teaching the fateful events to a generation that wasn't alive to experience the day.
Rachael Zardin is a social studies teacher at Southwest Junior High School, but she remembers Sept. 11, 2001, when she was a student at George Elementary School.
"I remember my fifth-grade teacher did an amazing job of calming us all down and talking us through everything, answering all of our questions, letting us see footage of it as it's happening, and really giving us details that made us feel safe and important and old enough to be told what was going on," Zardin said.
Zardin knows not everyone can remember that infamous day. She said that none of her students were alive when it happened since it happened 23 years ago.
Zardin is part of a generation of teachers walking a new wave of students through America's experiences. Her class of 8th graders were taught the facts of 9/11 while receiving context from their teacher.
"I try and get them to relate to it first before we ever go into the facts, so that they have some sort of hopeful feeling about that day so that they can really internalize what was going on," Zardin said.
In response to why it's important to continue teaching 9/11, Zardin said it's "important because it was such a big day in our history, and it set the stage for so many changes."
Zardin expands on those changes for her 9th grade civics and government class. She explained that 9/11 inspired the creation of the Patriot Act and the Department of Homeland Security.
Despite not being born, 8th grader Marcus can live the experience through his mom.
"She actually started crying as she told me this because she didn't want people to be hurt," Marcus said. "She didn't know if more planes would be coming."
"I looked it up, and I saw photos of plane crashes and I saw videos of people phone calling people," Marcus said. "I actually heard one of them and actually started getting emotional."
Zardin explained to her class that now, the day is remembered as Patriot Day to honor the bravery of 9/11's heroes.
"There were a lot of terrible things that happened that day, but there were also a lot of heroes that emerged that day," Zardin told her class.
"It makes me want to become a firefighter and help other people out," Marcus said. "Maybe I could protect my friends one day."
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