As a history teacher, it's surreal watching something I remember BECOME history. Today, 25 years after 9/11, this is the video I made for my students and I'm incredibly proud that it's being shared schoolwide today 🇺🇸 Beyond grateful to my friends Cedric Leighton & Alex Plitsas 🇺🇸 for... sharing how that day shaped their lives & service 🙏 Eventually memory becomes history. We owe it to the next generation to tell it well. 9/11. Never forget ❤️🇺🇸show more

@CedricLeighton @alexplitsas I went to the observation floor of one of the towers, I think it was the north one, in 1996. They were inseparable from the mental image of our city & country. Weird that its been 25 years. One of the pics I took...

Oh wow!!! Thank you for sharing this 🙏

This is very nicely done. Not a day I'll ever forget. I'm smack between Boston and New York in Connecticut and I'll never forget how blue the sky was that day. The heat of summer had just broken, and the air was fresh and crisp. It's important for younger people to become aware of what happened to our nation on that day. As a matter of civic responsibility, we cannot ever forget the events of that day, and we must always remember those who innocently boarded planes or showed up for work on time and never made it home back to their loved ones. It could have been any one of us.

I echo everything you said!!!

@CedricLeighton @alexplitsas My kiddo is in high school and has only had a few teachers over the years who spent time actually talking about it.His chorus teacher had them watch “The Great Boat-lift”and spent time discussing it.His algebra2/trig teacher is having them do a project on why the towers collapsed

@CedricLeighton @alexplitsas Kudos to the chorus and algebra teacher for making today cross-disciplinary learning! I showed Boat Lift too- incredible story! I discuss it every year on 9/11 as a history teacher since it's in my wheelhouse obviously, but this year just felt heavier and more poignant.

@CedricLeighton @alexplitsas Well done Ashley! May this have a lasting impact on your students.

Thank you! I truly hope so. It seemed to reach quite a few of the kids!!

I love that you teach history!

@CedricLeighton @alexplitsas Thank you for sharing this video. It’s amazing

Thanks Mary ☺️

This is excellent! Is it posted to YouTube where I can share it with others on different platforms? That's the only way I know for sure that I can share it. I have a lot of friends in NC who are teachers. ✊✊✊

I can share the video with you via DM as I'm not putting it on youtube for a few personal reasons. But happy to share it for other educators/students so I can share the Google drive link to it if interested! Just message me - same goes for anyone else who'd like a link.

@CedricLeighton @alexplitsas This is a well done mini-doc that you've put together for your students, Ashley. I'm curious what sort of discussions you had in class and what questions the students had after watching it?

I actually just talked about this in a response here 👇 This sounds cheesy as hell, but today gave me a renewed appreciation for the responsibility I carry teaching our history to the next generation 🥹 First of all, WOW were my students incredibly mature and empathetic with today's topic... I've only known them a week and I was genuinely impressed with this group of 14 - 16 yo's 🥹 I had a couple kids ask if we realized it was a terrorist attack right away or just an accident, what was it like getting on planes before TSA/Security, why people/groups use terrorism, how to prevent stuff like this going forward, if it could happen again, and then a few discussions took off regarding "what I would've done if I lived nearby at that time" or if they were on Flight 93... it was incredible but very emotional.

@CedricLeighton @alexplitsas oh, that's awesome and they all had good questions. Yes, at first we all thought it was an accident but that all was quickly brushed aside once we saw the second plane hit.

Exactly! No question that it was intentional after the second plane!

@Captain_Hektor @CedricLeighton @alexplitsas I’m proud of you for doing this. 💕

Thank you 🙏 this means the world to me.

I’m much older than you, Ashley. So I say that with fondness, and admiration for all that you’re doing. 💕

@CedricLeighton @alexplitsas Brilliant! Thank you for posting!

Thank you so much! My pleasure!

@CedricLeighton @alexplitsas A difficult, but very necessary discussion. Thank you for remembering 9-11 with honesty, compassion and clarity. Peace.

@CedricLeighton @alexplitsas Hey this is great stuff. Thanks for sharing.

My pleasure. Thanks for taking the time to watch 🙏

❤️

@CedricLeighton @alexplitsas I was a freshman in high school and in 2004 I turned 18 and wanted sign up for the Armed Forces. I would have been the first in my family, but I graduated from high school and then pursued a Bachelor’s degree in History. Great job on the video Ashley 🫡 #NeverForget

🙏❤️

@CedricLeighton @alexplitsas God Bless you 🙏💙

@CedricLeighton @alexplitsas Incredibly well done. Watching memory become history being surreal is right. Excellent job explaining the significance of not just that day but how it has affected everything since then. I love how you wrapped it up by telling the students what they can do from the story of 9-11.

Thank you so much!

You're welcome! You seem like an excellent teacher. Your students are fortunate to have you.

This truly means the world to me! I try my best every day for them!

My mom taught kindergarten so I grew up around teachers. Just develop a sense for the ones who go above & beyond & are just really invested in the kids & them learning. My mom dressed up in a full blown clown costume to teach the letter "C" back when they taught letters in K.

Awwww your mom sounds like she was an incredible teacher! 🙏🥹

Thank you! She was definitely made for it. Like you, she put in that extra effort so the kids could really connect with what they were learning. Funny story about the clown costume. She stopped at McDonald's every morning for coffee. If drive thru line was too long, she'd go in.+

One morning as she was coming out, someone whistled at her. It wasn't until she got in the car that she remembered she was dressed like a clown. Wig, makeup, rubber nose, the suit AND even clown shoes. She forgot she was wearing it & went into McDonald's like that. 🤣🤣

@CedricLeighton @alexplitsas On 12/7/1966, 25 years after the attack on Pearl Harbor, there were zero Japanese immigrants (or anyone else) in America running for high office while praising the virtues of those that attacked us. Make of that what you will…

@CedricLeighton @alexplitsas Thank you, Ashley!

@CedricLeighton @alexplitsas Not much in here about who exactly planned and carried out the attacks, or what their driving ideology was. Can you comment on the decision to leave that largely unsaid?

@CedricLeighton @alexplitsas 9/11 isn’t history; it’s a current event. The 25th anniversary of Pearl Harbor in 1966 was history; the adults well remembered it, but they didn’t say “Always remember Pearl Harbor,” even though they had been shocked when it happened and killed 2400 Americans. They were no

@CedricLeighton @alexplitsas I understand the grief & the will to get back at the people who were responsible for 9/11,what I don’t understand in this piece is the missing of self criticism and self reflection on the US actions after the attack.I’m sorry to say but this is propaganda. I grief for all victims

@CedricLeighton @alexplitsas Well done Ashley. 🙏🏻❤️💪🇺🇲

@CedricLeighton @alexplitsas This is very well done; congratulations, Ashley. Blows my mind to think there are adults who weren’t born yet on 9/11, that it’s been a quarter century since that day that I remember so vividly, trying to offer to go down there as an ex-EMT, donating blood… to do SOMETHING.

@CedricLeighton @alexplitsas Fellow educator & proud patriot, Thank you so much for posting this. 🇺🇸❤️🤍💙

@CedricLeighton @alexplitsas Thank you for sharing this