Some parents at PS 146 in Howard Beach said they and their children were saddened by a lack of a moment of silence at the school in remembrance of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, though school officials stressed that the tragedy was addressed with the older students but not with the younger ones out of concern for their emotional wellbeing.
“Today there was not a moment of silence in observance of Sept. 11 at our girls’ school,” Mary Rinaldo-Hansen, whose three daughters attend PS 146, wrote on the 12th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that killed 2,977 people. “It upset them. It upsets us too. I could rant about it, but not today. Instead, I’ll tell you that we took the girls down by the bridge to see the memorial lights, and, even though it was hard to see them with the fog, you could make out their silhouette. A history lesson was had, stories were told and tears were shed – and they learned, again, what Sept. 11 is all about.”
Rinaldo-Hansen addressed her concerns about a lack of silence at the school with the new principal, Mary Keegan, who told Rinaldo-Hansen in an email that the events of Sept. 11 were discussed with students in grades four through eight in the auditorium at the start of the school day. She said school officials did not address it with those in kindergarten through third grade because “it is difficult for our younger students to comprehend.”
“I understand the enormity of Sept. 11 and its impact on all of us as Americans, but especially as New Yorkers who lived through tragic events that happened that day and in the months to follow.” Keegan wrote to Rinaldo-Hansen. “Many of us were directly impacted by these events, including myself.”
The school’s new leader stressed to Rinaldo-Hansen that she is “responsive to parental concerns and will take what you have stated when we plan for Sept. 11 in the 2014-15 school year.
“Be assured that I believe that no matter what day it is, or what time it is, I will never forget the tragedy of Sept. 11 and all of the heroes and innocent people who were lost that day,” the principal wrote.
Still, parents said their younger students already know about Sept. 11 and said it was important to continue to remember the day in school – where students could speak to teachers about the tragedy.
“When we fail to teach or acknowledge the past, we are in fact creating a generation of kids who will eventually become our leaders and will have Sept. 11 in their memories simply from whatever convoluted text book jibberish that will wrap it up all nice, neat and simple for them,” Rinaldo-Hansen said. “It will eventually become like any other day; the annual memories will start to become every five or 10 years and, eventually, not at all.
“Maybe this isn’t about our kids’ school forgetting or intentionally not holding a moment of silence, maybe instead this is about respect,” she continued. “Respect for those who just went to work that day and didn’t come home, respect for those on that plan who sacrificed their own lives to save who knows how many others, respect for all those who tried to save others and lost their own lives. Respect for all those left behind with a void that will never be filled.”
By Anna Gustafson
