Ten years ago today I was teaching Acting I to a group of students who were at best interested, and at worst ready to fall asleep. It was a beautiful, clear morning, and no one was very excited about being cooped up in a black room with no windows, which was the Lab Theatre. During the class I got an all call to the faculty to check email. I did, and was told that there was something going on in New York. I had another email that asked about my parents. Were they okay? Then Scott, a colleague, came into my room and told me to turn on the television. The look on his face was something that I will never forget. I did turn on the television.
The Twin Towers were on the screen; one of them had smoke coming out of it. My students were wondering what was happening; I tired to assure them that everyting was okay, but I had no explanation for the smoke and panic from the media. I asked that we simply watch quietly. Within two minutes the second plane hit the second tower. At that point, we knew that something was wrong.
Soon thereafter. there was an all call for teachers to turn off their televisions. I waited a minute or two, and then I saw the surreal. One of the Twin Towers collapsed. I then knew that what we were witnessing was not only horrific, but also historical. I also knew that my students should be spared this. What if one of thier family members were working in New York? What if one of them was in the Towers? I turned off the television, and I tried my best to do what teachers and schools do: keep the students safe and secure; it was a difficult task.
Throughout the day, there were questions being asked that I could not answer; there were worries that I could not assuage. In fact, I was worried, as well. Mom and Dad were flying home from Montreal that morning. I was to meet them for dinner in the evening. As per their itinerary, they were to be flying over New York right about the time that the Towers were hit. I was devastated by worry for them and for my fellow countrymen. I was almost debilitated with fear that I might lose two of the people that I cared about most: my parents.
But my calling was to teach children. My most important job that day was to ensure the safety and the security of those in my charge: my students. I worried about the kids in my classroom; I worried about my former students who were in New York for study or for work; I worried.
One of the most beautiful things about being a teacher is the ability to get lost in the lesson and get lost in the day. I was able to do that. I was able to help students try to understand what was happening, even though I was unable to help them understand why it was happening. School should be a safe place for children. I hope that I and my colleagues gave the extra understanding and support that day to our charges.
I found out during my planning that my parents were safe in Atlanta. Theirs was the only flight not cancelled simply because someone important was on the plane. Each of my students who were in New York had graciously checked in at the school letting their former teachers know that they were safe. Michelle, in particular, wrote on her online diary about what she was experiencing. What she wrote was dark and scary, but told through the eyes of someone young and...innocent, for lack of a better word.
I cancelled rehearsal that day; it was the right thing to do, but I stayed at school in case my students needed to be somewhere safe. I think that I needed them more than they needed me. I then met my family at my parents' house. September 11, 2001 was not the night to go to dinner; September 11, 2001 was the night to stay at home and cook with family and spend time with family and pray with family.
That is what we will be doing this evening, the tenth anniversary of one of the most terrible tragedies to hit our soil. Where were you when the world stopped turning, and how will you spend your day?
No comments:
Post a Comment