We will always remember.

Today marks a national tragedy. September 11, 2001, was the sort of day that every American will remember. Do you remember where you were? Were you old enough to remember the details? For some of you, 9/11 may be your first vivid memory. Were you going to kindergarten or pre-K? How did you feel? What have been the effects of 9/11 on your life or on America? Feel free to write a thoughtful comment of a paragraph or more about 9/11 and your own experience or analysis.

Here is a link to the news coverage on NBC on the morning of September 11, 2001. It is difficult to watch, but you may find it interesting.

Are you guys ready? Let's roll

Good evening, everybody. Hope you had a great first day of school. It was great to meet some of you and see many more familiar faces after the summer. I don't know about you, but I'm absolutely exhausted. But, as promised, before I fall asleep, here's the first post of the new school year:

For homework this weekend, you're reading an article about Todd Beamer, who is famous for what he did on September 11, 2001. Here is a link to the article.

In addition to answering the homework questions, consider these questions:
-What might have happened if Todd Beamer didn't do what he did?
-What would have happened if no other passengers on the plane were willing to cooperate with Todd Beamer?
-How did Todd Beamer's experiences in life lead him to do what he did on 9/11?

To earn extra credit, you can reply to any or all of these questions. Choose to comment on the post, log in, and write at least a paragraph. Check your writing for spelling and grammar before posting--remember, this is an academic website. Sign your post with your first name and last initial only, please.

Come back and visit the blog this weekend. I'll be posting new links with questions almost every day.

Mr. Toomajian


P.S. Todd Beamer's experience on 9/11 became the basis for a movie called United 93. Have any of you seen it? This photo is taken from the movie, so it's not an actual photo of Todd Beamer. I'm planning on watching United 93 on Saturday; I'll let you know what it's like.