Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By Rachel Campbell

The experiences of 9/11 for adults who remember it from dawn to dusk, compared to the younger generation born after the tragic event, are far from similar. As a senior at Austin High School, I’ve learned the importance of remembering those were lost on 9/11.

My history teachers take a day out of their curriculum every year to honor their memory. It’s not just a day of remembrance but a call to action for us, the younger generation, to carry this memory forward. This act fosters a profound sense of connection and empathy among us, ensuring that the lessons of 9/11 are never forgotten.

One teacher who impacted me most significantly was Tom Compton, a U.S. history teacher at Austin High School. Being put into a classroom with a teacher who doesn’t tell us what to say, do, or think changed my perspective on the various topics he discussed.

9/11 was one of them. Compton’s motto is to “teach kids how to think, not what to think.” He stands by this quote every day because if students are told what to think, their perspective is different. Compton was in college when the tragic event happened.

“9/11 didn’t happen that long ago to me,” Compton said after mentioning students today sometimes look at 9/11 as if it happened a hundred years ago. To adults who watched the news or experienced the event to them, it feels like yesterday. Compton stated he could remember everything he did on Sept.11 and nothing on Sept.12.

When you first arrive at Compton’s class, he starts playing a song called “Courtesy of Red, White, and Blue “ By Toby Keith. The song was written a year after 9/11. After the song is over, Compton talks about each lyric in depth, comparing it to America and 9/11. He then shares pictures of the event, follows up with political cartoons, and talks about his first-person view of what he remembers.

Compton talks of how the news blared on his TV, and the best way to describe how it felt was going through the 5 Stages of Grief.

“Who did this? Why would they do such a thing? What can I do?” Compton exclaimed the first time he understood news fog. “When you don’t know what’s happening, how the news was adamant about telling the story when they didn’t know. First, it was a gas leak, a bomb, a missile, and now, finally, a plane. Before cell phones, I would watch it as it happened. All you had was the news. It wasn’t as quick as today.”

Compton then said he had friends who went to New York to help to the best of their ability. Helping pick up rubble, help people and more.

He also mentioned that one of the good things about America is that in times of tragedy, America is brought together.

“You need to cherish and value something because that something can be taken away at any given moment,” he said, emphasizing the need to cherish and value unity in times of tragedy, making us feel appreciative and united.

When sitting in his class, I listened to his personal story explaining how the world is today after 9/11. For example, why does it take so long to get through the airport?

“History changes. Our job, as teachers, is to have you think for yourself instead of what your parents, teachers, etc. thought,” he said.

Over the years, I’ve heard about 9/11, and to me, it does feel like it was many years ago, but I’ve recognized that for some, it felt like it was yesterday. Compton wouldn’t change anything about teaching kids about 9/11.

“The best method of relaying information is to have some way to connect to 9/11,” he said. “Through family, through emotions, like losing a loved one.”

Compton wants to teach kids lessons that touches on our emotions and connect with them because we are more likely to learn emotionally.

Rachel Campbell is an Austin High School student and freelancer for the Austin Daily Herald.