Reflection on 9/11 and our Call as Educators

 Every year at this time, I look bad to my year one in education. Year one for me was 25 years ago when I started teaching back in New Hampshire. In year one, within that first month, the tragedy of 09/11 occurred. I will never forget the surreality of the day. I will never forget the unknowing, as it was unfolding, of how long America would be under attack. I will never forget the national changes that occurred both during and following the events of the day. As I reflect on the eerily quiet skies that came once all air travel was halted, the beautiful day the weather provided, and the overall trepidation that seemed out of context for what was otherwise  a normal September morning - what I remember more clearly than anything is having a young lady in my geometry class by the name of Laura Ogonowski. Laura's father was a piolet on one of the two planes that were hijacked shortly after leaving the Boston International Airport and subsequently flown into the Twin Towers in NYC.

Later, as our school community rallied around, supported, and loved the Ogonowski family, it became very clear, very quickly that the job of educator is more than academics. The responsibility to know and value my students is a critical element to my belief that formation is integral in whole student development. That academics and formation are balanced on a scale for all of us called to education at White Pine is a hallmark that transcends the comings and goings of educational trends and their influence on the overall practice of teaching.

Those moments that happened 25 years ago, but still seem like just yesterday, keep my in a place where I still have a periodical written about the events of the day in a place close to me as a reminder of, the lives that were lost and that were given by the many who responded; how a country that often lives in a state of divisiveness came together in solidarity; and finally, a reminder of my new responsibility to care for Laura Ogonowski as a teacher of more than just Geometry. 

By: Mr. Ron Cote

Director of Schools