GREENFIELD — When National Public Radio came into the middle school to ask students about the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, school administrators didn’t realize how big a learning curve they were approaching.
“We were astonished how little our student body really knew about it,” Greenfield Middle School Assistant Principal Angela Ruggeri said.
One seventh-grader was quoted in the NPR piece that ran Sept. 10, 2016 — in preparation and reflection of the 15th anniversary of the attacks — saying “I don’t know about it, so I don’t know how to feel about it.” Josh Sylvester and his peers weren’t born yet in 2001.
Come May, following the heavy exam period of April, the town’s middle schoolers will all read “Towers Falling,” a book by Jewell Parker Rhodes, written from the perspective of a fifth-grader about the terrorist attacks in New York.
Ruggeri is inviting parents and all Greenfield residents to read along with the students to help spark conversation and to help teach this post-9/11 generation. The book will be available for purchase at World Eye Bookshop with a 15 percent discount.
At the time when NPR came into Greenfield Middle School, Ruggeri and Principal Gary Tashjian had already decided they would have their students, along with the Math and Science Academy middle schoolers, read the book. They just didn’t realize the how much education on 9/11 was needed.
“A lot of what this is about is what is history,” Ruggeri said. “Are we making history as we live and breathe? Is recent history — history?”
Also, the Boston Marathon terror attack three years ago has further bolstered the conversation of why the book is relevant to the students.
“Obviously, there is the concern that kids are hearing about terrorism in the news every day. How do we assess that?” Ruggeri asked.
The age-appropriate book will be read over the course of five weeks, culminating with student projects on “What it means to be an American.” Author Parker Rhodes is expected to come to Greenfield to read the book to students.
“Students will be molding their own meaning of what it means to be an American,” Ruggeri said.
The book sidesteps politics, Ruggeri says, but addresses broader themes of culture and identity, like diversity in America.
“It’s good that they’re putting out there what could be a controversial book and have opinions about it because it helps create conversation,” World Eye Bookshop owner Jessica Mullins said.
All students will have their own copy of the book. The time taken during the school day to read the book, whether it be in groups or pairs or independent reading, is made possible with the school’s Expanded Learning Time grant, Ruggeri said. The program lengthens the school day and helps provide money for enrichment like an all-school read.
Students will learn about 9/11 with supplemental reading, like Jim O’Connor’s “What Were the Twin Towers?” Parents will also be provided with material to help inform them of what their children are learning and advise how to discuss the subject.
School administrators wanted to wait until the end of the school year when students had developed a level of comfort with their teachers, before introducing such a heavy topic.
Ruggeri is excited for students to be able to learn about each other’s cultures.
“Hopefully, there’ll be a lot of opportunities for kids to share their customs and traditions with each other and hopefully for students to gain better understandings of each other,” Ruggeri said.