I remember getting ready for work that morning and, as usual I had the television in my room on to the local NBC station. I like to listen to the news while I get ready for work. At some point in the broadcast they began reporting about an airplane that hit the World Trade Center in New York City. The earliest broadcasts that morning didn't refer to any terrorism, but I remember thinking that I was grateful that none of my loved ones were traveling that day. In a matter of minutes, though, it was apparent that this wasn't an accident.

It was only the second week of school and as upset as I was, I knew I had to get to work. The most difficult thing about that day was being calm and reassuring to my students when I felt confused and worried myself. Our principal told us not to turn on the news with any students in the room - we didn't want to increase their anxieties. But every recess break, we'd gather in one teacher's room to watch the news. I watched a lot of news over the next few days and cried many tears.

I felt especially bad for one little boy in my class. September 11th was (is) his birthday. At the end of the day he was astute enough to say, "Great, now my birthday will always be remembered for this!" What can you say to that?

I had a little girl in my class that year who was Muslim. I loved her from the first day of school because she was super affectionate and had the best attitude about school. I made an effort all year long to reach out to her and show her good favor, because I didn't want the other students to act out any prejudices towards her because of her religion. I knew if I showed how much I liked her, they would too. Kids are like that.

After a while, things got back to normal, although it wasn't the normal we'd known before. In my memory, aside from that horrible day, it was a typical school year.

This Monday morning, all the teachers and students at my school will gather at the flag pole to say the pledge and sing a patriotic song. The adults will be able to remember the events and the losses of that late summer day five years ago, but many of the students are too young to remember it at all.

So, we'll teach them about it.