Joseph argues moment of silence is not enough and urges statewide 9/11 curriculum
Joseph argues that a moment of silence is not enough—curriculum teaches. She notes that today's teachers and students weren't alive for 9/11, references existing NYC DOE resources and museum visits, and calls for statewide legislation so children in Buffalo and Rochester learn this history with the same seriousness as those in Brooklyn.
New York already requires moment of silence in our schools each September 11th.
That matters, but a moment of silence is not a lesson plan.
Silence remembers, curriculum teaches.
My generation of teachers didn't need a curriculum to explain that day, we lived it.
And we improvised because we had to.
But the teachers standing in front of the classrooms today weren't there, neither were their students.
If we don't require this history to be taught deliberately and well, it simply won't be.
Not due to a lack of care, but because people who remember it firsthand were getting fewer every year.
New York City has tried to close that gap.
Our Department of Education built 911 curriculum resources with the Memorial Museum, and this council funded students'visit to the museum this year.
But a child in Buffalo or Rochester deserves to learn this history with the same seriousness as a child in Brooklyn.
That's statewide responsibility.
State lawmakers have introduced legislation to do exactly that.
Firefighter Joseph Spar Jr., who responded to Rescue 3 that morning and never came home.
Resolution 7A tells Albany that the City Council stand behind that effort.
I want to thank my colleagues for years of working and keeping this history alive, for the generation that wasn't there to witness it.
I urge my colleague to vote yes.
I urge Albany to act.
Thank you.