TOMS RIVER – Everyone of a certain age can tell you where they were during the attacks on September 11, 2001. But for those who weren’t even born yet, how do they learn about it? And how does it impact them?
On the morning of 9/11 in Toms River High School South, Mathew Sohl’s AP Government and Politics class were learning not only about the tragedy, but how it impacted people differently based on such factors as age and race.
The topic folded neatly into an ongoing discussion of “political socialization,” which is defined in the most simple terms as where you get your ideology from.
Many people have similar beliefs as their parents, but the youngest generation might be the first where social media has a stronger impact on their belief system.
A study showed that millennials, generally defined as 1981-1996, were the ones impacted the most by 9/11, since it happened during their formative years.
For the students in Sohl’s class, these are their formative years, and the largest worldwide story impacting them was probably Covid-19.
Sohl told this newspaper that he also teaches about 9/11 in U.S. History 2. The state requires age-appropriate education about 9/11 for certain grades, and offers guidelines and curriculum.
Students read an article from Gallup called “Majority In U.S. Still Say 9/11 Permanently Altered How People Live.” In a poll, 64% of responders said the attacks changed lifestyles for Americans, although only 28% reported that their own lives changed.
A question about whether you feel your government can protect you from terrorism broke along party lines, with Republicans feeling more safe when a Republican is president and Democrats feeling more safe when a Democrat is president. This question had been asked in the past as well, and has shown a slow decline in the public’s trust in the government overall.
An example of a question the class had to answer is “The article describes different ways young adults view the legacy of 9/11. Some see the attacks as a source of patriotism and national unity, while others emphasize government distrust, Islamophobia, and the consequences of U.S. foreign policy. Explain how the experiences and perspectives described in the article demonstrate the influence of political socialization on Americans’ political attitudes and beliefs. Identify and explain two factors that may contribute to differences in how Americans view the legacy of 9/11.”
Three students volunteered to speak to The Toms River Times outside of class about what they knew about 9/11 and how they are impacted by it.
Andrew Stewart said he’s been learning about it since elementary school. “It’s not something that feels recent, even though it is recent,” he said. “I still see the effects of it today” like the patriotism that surged afterward.
“A horrible event brought everyone together. It’s definitely made me more patriotic,” he said. “I wish people were more unified now.”
Lucas Johnson spoke about how he learned in school that Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaida led the attacks. On his own, he learned about how the U.S. government supported bin Laden in the 1980s as a force against the USSR.
While all eyes were on NYC in 2001, the world’s view of America has fallen in recent years, he said. With the president talking about taking over Greenland or sharing AI images of himself on social media, “we’re probably viewed as a laughing stock.”
Like others his age, he’s seen a lot of things online, some he agrees with, some he doesn’t.
He was pretty critical of the government before he made a trip to Washington, D.C., but what really galvanized him was seeing so many homeless in the city while there are monuments to America’s “greatness.”
Sonja Schwartz said throughout her education, she learned about the tragedy – and how many first responders got sick and died after risking their lives to save others.
Her mother is a detective for the prosecutor’s office, and “her entire office was impacted.”
Students today are more political than those in recent history, she said. “We should focus more on our politics and how government works.”
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