Product Description

The aspiring first-hand accounts gathered in this book document the remarkable wisdom and courage of public school teachers and school leaders who cared for and protected the children in NYC schools on 9/11.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1084664 in Books
• Published on: 2006-07-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

Review
"We set out walking in a long line, but moments after we got outside, the second tower began to fall. Some teachers and students were caught in a black cloud of dust, others were forced back inside the school. My group ran north, hand-in-hand, as fast as we could." - Teacher "I was able to maintain communication with the assistant principals, the deans, and the school safety agents via the walkie-talkies.... I thought about the two students in wheelchairs, the blind student, and the student who had just returned from open-heart surgery.... Oh, by the way, this is not in the 'principal's manual.' We had to figure it out step by step." - School principal"

From the Publisher
ADVANCE PRAISE:

Â"The challenge now, as most of these teachers know, is to keep the towers from falling over and over, to summon up images of the possible, images of building anew.Â" —From the Foreword by Maxine Greene

Â"I have always believed that the most powerful moments of learning come through the eyes of children. These moving firsthand accounts vividly capture this simple but precious lesson. I recommend this book to all parents and teachers.Â" —Deborah Meier, New York University, author of In Schools We Trust, Many Children Left Behind and Keeping School

Â"The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 changed the way that we define ‘homeland security.Â’ After reading the stories chronicled in Forever After, I am confident that you will change the way that you define ‘heroismÂ’!Â" —Gregory A. Thomas, Director of Security for the New York City schools on September 11, 2001 and author of Freedom From Fear: A Guide to Safety, Preparedness and the Threat of Terrorism

Â"An astonishing collection of reflections with unique perspectives that reveal so much about the courage of these teachers in New York City. I felt their vulnerability as each person displayed their quiet acts of heroism, setting aside their fears and anxieties and risking themselves for their students during and after that horrific day.Â" —Mary B. Mumbrue, retired 4th and 5th grade teacher, Winnetka, IL

Â"This book has the power to transcend a specific catastrophe. It gave me a renewed zeal for the work I do and an insight into what I can say and how I can react when one of my second graders asks, ‘Could that happen here?Â’Â" —Joanne Bell, 2nd grade teacher, St. Charles, MO

About the Author
Edited by Teachers College Press with Maureen Grolnick, with a Foreword by Maxine Greene.

With Contributions from:

Debbie Almontaser

Loyan Beausoleil

Marygrace Berberian

Isaac Brooks

Abigail Deutsch

Claudia DiSalvo

Ada Rosario Dolch

Stacey Fell-Eisenkraft

Michelle Fine

Lia Friedman

Tom Goodridge

Maxine Greene

Dalia Hochman

Linda Lantieri, with Madhavi Nambiar and Michael Chavez-Reilly

Patricia Lent

Ethan Lowenstein

Lorrie Mann

Amy Martin

Rosalind Winter

Customer Reviews

GRATITUDE FOR THIS INSPIRING BOOK
IT IS AN EXTRAORDINARY PRIVILEDGE TO WALK THROUGH THE HORROR OF 9/11 WITH THESE COURAGEOUS TEACHERS. IN TELLING THEIR VERY PERSONAL STORIES WITH HUMILITY AND HUMANITY, THEY GAVE OF THEMSELVES, OPENLY AND GENEROUSLY, AND, LET US INTO THEIR LIVES ON THAT UNIMAGINABLE DAY.

WE ALL THOUGHT ABOUT THE NYC SCHOOL CHILDREN THAT DAY. WE ALL WONDERED ABOUT THE TEACHERS WHO WERE IN CHARGE. WE WANTED TO KNOW WHEN AND HOW THEY FOUND OUT, WHAT EACH TEACHER SAID , HOW THEY FELT, WHO THEY CALLED, HOW THEY KEPT THEIR COOL WITH THE CHILDREN.... HOW THEY SHOWED UP AS LEADERS IN THE FACE OF THE GRAVEST TRAGEDY. AND, IN THE AFTERMATH, HOW THEY CAME TO AN INNER PLACE OF HOPE FOR THE FUTURE; HOPE THAT CONTINUES TODAY.

THE STORIES ARE STIRRING. THE VOICES NEED TO BE HEARD. THE READINGS WILL TOUCH YOUR HEART, WILL MOVE YOU TO TEARS, AND WILL LEAVE YOU WITH PROFOUND RESPECT AND ADMIRATION FOR OUR TEACHERS... AND A DEEP SENSE OF GRATITUDE FOR EVERY DAY.

Loved it!
I bought this for my best friend, who is a teacher...she absolutely loved it and said it was wonderful book.

Powerful, hopeful book
This book eloquently recounts the stories of the 9/11 tragedy and its aftermath from the perspective of the New York City teachers who were on the job that fateful day. It is powerfully written, a testament to their hope and strength and shared humanity. The writing was so compelling that I wanted to read it all at once, but emotionally I needed to go slowly, to let each chapter sink in. It is one of the most powerful pieces of writing that I have ever read.