Naperville students learn meaning of Shanower Memorial
Naperville Central High School teacher Donna Mohn knew Osama bin Laden's death would make Monday an interesting day in her classes.
What she didn't know was how many eyes she would open before the final bell.
Throughout the day, Mohn brought students from her American government, American problems and world culture classes on a walking field trip to the Cmdr. Dan Shanower/Sept. 11 Memorial less than a half-mile from school along Naperville's Riverwalk.
“I knew today would be different so I started by asking ‘How many of you know we have this (memorial) or why?' and maybe four hands went up,” Mohn said. “I was very shocked most of them didn't know we had this memorial here and why the events of the last 24 hours are so important.
“They've heard about it. They've read about it in textbooks. But they haven't lived it. When four hands went up I said ‘That's it. We're going over there.'”
The memorial was inspired by Navy Cmdr. Dan Shanower, a Naperville native who was killed in the 2001 attack on the Pentagon, and an article he wrote entitled “Freedom Isn't Free.”
Granite from a Pennsylvania field where one of the hijacked planes crashed forms the base of the sculpture that also incorporates 100 pounds of rubble from the damaged portion of the Pentagon and a beam from the World Trade Center. An eternal flame burns nearby.
“I want them to be lifelong learners. They were all so young on Sept. 11 and they don't really realize the impact of that day,” Mohn said. “They're going to remember this day for the rest of their lives and we need to get them involved in the decisions our government makes and the impact it has on them.
“This is real life. This is why they come to school. I want them to remember coming here.”
Lindsay Sullivan, a freshman in Mohn's world culture class, said she thought news of bin Laden's death was “a joke” but quickly realized it was serious business when everyone at school was talking about it. Still, she struggled to explain why it's important.
“He was like the head of al-Qaida, I guess, and he was kinda one of the people who organized and was in charge of Sept. 11 and other terrorist attacks,” Sullivan said. “It's important that he's gone now because everyone can feel a lot safer and not as nervous now that it's finally over.”
Many students still have plenty to learn about the past decade but Mohn encouraged them to start Monday night.
”They live here. They should be community contributors,” Mohn said. “So I told them all to go home and bring their parents here tonight.”