PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Every fall, at the start of the school year, a Port St. Lucie social studies teacher takes her students back to a day they never lived through.
Ayleen Charles has been teaching at Sunlight Christian Academy for nearly a decade. Each year, she makes Sept. 11 a centerpiece of her classroom.
"It's important to keep that memory alive, because that what history is right?" Charles said.
Charles said her students have only ever known a world shaped by the attacks.
"You were born in a world shaped by 9/11. They don't know what it's like to be in a world that was not shaped by 9/11," Charles said.
To make the history feel real, she uses survivor stories, images and audio recordings — including firsthand accounts from those who were there.
"I let them read first hand accounts of voicemails that were left from people on the airplane. I make it very real for them," Charles said.
Part of that reality includes explaining how everyday life changed after the attacks — including at airports.
"They're shocked when I tell them we used to be able to go to the airport, pass what would be TSA now, and actually see the airplanes take off," Charles said.
But Charles said the lessons go beyond security changes and emergency preparedness.
"But it also shows us the choices that were made after — how we came together as a nation," Charles said.
As the years pass, she said the responsibility to remember will be carried forward by the students she teaches.
"I want students to remember the realness of what I taught them. I want them to remember that this is not just something printed in a history book," Charles said. "I want to them to remember how that impacted the people that they know and the world that they currently live in today."
For Charles, the mission is personal — and urgent.
"People deserved to be remembered. The people that lost their lives, because of an act of hatred," she said. "They deserved to be remembered. Their legacy deserves to be carried on."
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