While in Brazil, I spent Monday August 11, at the Gisela Saloker Fayet State School. The current principal, Iraci Klippel, and the previous principal, Maria Angelis Neves Das Chagas, along with several faculty and staff members greeted me with students singing and breakfast waiting. I spent the day at the school for all three instructional blocks (morning, afternoon, and evening). During each block I met with the teachers to talk about our education practices. And there were performances by the students.

The principals introduced me to every class and invited the students to ask questions. They were very interested in the weather and the routines and classrooms in the schools in New York. Some of the younger students were more curious about my age. The older students (16-20 years of age) attended the evening session.

During one of my classroom visits that night, a student asked me about September 11th. He wanted to know what that day was like for me and how I felt about it 13 years later. I was surprised by this question, as the students in the room would have been about 3 or 4 years old at the time. I explained to them that I live approximately one hour north of Manhattan and many of the community members commute there to work each day, so it was a very personal experience for me. I started to recount the events of my day to the students; how I had been a teacher in 5^th grade classroom in the Monroe-Woodbury School District and all of the sudden parents were showing up at school to bring their children home. This was just after the first tower fell. At the time, I did not know what was happening. Soon afterwards, the principal visited my classroom and updated me on the events of that morning, and asked me to continue with the day. And the students and I did just that; we read books, we studied math, and we talked about the three branches of government. The next day we returned to school and picked up where we had left off the day before. For a few days things were a bit quieter than usual, but we continued and little by little we returned to our regular routine.

Manhattan Skyline

The room was silent as I told this story to the students and teachers and I felt my throat tighten as I held back tears.  The events of September 11^th are still so vivid and I know I will never forget. However, I will also never forget that day in Paraju, Espirto Santo, Brazil. The students, teachers, and principals I met changed my life with their generosity and caring. It was truly an honor to be invited into their lives. Today I wish for peace and friendship for our countries, one another, and more importantly, for our students. Only together can we make this happen.