Sarah Cohan

Even after the initial shock of the September 11 terrorist attacks subsided, many of us, in conversation with friends and colleagues, still grappled to find words that would do justice to the enormity and gravity of the events. Our grasp of language seemed immediately and desperately inadequate. Teachers, in many ways, had the most daunting task -- trying to explain something that they themselves did not yet fully comprehend.

Some of the most accomplished journalists and commentators couldn't help but resort to clichés in attempting to describe the trauma. They, like everyone else, groped for ways to express their anguish and frustrations.

After reading and discussing poetry, students will articulate their own thoughts and emotions and become empowered to take action -- whether it is writing thank-you notes to the firefighters in New York City, raising money for the American Red Cross, organizing a forum at their school to discuss anti-Muslim bias or assembling a rally supporting or opposing U.S. action in Afghanistan.