ROBERT PIERCE

   • Leader & Times

Traci Mettlen has worked in education for a few decades now, currently working as the principal at Liberal’s Cottonwood Elementary School.

In her early days in the field, she had been teaching at the former Washington Elementary School in Liberal, and on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, she recalled being urged to turn on a television by fellow teacher Tammy Potts.

“She was saying ‘Oh my goodness, turn on your TV,’” Mettlen said.

However, having children as young as 4 years old in the building, educators tried to keep the focus on the job at hand.

“It’s not like you can just stop,” Mettlen said. “We had to definitely continue our day, but we did keep the TV on. We all had them in our classrooms at that time.”

Staff at Washington Elementary would continue to watch the events that unfolded that morning with the volume down, all while continuing to teach.

As she watched the two planes fly into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, Mettlen said more than anything, she felt disbelief about what was happening.

“It was one of the moments where we knew, moving forward, life would be different,” she said. “We would have to make some changes.”

Mettlen too remembers watching the news, trying to comprehend and understand what was happening, and her thoughts turned to the families and lives that would be changed after that moment.

“It changed in an instant,” she said. “There was also fear and uncertainty like, ‘What the heck is going on?’ I also remember Americans coming together after that.”

Having been at Cottonwood in recent years, Mettlen has taken part in that school’s Patriot Day program, started not long after 9/11 with the first observance taking place in 2003, under the direction of former music teacher Becky Robison.

Mettlen said Patriot Day gives the community a chance to honor people who lost their lives that fateful day, along with the first responders who ran toward the danger and the men and women who serve the country in the military.

Mettlen likewise believes Patriot Day teaches students something bigger, what it means to be an American, to serve others and to come together during difficult times.

“I loved while Becky Robison was the one who started it, and we’ve had several music teachers since then,” she said. “Our students participate because they’re helping to carry out that remembrance and bringing that forward.”

Mettlen said 9/11 changed America tremendously.

“I think we became more aware of security,” she said. “It’s part of our everyday life now, and it wasn’t like that before.”

Mettlen said she feels one of the biggest lessons from 9/11 was the importance of unity, adding immediately after the attacks, people were less focused on their differences and more on putting America first. She said, though, 25 years since the tragic events, those lessons seem to have been lost.

“I wish we could hold on to more of that sense of unity without needing a tragedy for us to remember that,” she said.

Prior to 9/11, Mettlen said life seemed more innocent.

“I don’t think we thought twice about security, and we weren’t aware of what we consider normal measures are today,” she said. “Flying was different. Entering buildings was different. I don’t think we thought about terrorism. It wasn’t part of our everyday life until then, but after Sept. 11, there was an awareness that never completely went away.”

Mettlen’s children grew up post-9/11, all taking part in the Patriot Day program under Robison’s direction.

“I remember Jentzen playing a role,” Mettlen said. “She was one of the lead speakers.”

Mettlen’s grandfather, World War II veteran Granville Walker Boyd, spoke to classes at Cottonwood after Patriot Day programs, and Mettlen said her family was a part of that, with Mettlen herself, when allowed to come over from Washington Elementary.

With 25 years now gone since 9/11 took place, Mettlen said her thoughts often turn to today’s Cottonwood students, mainly being another generation removed from the events of that day.

“To them, Sept. 11 is history,” she said. “They weren’t there to see the images or experience how our country responded or to feel that fear as we all watched.”

For now, Mettlen said the responsibility of Cottonwood staff becomes greater with each passing year.

“We have to teach them not only what happened but also about the courage and the sacrifice and the patriotism and the unity that followed,” she said. “I think Patriot Day helps make that history real for them.”

Mettlen said when she thinks about 9/11 and all of the people who answered the call to serve afterward, she also thinks about the same willingness sacrifice for something bigger than herself.

Boyd lived to be 102, and Mettlen recalls her grandfather telling numerous stories about his time in the military.

“I think about all the sacrifices he made,” she said. “I just look at all the first responders and the people who dropped everything to come together.”

Like others, as she recalls how young her kids were at the time, Mettlen said she could not believe it already been 25 years since Sept. 11, 2001, but she also could not believe it had now been 31 years for her working in the USD 480 school district.

“Twenty-five years ago sounds like such a long time, but some memories of that day still feel incredibly close,” she said.

Also like others who were old enough at the time, Mettlen remembers exactly what she was doing as the events of 9/11 unfolded, but at the same time, she looks at the elementary students of today, realizing those events took place before they were born.

“It puts those 25 years into perspective, and that’s why continuing to tell the story matters,” she said. “I’m grateful Becker did such a huge part of keeping that story alive.”

Mettlen has spent a career working with children, and now, she and other eductors are working with an entire generation of students who only know about 9/11 through what they are taught.

“I feel that responsibility to make sure the lessons of that day aren’t lost, and we want our students to understand the tragedy,” she said. “I also want them to know the stories of bravery, kindness and service and ordinary people doing extraordinary things.”

Mettlen said America has made a strong effort to remember 9/11.

“For years, the people teaching and talking about 9/11 had the personal memories of it, but as time passes, fewer of the people in our schools will remember it first hand,” she said.

Mettlen said other historical events such as the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy show how an event can move from personal memory into history.

“So the challenge now is making sure 9/11 doesn’t become simply just a date the students  they memorize and they continue telling the stories of the people behind that date,” she said.

Mettlen said one way to help younger generations remember 9/11 is to make it meaningful to them, and Patriot Day is one way to do so.

“Patriot Day allows our students to see veterans, first responders, community members, staff and students come together,” she said. “We teach them what happened in an age-appropriate way, but we also focus on service, courage, sacrifice, gratitude and patriotism. I think children remember something more deeply when they understand the people and the emotions behind the history rather than just memorizing the facts.”

With tremendous changes in security and the way agencies communicate since 9/11, Mettlen said this could help events such as the Sept. 11, 2001 hijacking from happening again..

“Part of honoring those who were lost is continuing to learn from what happened and supporting the people who work every day to protect our communities and our country,” she said. “Overall, for our students, Sept. 11 is history, but for many of us, it is a memory, and our job is to make sure when it’s no longer anyone’s personal memory, it’s still something America remembers.”