Moms Talk Q&A

How Have You Educated Your Children About 9/11?

Schools lack curriculum, so it's sometimes up to parents alone to figure out how to raise awareness about the effects of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

Although my children were born into a world touched by the devastation and terror of 9/11, they have been untouched by hatred or violence of any kind. So as we approached the 10th anniversary of the worst terror atttack in the history of the country, I was torn. I felt the weight of the anniversary and wanted to do something to recognize the importance of what happened. What to do? Protect their innocence or open their eyes? I decided to talk to them about it. So on 9/11, I asked them what they had heard about the deadly attacks a decade ago. I shared with them what I had learned about the hijacking of the planes and the destruction they caused in New York City, the Pentagon and in Shanksville. My youngest child asked me why, and I could …

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Sheila Sanchez

3:56 pm on Monday, September 19, 2011

Hi Dyan, thank you for this very important question. Even though the anniversary of 9/11 has passed, we should be talking about how the CDE still lacks formal curriculum on this. It's such a shame because without it being discussed in the classroom, children are left with wrong information about the attacks. I fear this is reason No. 1 why there are so many stereotypes against Muslims. It's time …   more ›

Letter to the Editor: Collective 9/11 Wound Requires Collective Healing

Dark day made bright by sense of community and love for one another.

Los Gatos Patch would love your 300-word letters to the editor. From the mountains, to the prairies … When Jazz on the Plazz ended last month, I fear that I left something important unsaid. I certainly didn't mean to. Perhaps I was caught up in the glow of a special evening or maybe I just didn't want to spoil, “the buzz.” However, the fact is, I forgot to mention the 10th anniversary of 9/11. And, worst of all, it didn't even occur to me until the following week. Now, don't get me wrong, I've spent the last nine years waxing eloquent in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times about music and summer and neighbors. I mean, face it, if you've read my stuff, you know that I cry at AT&T ads. But for some reason, the singing of “God Bless America” just fell…

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Remembering 9/11: Redefining Islam

When the actions of 9/11 hijackers associated Islam with terrorism, a Saratoga resident began taking a more public role with his faith.

On the morning of 9/11, Saratoga resident Razi Mohiuddin woke up to his radio alarm clock with reports of the World Trade Center terror strike.  As the news unfolded in the aftermath of the attacks, he saw his religion under attack as well. A wave of Islamaphobia began sweeping across the nation as pundits blamed al-Qaeda. But he was not about to let 19 hijackers define Islam, a faith shared by 1.5 billion people across the globe. "We had to define ourselves, rather than let someone else define what we stood for," he said. "We as a community had come to realize that an entire religion was being blamed," he said. "We had to do something to counter that." They could no longer stay silent. Before then, Mohiuddin said he didn't talk about his …

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Remembering 9/11: Mark Bingham

Alice Hoagland, mother of Los Gatos 9/11 hero, urges good deeds, reconciliation on tragedy's 10th anniversary.

It's been 10 excruciatingly painful years for Los Gatos resident Alice Hoagland, whose only son Mark Bingham was killed Sept. 11, 2001 when his United Airlines Flight 93 was hijacked by Al Qaeda terrorists. Bingham was 31 when the plane crashed into a field near Shanksville, PA. Hoagland said Bingham called her at 6:44 a.m. using the plane's GTE airphone that fateful morning to tell her that he loved her. The call came to her brother Vaughn's home in Saratoga, where she was babysitting. "He said, 'Mom, this is Mark Bingham. I just want to tell you that I love you. I'm on a flight from Newark to San Francisco and there are three guys on board who have taken over the plane and they say they have a bomb,' " Hoagland also remembers her son …

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First Responders Honored as Part of 9/11

Good Samaritan Hospital says 'thank you' to local fire, police, parademics and sheriff's officials with a special luncheon Friday.

West Valley fire, police, sheriffs and emergency medical workers were recognized for their service Friday afternoon with a special barbecue lunch at Good Samaritan Hospital. According to hospital spokeswoman Leslie Kelsay, organizers chose Friday to recognize the first responders because of the approaching 10th anniversary of 9/11. There was no official program, no speeches, just lots of hugs, smiles and "thank-yous" for those who put their lives on the line in the safety and protection of others during times of need, according to Kelsay. Red, white and blue balloon columns marked the entrance to the event, which took place outside near the hospital's east entrance. In attendance were many hospital officials, officers from the Los Gatos-…

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Remembering 9/11: Todd Beamer, 'Let's Roll'

This 1987 Los Gatos High School graduate is believed to have participated in the attack against United Airlines' Flight 93 hijackers.

David L. Beamer is a broken man. On 9/11, 2001, al-Qaeda terrorists robbed him of his son, Todd Morgan Beamer. They hijacked United Airlines Flight 93, and Todd and other passengers are believed to have crashed it into the ground in Shanksville, PA, thwarting a planned attack on either the Pentagon or the White House. All 44 people on board, including the four hijackers, died. How is David doing 10 years after the attack? Now living in Jacksonville Beach, FL, he says his faith in God has helped him live with the crippling loss, and he takes comfort in the knowledge that Todd was a Christian. When asked if the country has made progress against the war on terror, David said Americans must realize that the fundamentalist Islamic threat is …

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