We’re 25 years out from the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001 — a day that came to shape an entire generation of young people who witnessed the attacks live on TV. So what was it like to witness it live? And for educators, how has teaching that day changed over time?
WUWM Vice President of Content Maureen McCollum was a junior at Nicolet High School north of Milwaukee. She watched the events unfold in her social studies class with teacher Mark Schill, who retired from the school in 2026. She asked him what he remembers about the day.
Editor's note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Mark Schill: (It's) very burned into my memory because it was my first year at Nicolet. Lulah Colan, who was a new teacher at Nicolet with me, walks by the classroom and pops her head in and says, "A plane hit the World Trade Center."
At that point, nobody knew anything and it wasn't a terrorist attack. It was just, "Oh my God, what happened?" Then we pulled out the TVs that are on the cart. We're watching to see what the news is covering.
Then, the second plane comes in. I think that's when everything really changed, because at that point it was obvious that this is not a random event.
Maureen McCollum: So I knew where you were, because I was with you through the majority of 9/11. My memory is walking into that third hour class, your U.S. history class — which was one of my favorite classes. I remember watching that second plane hit with you. You were sitting on one of the student desks, so you weren't at your main desk, you were sitting with us. I remember you holding your head and looking over and realizing this is a big deal, because you're making a big deal. But I felt safe because you weren't panicking. I also remember you talking it through in context with us as we were witnessing this all unfold.
Schill: Right.
McCollum: Obviously, 9/11 changed everything from that point on — understatement of the century. But one of my memories is how you wove that event and the aftermath into what I perceived as your already planned lessons. So, U.S. foreign relations, Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" and learning about the "political machine." But how has teaching 9/11 changed with each generation you've taught?
Schill: It's really interesting, because of the fact that in the first couple of years afterwards, we're looking at what happened, how it developed and the immediate reaction to it.
And then, the 10-year out piece ... they were in kindergarten or pre-K or whatever. That group was very much interested in things like: what were things like before 9/11 and what changed? What changed with airports and what changed with other security and the idea of the Department of Homeland Security. That was something that got focused on.
In that (high school) age group the last few years, the kids, it's not that they're not interested in it, but it's like the Vietnam War. It's a historical event that took place that they know that their parents were alive for. But it isn't the same. They're interested in other things. I think it's trying to find the generation that says, "Oh, this is where things really changed for us."
McCollum: As you look forward — I know you've retired, congratulations on that — but how do you see teaching 9/11 evolving?
Schill: I think it depends a lot on if we can come back together as a society instead of being so politically divided. Islamophobia has gotten way worse in the last decade than it was even in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. People recognize that this is not what Muslims do, but rather this is what this group of terrorists did. Whereas now within certain segments of society, they're all the same. I think that that's where going forward and teaching about it, it might even be even more divided depending upon the district that you're in, just based on whether or not you're going to buy into Islamophobia or not.
McCollum: Thank you so much for coming in. Honestly, looking back on that class, it had such a huge impact on me. That was one of the launching points among a few things that led to me being here right now. So thank you.
