Douglas Alexander: “the terrorists who attacked us 2 years ago were not only lashing out at people and buildings, they were attacking who we…”

“the terrorists who attacked us 2 years ago were not only lashing out at people and buildings, they were attacking who we are as Americans. And since that day we have had an extraordinary amount of attention paid in this country to just that question. I know in my Senate campaign when I said I thought it was time to put the teaching of American history and civics back in its rightful place in our schools so our children could grow up learning what it is to be an American, people responded to that. There was a hunger for thinking more about what makes this country special. Why were we attacked? What were the terrorists attacking? There are many ways to remind ourselves of what it means to be an American. One way is discussions like this. One is the speeches of our President, who has done a beautiful job of that. But another way is our schools. The late Albert Shanker, president of the American Federation of Teachers, once was asked: What is the rationale for a public school? Mr. Shanker's answer was that public schools were created--the common school--to teach the three R's, and what it means to be an American to immigrant children with the hope they would go home and teach their parents.”