A Lakewood Ranch High School teacher is pushing survivor videos into classrooms across the school ahead of Friday's 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Social studies teacher Kyle Steinberg is urging fellow teachers to share the 9/11 Memorial & Museum's annual commemoration video with their classes. Steinberg has used the museum's material for five years, according to a report by Olivia Clapcich of Mustangs Ahead, the school's student news outlet.

Museum's Video Series Pairs Footage With First-Person Accounts

The video, part of the museum's Digital Learning Experience program, pairs footage from the day with first-person accounts from survivors and first responders. The museum produces a new edition each year featuring different stories.

"One of the aspects of the video that I think hits home with the students is that most all the people interviewed were regular citizens before the events of 9/11- office workers, firefighters, police officer, etc.," Steinberg told Mustangs Ahead.

Steinberg Explains Why Ordinary Voices Matter Most

That focus on ordinary people is deliberate. Steinberg said the best sources for historical material come from "everyday people" who experienced it, not world leaders. His goal is to show students a moment when the country unified after tragedy and to illustrate resilience across differences.

Recalling an Attack That Killed Thousands

The attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, killed 2,977 people after 19 al-Qaida terrorists hijacked four commercial airplanes and carried out coordinated strikes against the United States.

Bridging a Generational Gap for Students

For students at the 2,422-student Manatee County school, the attacks happened years before any of them were born. The museum's program bridges that gap with first-person accounts from office workers, firefighters and police officers who were there that day.

State Law Requires Annual 9/11 Instruction

Florida law backs the effort. A state statute took effect July 1, 2023. It requires middle and high school students in civics and U.S. government courses to receive at least 45 minutes of instruction on "9/11 Heroes' Day" topics each year. The law covers the historical context of global terrorism, a timeline of the day's events, the heroism of first responders and the humanitarian response that followed.

Steinberg rotates the museum's videos each year, giving each class a different set of survivor stories rather than a single static lesson.

School to Mark the Anniversary Friday

Lakewood Ranch High School will observe the anniversary on Friday, Sept. 11.