It was a year ago today when our nation was rocked by sadness and death. When terrorists crashed planes into the World Trade Towers, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvanian field and we lost 3,000 of our countrymen. This nation was completely surprised, caught off guard by the ingenious plan to slaughter so many innocent lives. It was a day those of us old enough to remember will never forget and should never forget. Considering history’s tendency to repeat itself, knowledge of what happened on Sept. 11, 2001, needs to be passed on from generation to generation.

Unfortunately, organizations are already taking strides in censoring the events of the tragedy. The National Education Association (NEA), the largest teachers’ union in America, has posted a Web site regarding how the events that took place one year ago should be taught.

Instead of focusing on the facts, though, the NEA’s teaching plans look more at healing and feeling. From kindergarten students to seniors in high school, the plans look at identifying emotions and teaching tolerance of other religions. “Blame no one” seems to be a recurring theme.

In high school, to broach the subject of tolerance, the NEA suggests reading Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible.” This story is focused on the Salem witch trials and is a decent source of teaching tolerance.

The idea is in the right place, but learning about colonial America fails to teach younger generations the facts of Sept. 11. It ignores what happened, who did it, and possible ways to protect against it.

To teach or not to teach has become the issue at hand. Ought students be taught to be tolerant of other religions? Or should they be tolerant of Islamic extremists who murdered 3,000 people and will certainly attempt to do it again?

Tolerance is important but so are the facts. Yes, Islamic extremists committed this atrocity, but that small sect is not representative of that entire race or creed. Historical writings need to be accurate and the truth not stifled.

American history books already have enough censorship and bias entwined in the binding. It is rare to hear about the full extent of how brutally slaves were treated or how many Japanese were detained in compounds during World War II. By all means teach tolerance, but do not ignore the facts about why tolerance must be taught.

The answer to the educational world’s question is simply to teach.

Editorial Board: Cavan Reagan, Erin Randolph, Rachel Faber Machacha, Charlie Weaver,Zach Calef, Ayrel Clark.