The lessons that children learn in schools often include lessons we hadn't intended to teach them. While children learn from what we say or do in the classroom, they also learn from what we don't say and what we don't do.

In the days following the horrific events of September 11th, teachers throughout the United States struggled not only with their own emotional responses to the trauma, but also with how to respond to these events and the aftermath in their classrooms. Following the recommendations of the National Association of School Psychologists, many elementary teachers gave students time to express their feelings and thoughts through writing or drawing. In some schools, however, this was the only response to the crisis. Students were left alone to reflect on the meaning of the events.

It is important to realize that in choosing not to teach about the crisis, we teach students nonetheless. When we do not make a connection between the events outside the school and the curriculum, we teach them that history, civics, literature, and the social sciences have no value in helping us make sense of complex, difficult, and very real issues that our society faces. We teach them that in a democracy, they have no obligation to grapple with these issues or to develop informed, just, and reasoned responses to them. And when we do not take on the responsibility to educate students about the belief systems of the world's major religions, we reinforce ignorance and fail to protect citizens of the world against future acts of discrimination and violence.

At ASCD, we believe that schools have an obligation to provide students with the guidance they need as they wrestle with complex and emotionally laden problems. We believe that in a democracy, it is essential that schools provide students with access to reliable information and a variety of perspectives so that they may develop their capacities to make educated, rational, and compassionate judgments. In an age-appropriate manner, schools need to help students carefully weigh questions about the meaning of justice, the balance between civil liberties and public safety, and our responsibilities to one another as citizens and human beings. We believe that teaching students about the belief systems of the world's religions is vital if we are to provide all children with the knowledge that is necessary for understanding and tolerance to flourish.

In partnership with the Freedom Forum's First Amendment Center, ASCD has launched an initiative designed to transform how schools throughout the United States model and teach students the rights and responsibilities of the First Amendment and citizenship in a democracy. The First Amendment Schools project is based on the premise that schools in a democracy must not only teach about democratic rights and freedoms, they must also provide students with opportunities to exercise those rights and freedoms responsibly.

In the coming year, First Amendment Schools personnel will identify 10 project schools through a national grant award program. Each of these schools will make a three-year commitment to reinvigorating and deepening students' understanding of First Amendment principles and to building communities of free and responsible citizens.

ASCD's involvement in this project demonstrates our belief that students, school staff, parents, and community members should be engaged in the task of creating free and responsible communities of learning that stress civic responsibility, intellectual openness, personal freedom, and mutual respect.

Teachers in schools around the world are uniquely situated to ensure that the next generation learns to act with compassion, knowledge, and reason, and not with prejudice, ignorance, and hatred. Our children are watching. What will we teach them?

Visit ASCD's Web site at /educationnews/resources.html for a list of resources to assist teachers and school leaders as they deal with issues related to grief and intolerance.

To learn more about First Amendment Schools and the national grant award program, visit the project's Web site at http://www.firstamendmentschools.org.