Mary Ann Suppes, Mount Mary College

Septenber 11, 2001.... 911. The day the world convulsed and changed, never to be quite the same again. Panic, horror, grief, pain, anger, confusion, disbelief - experiences shared by Americans and many others around the globe. Courage, heroism, love were also shared. Prayer. "Dear God!" burst from the lips of passengers aboard the targeted American and Unived Airlines flights, from the persons who received their farewell phone calls, from observers of these disasters, and at work sites, homes and on campuses across the nation. In the hours and days that followed the terrorist attack, faith was found or renewed by masses. Church, mosque and synagogue attendance soared and prayer services conducted at these locations or at work sites, campuses or community events brought people together and strengthened the nation.

WHat has happened since in terms of volunteerism, blood donations, and untold millions of dollars raised is quite remarkable. But fo rus as social work educators, this has also been a time to share, to teach and to learn. The events unfoling on a daily basis have transformed social work classrooms across our county, I'm sure. Enabling students to give voice to their emotional repsonses is important, but critical thinking about factors that might underlie and sustain terrorist activity also need attention. Cries for immediate retaliation need examination and war vs. peace issues have become flesh and blood reality. We are also role playing social work disaster relief, interviews, crisis intervention, grief work and exploring self-care, strength and resilience in my social work classes.

Personally, I am very impressed the responsiveness of students, their eagerness to be helpful, to be competent, and to be constructive rather than destructive of the global world they live in. As a social work educator, I have been reminded of the spirituality and faith that has surfaced as such a powerful helping and healing force in our country, and the fact that we've not given sufficient attention to this in social work education. Nor have we sufficiently addressed peace work. For me, there is much to learn, quickly, if I am to adequately serve my students through the days and month ahead.

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