BLOG # 3
Interviewer: Rachel
Subject: Valerie


The purpose of oral history to me is to express the worlds past events, and always be reminded of history and the past. People may have different variations of a particular event that may completely different then your idea or memory.


Where were you on Sept. 11th?

I began my interview with Valerie by introducing myself to her, and giving her a short background on my memories of Sept. 11th. I began by asking her how old she was, and what grade she was in when this day occurred. I found out the location of her school to the city, and proceeded to ask her how her school handled the situation. She advised me that the staff told the students what had happened,but no one was completely sure of all the details at that time, and certainly did not think it was terrorist related at first. Her school brought the classes to an assembly to explain more closely what was going on as details were coming in, also most of all the students were picked up early from school that day, either by parents or close relatives. I asked her if any one close to her family was involved, thankfully she said no one was, only that her father was working in the city at the time, and had to find a way out of the city, because all the trains, buses, and subways were suspended. I realize there was an age difference between Valerie and I, so I asked her if in high school how much mention of 9/11 was discussed and how much was published in the history books in her school, she said that it was definitely in their textbooks, and teachers would discuss the event but no go into anything too deeply.

The interview went very well, and we proceeded to discuss each of our feeling on 9/11 and also the security measures that we see today, and how we do feel there should be maybe stricter measures taken to prevent further devastation from occurring.