There is no exception in Dawson County as America retaliated this weekend for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the Northeast. As reports of continued allied bombings in Kabul, the capital city in Afghanistan, and other major cities in that region, students in the Dawson County School System were getting a firsthand lesson in U.S. history. Superintendent Herb Burnsed said teachers are taking advantage of the crisis to discuss the freedoms enjoyed by all Americans and the price that has been paid to achieve that status. In American history classes, this has become part of the lessons. In some of the social studies classes, of course, you study current events anyway, and teachers are including these events in classroom discussions.
Patriotism is high and encouraged, always.
The important thing is to keep things as normal as possible for the kids. As for security, Burnsed said keeping things normal has been a work in progress. It's no secret that resource officers in the four schools are paying increased attention to who comes in and who goes out of the school buildings. Fortunately, we have the school resource officers and if there is anything danger-related, we know about it as soon as it happens. Dawson Sheriff Billy Carlisle said his department also is paying close attention to the roadways and the local government buildings, especially the Dawson courtrooms.