Program Teaches Mass. High Schoolers Significance Of 9/11 Attacks

BOSTON (CBS) - The wife of a 9/11 victim is working to make sure today's teens understand the significance of September 11th.

Linda Gay is the Vice President for the Massachusetts 9/11 Fund. Her husband, Peter, was murdered when Flight 11 crashed into the Twin Towers on September, 11, 2001.

"I like talking about my husband and I like teaching kids life lessons," Gay said.

Now, Gay and the 9/11 Fund have created a new curriculum to help make 9/11 personal for Massachusetts high school students.

The curriculum includes a presentation by Gay and a documentary featuring interviews from Massachusetts family members who lost loved ones. Larissa Gay, Linda's daughter, is one of those interviews.

Pilot presentations have been delivered at three different high schools including Cardinal Spellman High School in Brockton.

"Really amazing to see the positive impact that they are able to create from such a negative thing," Spellman Senior Liz Child said about the families of 9/11 victims.

Spellman Senior Jimmy Lysko said the program taught him about human compassion.

"You don't want the last thing that you said to anybody to be mean or to be hurtful. Just to treat everybody like this could be them and we share this human condition is kind of the way we have to live," Lysko said.

The 9/11 Fund is planning to present their education program to two or three high schools every quarter.