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Posted on Sat, Sep. 11, 2004
Special courses focus on citizens After United Airlines Flight 93 came to grief in a Pennsylvania pasture on Sept. 11, 2001, the family of native Minnesotan Tom Burnett Jr. could have buried his remains, mourned his loss and, as Bloomington school superintendent Gray Prest said, "then went to live life quietly." But as Burnett's family, friends and Minnesota's two U.S. senators noted at a forum Friday, a life lived quietly wouldn't have been a very Tom-like way to commemorate the man now immortalized for the words he shared with his wife over the phone from the hijacked airliner that horrible morning: "We have to do something." On the eve of the third anniversary of his death, the Tom Burnett Family Foundation announced the launch of "Citizenship Education," a special curriculum for schools aimed at teaching eighth-graders about citizenship. "Today, three years after that tragic day, we are doing something," Burnett's older sister, Martha Burnett O'Brien, told those gathered at the Tom Burnett Citizens Forum at Bloomington Civic Plaza. The courses have been part of Bloomington's Oak Grove Middle School's curriculum for three years, and the foundation would like to extend them to 10 pilot schools across the country by the end of this month and to even more next year. The curriculum will stress the importance of participating in democracy and the community, according to Burnett's mother, Bev Burnett, of Northfield. Kathleen West, Burnett's niece, and Renee Sbrocco, teachers at Oak Grove Middle School, and Deborah Skinner, president of an education consulting firm, developed the curriculum. The aim is to "teach students the meaning of being responsible citizens," O'Brien said. The first five lessons for September are: • What is a citizen? • What are the tools of citizenship? • What makes a hero? • Tom Burnett and 9/11 heroes • 9/11 Remembrance: How have we changed? "We've chosen to do something that makes a difference, just like he did," Bev Burnett said. "We decided this program could be taken across the nation and who knows where else. There are heroes in every community. There are guys who do things like drive Meals on Wheels, and they're heroes, and the children don't know that. We need to point that out." Since its inception soon after Burnett's death, the Tom Burnett Family Foundation has raised more than $298,000. Much of the money has gone into bereavement camps for children and scholarships at the University of Minnesota, St. John's University, Pepperdine University and Bloomington's Thomas Jefferson High School and John F. Kennedy High School. Tom Burnett's story stands out even three years after the terrorist attacks. He was born and raised in Bloomington, where he went to high school. At 38, he was the chief operating officer for a medical device company in the San Francisco area, where he lived with his wife, Deena, and three young daughters. He was returning from a business trip on Sept. 11, 2001, and was one of 37 passengers and seven crewmembers aboard the Newark-to-San Francisco flight that was hijacked. While airborne, Burnett used his cell phone to tell his wife what was happening. He also told her that he and other passengers were devising a plan to overcome the hijackers and regain control of the airliner. "We're waiting until we get over a rural area. We're going to take back the airplane," she says he told her. The report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, released in July, detailed what is known about the passenger revolt. As some of the passengers charged the cockpit, the terrorist at the controls began rolling and pitching the plane violently in an attempt to knock the passengers off balance. "The hijackers remained at the controls but must have judged that the passengers were only seconds from overcoming them," the government report said. The airliner turned hard to the right, rolled onto its back and entered a fatal dive, crashing 20 minutes' flying time from Washington. All aboard perished. "We are sure that the nation owes a debt to the passengers of United 93," the commission wrote in its report. "Their actions saved the lives of countless others and may have saved either the Capitol or the White House from destruction." The public's outpouring of grief often was accompanied by an outpouring of monetary donations. The family decided to create the Tom Burnett Family Foundation, and dedicated the organization to educate youth to be active participants in society. U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton, a Democrat, and U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman, a Republican, agreed Friday that Burnett's story should inspire others to be good citizens. "He was just an average guy … but he did what his mom and dad taught him," said Coleman. U.S. Rep. Jim Ramstad, R-Minn., also told the 300 or so people at the forum that Burnett's life served as an example. He said Burnett's admonition, "We have to do something," reminded him of John Kennedy's inaugural address four decades earlier: "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." The "Citizenship Education" courses, he said, "take
President Kennedy's words and Tom Burnett's actions to heart."
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