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Blog #450: Why I Think Today’s Generation Needs to Learn About Lockerbie in Schools from a Neu

  • Writer: Jeffrey Snyder
    Jeffrey Snyder
  • Jun 27, 2024
  • 2 min read

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I don’t normally do this, but as a neurodivergent individual, I believe that there are certain areas that in my view, need to be talked about and discussed. Nowadays, most history teachers put into their curriculum the study of the September 11th attacks and how it changed our way of life in America.

However, during my time as a student, there was one historical event that I wish I would have studied in school and I feel that today’s generation of students should study…the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland that killed 259 on the plane and 11 more on the ground.

Now, you might be wondering, why should students be studying about a small town in Scotland? Pan Am 103 was just a plane crash, wasn’t it?

Technically, it’s not because a bomb was placed on the plane and it blew over the small Scottish town and since most of the victims were American, it was the deadliest terror attack ever to occur before September 11th, 2001.

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I believe that if today’s students study the events of December 21st, 1988, they can get an insight as to the fact that September 11th wasn’t the only time our country was attacked. The Lockerbie bombing holds really important lessons that students can benefit from such as why there are evil countries in the world and the fact that what happened in Lockerbie can rank up with both World Wars as well as September 11th, 2001.

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What’s more is that schools can implement additional learning methods such as projects and field trips to historic sites related to the bombing. Particular areas of study should also include how the bombing impacted Syracuse University and students can hypothesize what would happen if Pan Am 103 affected their school?

Students can also produce a school project centered around a passenger or crew member on the flight or the people or organizations connected to the investigation. High schools can also use the trial of the bombers responsible and use that as a debate to discuss whether they were truly guilty or were they framed.

The possibilities are endless and can give students an appreciation of something that is often swept under the rug in today’s educational system. The fact of the matter is that you can’t run from history and if you want students to get a better understanding of the world around them, then studying events like Pan Am Flight 103 should become a part of every history school curriculum.

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Catch you all later!!

 
 
 

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