This age-appropriate lesson plan explores the untold legacy of Franciscan Friar Fr. Mychal Judge, the Saint of 9/11. Fr. Judge, who was assigned as a Chaplain to New Fire Department Engine 1-Ladder 24, in the shadow of the Twin Towers, was a beloved figure to everyone who knew him. When fate brought him and his men to Ground Zero on that fateful day in 2001, he willingly sacrificed his life for those he served. Though celebrated and cherished by tens of thousands of people in New York, his heartbreaking and inspirational story has been almost entirely hidden from the public because he was a gay man. The reality of this intentional oversight makes his sacrifice an object lesson about tolerance, heroism, and respect for those who, though somewhat different than the majority of the population, are just as central to America’s story as anyone should be, and just as worthy of being revered role models. Like all Legacy Project lesson plans, this document highlights four different learning tracks according to James Banks's multicultural education model and Bloom's Taxonomy. Tracks 1 - 4 are roughly structured to align with the cognitive retention and synthesis capabilities of students from early-to-mid Elementary School (Track 1); late Elementary-to-early Middle School (Track 2); late Middle School-to-early High School (Track 3); and early-to-late High School.
Suggested Study Subject Integration: Current Events, Religion, American History, LGBTQ History
