WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. — For school-aged children who were not alive when the attacks happened, 9/11 is something they learn about in school history classes.
References to 9/11 appear in scholastic textbooks in several places, as part of President George W. Bush's presidency, policy surrounding national security, and the war on terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Lesley Battaglia teaches global history and AP government and politics at Williamsville South High School.
"I have to talk about sort of bureaucracy and bureaucratic changes," Battaglia said, "and that's one of the things we talked about, what it was like in airports before 9-11, and then what happened after and how the TSA didn't exist."
Aside from changes to how we fly and border security, the students also try to understand it.
"Some of them do have questions like, why did it happen? Why would people want to do that? You know, it's also connected to, how could they have done it? And that's connected to the airport security thing. But I don't see as much of a fear thing in them necessarily, and I think it's mostly because we've figured out a way to make them feel safe," Battaglia said.
Battaglia says when the 9/11 anniversary falls during the school week, their school principal begins the day by calling for a moment of silence, in remembrance of those lost during the terror attacks.
Across Western New York this week, there is a long list of events where people will be remembering the 20th anniversary of 9/11.
RELATED VIDEO: