What do we tell kids about the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and the subsequent political and military responses? What can we teach them that will help them make sense of such events? That question is haunting parents and teachers these days, and there are no easy right answers.

There are lots of easy wrong ones, though.

An 11-year-old girl I know told me she had overheard her elders talking about the September 11th terrorist attacks as the fulfillment of a prophecy by Nostradamus, a 16th-century astrologer. She overheard them saying that according to Nostradamus, the end of the world would begin with the fiery destruction of two twins.

This was a popular rumor that floated around the Internet and gained steam through the media. It proved to be false--Nostradamus never made any such prediction.

And even if he had, so what?

One of the things children--and adults--need in this situation is good, reliable information.

Much emphasis has been placed on the role that teachers and parents can play in addressing kids' emotional needs in the wake of the September 11th attacks. I think their intellectual needs are important, too. Most Americans I know were not only horrified by the attacks, but baffled. We're stammering, "Where did this come from?"

I've heard people say that schools need to do some teaching around this issue. But what should they teach? What would be relevant?