Robert Gardner is a Social Studies teacher at a large urban high school in Edmonton (Canada) with a widely diverse ethnic population. He observes that after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 his students became much more engaged in discussion of international issues and more willing to share their personal experiences of life outside of Canada. Mr. Gardner soon found that he needed to learn far more about Middle Eastern history, culture and religion to better understand and to better teach current events from a range of perspectives. [This article originally appeared in the v38 n1 Fall 2013, issue of "Canadian Social Studies" and was one of five selected for this Retrospective Issue that "offers insights into the concerns of the past that still live with us today".]