WASHINGTON – Eleven years ago, present day high school students were in grade school, but on the anniversary of Sept. 11, students at Wilson High School in D.C. still feel the impact.

“It hurts,” says Anjanette Isbell, who had a relative on her father’s side die in the attacks.

“It’s heartbreaking.”

School officials say there’s no formal instruction on the events of Sept. 11, 2001 in the curriculum, but teacher Aimee Devine works the subject into her social studies class.

In Devine’s class, 15-year-old Isbell, and 17-year-old Taj Jackson have watched footage from that day 11 years ago.

“I had this feeling that, like, I want to go fight,” says Jackson, who plans to join the Marines after graduation.

“It’s sad that innocent people’s lives were taken, because of government issues with another country,” says Isbell.

But while Isbell knows the seriousness of the Sept. 11 events, she admits others her age find the lessons of Sept. 11, 2001 irrelevant.

“It’s just a silly, another conversation, and then you actually see the footage.”

WTOP’s Kate Ryan contributed to this report. Follow Kate and WTOP on Twitter.

(Copyright 2012 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)