As a teacher, you are faced with helping your students deal with a lot of issues. Many issues are easy to handle and you know where to go to get advice and help. Helping students cope with tragedy, disaster, and loss is probably the most difficult. A child could die from your class or school. On September 11, 2001, the tragic events that unfolded affected parents, children, friends, fellow Americans, and people around the world. More recently, we had the devastating natural disaster called hurricane Katrina. Many agencies and Web sites exist that can provide you with information to help your students deal with this and other types of tragedies. Should you talk to your students about these issues? Where do you locate resources? How do people learn from a tragedy such as this one? Do you turn this into a teachable moment? Or do you ignore the issue? What precautions should you take to ensure that the information you provide is age appropriate or unbiased?
In the event of a tragedy, I believe it is best to talk to your students about these issues. No matter how old the students are, they will hear about it, and some of them will not understand. I believe that, as a teacher, you can be a great help to them in gaining an understanding of what is happening. If nothing else, at least let them ask questions, and do your very best to answer them. When their questions are answered, the fear and uncertainty they may have will subside. If it is a very difficult, or touchy situation, outside resources could be of great help in talking to your students. If they are age appropriate (high school), watching the daily news broadcast daily can help answer questions, and open up opportunity for discussion in the classroom.
I do not believe that every tragedy needs to be turned into a teachable moment. Some things are better left explained by the parents. I believe the role of a teacher in these times is to keep the students informed, and let their parents teach them from it, if necessary.
My senior year of high school, I participated in the BASIC program. I would spend the last 3 hours of my day at the elementary school, as a teacher’s aide to the Spanish teacher. I worked with students K-6 on a daily basis. Around Christmas time, one of the younger students, a 1st grader, passed away due to cancer. It was a tragedy that affected the whole school, as the girl had several brothers or sisters, in different grades. As the student aide, I witnessesed the teacher discuss the tragedy with all different grade levels. It was such a learning experience for me, and I believe she did an excellent job changing the amount of details she gave, with each grade. The kindergardeners wanted to know if Hannah was in heaven now, and she reassured them that she was. The 6th graders wondered about her family, and how they were holding up. I think that this teacher handled the situation wonderfully, given the circumstances, and I would hope that I as a teacher, would be able to follow her example.