How should teachers deal with tragedy like 9/11 or Hurricane Katrina in their classrooms? 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?

I believe that teachers must first and foremost remain calm in the face of tragedy. Modeling resiliance and optimism for the future is imperative in order to show students that life will be okay again. Certainly, we must not minimize the tragedy or pretend it didn’t happen, but we must show faith in the ability of the universe to recover. People all face challenges and the difference between a person who succeeds in the world and one that doesn’t accomplish what they could have is the way that they react to difficult situations.
Second, I believe that teachers must allow ample time for discussing the tragedy in class despite whatever curriculum was supposed to be covered. Many people must verbalize what they are thinking and feeling in order to process that information. Discussing it in class will also allow the teacher to dispell any misconceptions that have sprung up because as a teachers, we will have reliable information by checking several different sources such as major national and international newspapers or the websites of nonprofits working in the afflicted area. During tragedies, websites like the National Psychologists Organization as linked on the Ed 205 website as well as major educational sites would also be good places to look for leading discussions in the face of tragedy.
Third, as teachers, I believe we must provide an opportunity for the students to help organize some sort of relief effort for the afflicted people. This will not only give the students a great lesson in helping their fellow human beings in need, but many of us need to do something in order to dispell the guilt we feel at being fine while others are struggling so hard.
A tragedy can definately be a teachable moment as we learn incredibly important life lessons about human resiliance and the importance of helping other human beings and coming together as a group in support of other human beings. In times like these, we can also teach our students about the national and international organizations like the Red Cross and International Aid that exist in order to help in tragic situations. We can also discuss different nations governmental policies in dealing with tragedy.
Tragedies are terrible, awful times, but as teachers, we will face them along with our students and it is our duty to help them learn to deal with that part of our existance.