Soon after the event, an ordinary citizen, whengiven the tragic news by a roving reporter in TimesSquare, cried out “Oh, no! How much more can thispoor world stand!” An imminent war, namelessthreats of all proportions, smoldering conflict invarious regions of the world, the haunting memoriesof 9/11, and a faltering economy have left many adultAmericans understandably edgy. And when adults areedgy, children of all ages sense the worry in the air.Once more, teachers (and parents) face the toughtask of suspending our own disquietude to considerhow we may reassure the very young. In addition, notall children have had the same experience whenconfronted with the event:

•For some kids the tragedy will be remote and thestudents will have very little knowledge

•Others may have been watching television onSaturday morning and been introduced to thisevent with little or no adult supervision. I

•As with any tragedy, the impact will be greater indifferent parts of the country. In this case,children in Texas and Florida may be more deeplyaffected than children in other parts of ournation.

There are certain principles that do apply to this orany other shocking event, natural or unnaturaldisaster:

1. Start by doing more listening than talking. Ifteachers do more listening than talking, they will

know how to handle the topic in their particularclassrooms. Somehow communicate the idea thatwhile this is a dangerous job, and the astronauts allknow that, accidents like this are rare. Every once ina while, something terrible happens, and thescientists will learn from it, so they can better protectfuture astronauts.

2. Tailor discussions of bad news to children’s agesand individual sensitivities. By this point in the

year, you know the children in your classes well andyou know the developmental issues of your agegroup.Broadly speaking, respond to their questionshonestly. Upper elementary school students will often

seek and be comforted by getting all the facts,scientific theory and possible explanations of thedisaster. If they seek it, guide them toward it; but ifthey wish to avoid the topic, respect that too. Evenyoung adults will vary in their level of intellectualcuriosity vs. a wish to avoid the painful topic. Letthem lead the way.

When the subject arises, even with older children,listen to their impressions, thoughts, questions, andtailor your responss to the needs you recognize. Attimes like this, “teaching moments” should focusmuch more on meeting emotional needs than on anyacademic subject.

3. Make the school to home connection — eitherwith a special parent-teacher meeting, or with

individual notes sent home, ask parents to share whatthey know about their children’s concerns. How arethey handling things at home? Are there ways thatteachers and parents can collaborate? Learnwhatever you can from each other.

4. Guide parents toward the age appropriate aswell as individual child appropriate resources-

news created especially for kids. And for some,especially the youngest, recommend limitingexposure to all media reports.

5. If any of your students seem seriously affectedby the event, make time for comforting

activities; and recommend that parents do the same.

6. Allow children to get involved--offer those whoseek it an opportunity to do something to help.

The class may write a letter to a class in Houston, forexample, or send art work to Mission Control.

7. Don’t hesitate to contact parents and recommendcounseling in the event that their children are

suffering with significant anxiety. Children who arevulnerable because of many other life stresses and/ortemperamental issues, may show lingering signs ofdistress in the weeks ahead, and then of course, thereare those who have a close connection with the spaceprogram who may need another place to talk.

For more information from Scholastic News, go to www. scholastic.com/news or call 1-800-SCHOLASTIC.

Following the COLUMBIA Tragedy by Adele M. Brodkin, Ph.D.

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