Why+are+natural+disasters+a+challenge+amongst+elementary+school+students?

Katelyn Maxwell

Why are natural disasters a challenge amongst elementary school students?

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 * 1)** Editorial/opinion article: "Education Secretart Duncan calls Hurricane Katrina good for New Orleans schools"

__**Summary:**__ In this article, Secretary Arne Duncan refers to hurricane Katrina being the best thing that has ever happened to the New Orleans education system. The community apparently has not dont much of anything in years to improve its low-performing public schools. He feels that the city was never serious about its schools, and this was basically a wake up call to start from ground zero and build an amazing education system. He believes that New Orleans children were shorted their learning experiences before hurricane Katrina and now in the last 4 years the amound of progress and reform has definitely improved. He claims that New Orleans did not expect much from their children and now, since the devastation of hurricane Katrina, it gives the community a chance to prove that we do have high expectations and hopes for their children to succeed. Considering this is an opion article, the secretary does point out that he is not saying hurricane's are a good thing, he just wanted to make clear that many school staff administrators were not taking school reform seriously and after the hurricane that certainly changed.

__**My reaction:**__ I believe that people are entitled to speak there mind, but I really don't feel an article like this was neccessary. I find it somewhat offensive to the families and people who are still suffering from hurricane Katrina. Although it is great news to hear that the schools of New Orleans are improving, I think that is all that was needed to be said. To call a devastating and extremely traumatic event the "best thing" that has ever happened to the public school system seems like the wrong word choice. I believe that some attention must be brought to why the school is doing so well now, or improving now, but maybe say it in a more compassionate way.

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 * 2)** Scholarly article: "Psychosocial Intervention for Postdisaster Trauma Symptoms in Elementary School Children"

__**Summary:**__ In this article, a controlled community field study is performed on elementary school children to determine the effects of natural disasters on them. Natural disasters negatively effect children's emotional and behavioral adjustment. The study includes 10 public elementary schools on the island of Kauai ( one of the Hawaiian Islands ) 2 years after Hurricane Iniki. All the students from the schools were screened but only 248 of the children with the highest levels of psychological trauma symptoms were selected for the study. Clinical interviews and treatment for the children are needed following a traumatic event and this study proves that. School-based community-wide screening followed by psychosocial intervention seems to effectively reduce children's disaster-related trauma symptoms and may suggest psychological recovery. Hurricane Iniki struck Kauai on September 11, 1992 and it damaged 71% of homes and caused over 2 billion dollars in damage.


 * __My reaction:__** This Hurricane was rated one of the most destructive disasters in United States history. I think that this was a great study that thoroughly evaluated children dealing with the effects of natural disasters. I was suprised when reading that some children dropped out of the study. I would imagine it was because it was too hard for them, or maybe they weren't ready to confront the terrible feelings from the hurricane, but it's too bad that the children didn't finish the study to see what kind of effect if would have had on them.

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 * 3)** Scholarly article: "The effect of a severe disaster on the mental health of adolescents: a controlled study"

__**Summary:**__ In summary this article discusses how disasters affect the mental health of children and adolescents. The study performed included perdisaster and postdisaster data for affected and control groups. A fire broke out at a cafe in Volendam, 300 students from the local school were in there and of the 300, 14 died, and 250 were wounded. The study involved three schools, two schools as control groups and the one school that the children were involved in the fire. The mental health factors found in children include depression, anxiety, substance abuse, difficulties with concentration, memory, behavior, school and sleep. Many of these effects stem from post-traumatic stress disorder. PTSD is a very serious dissorder that can interfere with many aspects of a child's life. This article addresses the importance of teachers and parents to be aware of the above listed symptoms that children may face after experiencing a traumatic event, and how to cope with it.

__**My reaction:**__ I have not been involved in a natural disaster, therefore I can't begin to understand what children are going through. I was suprised at how little attention is brought to children postdisaster informing them about coping strategies, stress relievers, or a school therapist of some sort to provide support and guidance. I assumed that would be common sense for schools to address such a serious matter.

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 * 4)** Analysis article: "The legacy of Katrina's Kids"

__**Summary:**__ This article brings attention to the negative effect of Hurricane Katrina on the children on New Orleans. The children are still suffering mental health issues today. The concern for the children and how all disaster planning was dealt with during and after Hurricane Katrina has definitely reshaped disaster planning. Children who experienced Katrina are mearly five times more likely than others to have emotional and behavioral problems. In many cases, these problems were brought on by traumatic experiences during the disaster and the long-term instability that followed. The article discusses what children went through during and after the disaster, including how many were seperated from their families and how long they had to wait to be reunited, and the stuggles of the juvenile justice system. Save the Children found that only 12 states required child-care facilities and schools to have disaster plans that meet four basic standards. That means that adequate planning is the exception rather than the rule at these institutions.


 * __My reaction:__** I was shocked at how long children had to wait as long as 6 months to be reunited with their families. I really feel that FEMA and others could have done so much more to help New Orleans. Poorly equipped emergency vehicles is unacceptable. When the states are responsible for more than 65 million children at any given point in a weekday, proper evacuations and equipment need to be on hand. The article suggests that children were a "casualty of a disaster-management system that wasn't even able to adequately handle adults, let alone children." It's really suprising to me that the children wasn't their first concern.

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 * 5)** ERIC or EBSCO article: "Schooling the Forgotten Kids of Hurricane Katrina"


 * __Summary:__** This article goes in depth with students and teachers personal stories after hurricane Katrina. The US Department of Education and state education departments informs that more than 180,000 students displaced by hurricanes Katrina and Rita have still not returned to their home school districts. The article also discusses the inevitable tensions associated with such a disaster. Children are faced with the loss of their homes and culture. Many uprooted students have lost family and friends and are being dropped into different schools with little to no preperation. The article also points out the struggles of students playing academic catch up and how that can be damaging to their education.

__**My reaction:**__ This article made me realize that there are good people out there willing to help. Natural disasters can sometimes make a person stronger, but I feel that happens with time. An older adolescent or adult may be able to weigh the losses and take things for how they are, but a child will most likely struggle with understanding how or why this had to happen to them.