Natural Disasters (Natalie & Mackenzie)
National Disasters can be defined as a sudden and terrible event in nature usually resulting in serious property/land damage and cause many deaths (Merriam-Webster, 2020). Examples of natural disasters include floods, hurricanes, tornados, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis, storms and other geologic processes (Ritchie and Roser, 2014). Furthermore, national disasters kill an average of 60,000 people annually around the globe (Ritchie and Roser, 2014). In addition, national disasters affect the poor or people in poverty the most. National disasters cause higher death tolls in low-to-middle income countries without the infrastructure to protect and respond to national disasters (Ritchie and Roser, 2014).
Symptoms
- Behavioral challenges, “acting out”
- Academic difficulties
- Trouble concentrating
- Strained relationships with family, friends and teachers
- Attendance related suspensions
- Distrust of authority
Response Strategies:
- Encourage all educators and staff to be be kind, patient, empathetic, and to remember that students may still be experiencing difficult situations that impact their behavior, their emotional health, or even their ability to come to school prepared.
- Emphasize the importance of trauma-informed care: provide counselors, social workers, nurses, and other licensed professionals who are specifically available to students experiencing trauma.
- Train educators to understand signs of trauma so that they can refer students to counselors. Update educators regularly about the recent developments in services and recovery efforts so that they understand changes in students' lives.
- Provide care for educators. Teachers may also be experiencing post-disaster trauma and may not be aware of the stressors, biases, or triggers that could impact how they react to students and each other. Encourage teachers to check in and acknowledge they're only human---they should feel able to tell administrators and each other they are tired, upset, or need assistance. Appropriate are for teachers can help them to address the needs of their students.
- Discourage the use of harmful punitive discipline methods, like in-school and out-of-school suspensions, alternative school placements, and school police to address behavior.
- Help families understand the signs of trauma and how to respond appropriately. Encourage them to seek professional services if necessary.
*A study of post-hurricane Katrina discipline in Louisiana public schools found that the use of exclusionary discipline, like suspensions, increased for displaced students following the hurricane (Texas Appleseed Foundation, 2020). Furthermore, most of the student’s behavior in this study can be attributed to the hurricane and addressed through trauma-informed care (Texas Appleseed Foundation, 2020).
Thus, schools with students who have been displaced and affected by a national disaster should be cautious before implementing exclusionary discipline practices, like suspensions and alternative school placements because it can retraumatize students. Schools cannot risk re-traumatizing students by pushing them into the school-to-prison pipeline (Texas Appleseed Foundation, 2020).
Response Strategies:
- Create a safe space in the school building that students and educators can use whenever they need some time to regroup. The space can include soft music, dim lights, tea, essential oils, or other calming elements.
- Incorporate breathing exercises, calming music, yoga, and other relaxation strategies into classrooms and general assembly times.
- Incorporate music, creative writing, and art into the curriculum. These modes of self- expression can help students cope with trauma.
- Establish a morning routine that includes regular check-ins with students. Use age- appropriate methods to gauge how students are feeling, like a color scale for younger children and one word or sentence for older students.
- Ask for donations to schools that will serve the specific needs of the students. For example, if many students are experiencing homelessness, ask a business to donate a washer/dryer and make clean clothes available. Don't stigmatize children whose basic needs are not being met.
- Involve students in the recovery and rebuilding process when appropriate
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