My first teaching job began in mid-year, due to the fact that the teacher committed suicide during the Christmas holiday. It was a tragedy, needles to say, so I spent the rest of the school year drying the children's tears. If I had to take a sick day, my students misbehaved when I returned, feeling abandoned by me too, I assume. In a tragedy, that's what children do.

In my teaching career, there were more tragedies over the years and I tried to deal with them by trying to see what a tragedy looks like through the eyes of each child. A teacher's common sense and education in child development will help the children get through a tragedy in the classroom.

Where I come from, tornados are common in the season of spring and they sometimes create tragedy. A few children's homes may be destroyed, or a pet may be missing for some. Now and then, a child might even lose a family member due to a natural disaster, so when they come, we must be prepared for the inevitable. When destruction is left everywhere, children continue to be scared, long after the disaster is done.

I dealt with it by allowing each child to tell, and re-tell, his own personal tragedy as many times as he or she needed to tell the story. Just like adults, children need to talk about a tragedy to process it and make sense of it. The teacher will do what she has to do to make them feel safe, with a sense of security. Children need a voice in tragedy, so just listen to them. Children are also resilient and soon normalcy will return to your classroom

Provide every child time with the counselor and encourage parents to inform you of any post traumatic symptoms the child may experience so that you can provide the security he needs at school and within the safety of your classroom.

When the children are ready, give a lesson on the causes of natural disasters and teach them what to do when a tornado comes, or whatever natural disaster you and your class might be in danger of. The feeling of being prepared and aware will go a long way to healing and comforting the child who is scared.

The Branch Davidians in the city of Waco incident became another tragedy for children in classrooms of Texas to deal with. It was simply just too close to home to think of it from a distance. Every child in my class had questions that I didn't have the answer to, so I wasn't sure what to do to deal with a tragedy against humanity in my classroom.

The tragedy was shocking,

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