Dealing with a tragedy in the elementary school classroom 12 Articles

by Gary Maclean

I will never forget his name. I can't repeat it for just the sound of it sends a blurred chill through my mind. His was a lonely lot. He was ahead of his time yet living in the past. He was the personification of the fable...read more

by Trenna Sue Hiler

We were all assembled in the gym to watch the lift off of the space shuttle. I was interpreting for our hearing impaired students. I was not facing the screen, I was facing my class. What I saw in their faces was unbrid...read more

by Lisa Quattro

Just recently, the computer teacher at my daughter's elementary school died of a heart attack. He was at work on Monday teaching and interacting with the students and dead by Wednesday. This was a particularly difficult th...read more

by Mary Tyrer

On September 11, 2001, I began working at an elementary school 95% of its students came from a military family. Many of our student's mother or fathers were sent overseas very shortly after the attack. The children were ...read more

by Vicki Phipps

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 tear...read more

by Duane Kuehn

TRAGEDY IS NOT THE SAME IN THE EYES OF THE YOUNG. Children have a much higher threshold for accepting tragedy than do adults. This may be hard for most adults to believe, but none-the-less, it is true. Children view...read more

by Sharyl Hapka

Dealing with a tragedy in the elementary classroom When an adult we know is seriously hurt or dies our heart goes out to them and their family and friends. We are saddened and if it is unexpected often times we are angr...read more

by Ginger Sanders

When I was in forth grade our beloved teacher passed out Halloween candy, said good-bye to us, then went home and committed suicide. Forty years later I can still see her sitting with her legs crossed at the table as we fi...read more

by Jennifer Smith

I remember that morning like it was yesterday. My routine was the same, wake up, hit the alarm clock no less than five times, and then stand under a steaming hot shower for fifteen minutes, after that I was off to school....read more

by Barbara King

Several years ago one of my fifth grade students was killed in a hunting accident during Christmas vacation. When we came back from Christmas break, Jesse(not his real name), did not come back with the other students, th...read more

by Phil Hill

Tragedies are unfortunately part of every day life. We hear of war, death and crime all over the world. It is so common that we no longer automatically recoil in horror. But when a tragedy comes to an elementary school ...read more

by Lisa McGee

It is cliche to say that "Life Happens," but it does and as classroom teachers, we must be prepared to deal with everything from first crushes to tragic car crashes and worse. It is in our best interests to do some thinki...read more