Creating a safe and welcoming school - INEE Toolkit

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6. Crises in the communityand a school’s responseWhen crises occur in the community or in theworld, it is important for schools to providefactual information for the student body. Thisconveys to the student that the school is a safeisland against storms of potential danger. Neveroverlook communicating to the students abouta tragedy.Negative events that occur in the community have profound effectson students. Children react quite differently than adults toward crisesin the community and to world events. Adults assume that childrenwill react to crises in the same way that they (the adults) do. Childrendo not have an experienced emotional or intellectual frame ofreference to understand negative events. A child’s immediate responseto a tragedy is to personalize it. They automatically think that thesame or a similar event is going to happen to them. They personalizeout of fear. Fear comes from the unknown. A child’s next mostcommon response is to worry about loved ones’ safety, particularly ifthey are themselves at school and separated from their family.A variety of other responses often occur in children. A child canhave lingering fears caused by the crisis that can last for a very longtime. The specific fears are personal to that child and may becomeassociated with a small part of the tragedy or crisis. For example, onestudent who witnessed a mentally disturbed man behave wildly on acrowded bus when she was 3 years old had a severe panic reaction tothe horse-play of other teenage students on a school bus. The teachersand adult chaperones on the bus felt helpless to calm her.Another common reaction that children have to a crisis is thatother fears will appear, not necessarily related to the crisis situation.For a child, fear and anxiety are generalized feelings; therefore, a childmay respond by associating their fears with something else that theyare afraid of.The most effective method to handle a crisis situation is for theschool to provide information to the students about the crisis. Whenwe provide facts about a crisis, then the unknown becomes known.Information has a calming effect. A school should not take for grantedthat the students will be hearing about a crisis from other sources,such as parents, newspapers or radio/television. A school is in a14
powerful position in a child’s life. The school is already viewed bystudents as the most reliable source of information—the distiller ofknowledge. Information heard from the school can be trusted in thesame way that they can trust the content of the lessons they are beingtaught.The school can become an island in the lives of students. A safeschool conveys to the student a feeling of safety, in spite of what ishappening outside the school grounds. The school is then seen as arefuge for students. It becomes a place away from the chaos aroundthem. Creating such a place and keeping distractions away from thethoughts of the students allows them to fill their minds withknowledge. Communication by the school of facts and even strategiesfor understanding crises in their community is a key element to createthis perception of the school as an island.Suggested reading: Jaycox et al., 2006.15
Page 1 and 2: INTERNATIONAL ACADEMYOF EDUCATIONIN
Page 3 and 4: Series prefaceAs revealed by its ti
Page 5 and 6: Table of contentsIntroduction, page
Page 7 and 8: 1. A welcoming environmentA child s
Page 9 and 10: 2. SafetyEnsure a safe environment
Page 11 and 12: 4. Student and parent orientationOr
Page 13: • Any messages from the principal
Page 17 and 18: members on the Crises Response Team
Page 19 and 20: 8. School disciplineSchool discipli
Page 21 and 22: 9. Illegal substance abuse in schoo
Page 23 and 24: 10. Motivation-building for student
Page 25 and 26: References and further readingBlues
Page 27: Sansone, C.; Harackiewicz, J.M., ed

Creating a safe and welcoming school - INEE Toolkit

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