After reviewing the stresses that were offered for this week’s Blog assignment I immediately focused on one that stood out for me in my experiences with my younger sister, and that was earthquakes. Ever since I can remember my young sister has always been and even still is today, afraid of earthquakes. And when I say afraid that’s saying it mildly, as a child she was actually deathly afraid of earthquakes, she would go into panic mode even at the slightest rumble or shake. And once she got so excited then she would also become very panic,and then it was very difficult to calm her down. You would think that a person who has lived her whole life in California, she would be use to earthquakes by now. But yet her fear of earthquakes was always a big source of stress for my sister, and even today as an adult she still has that fear of earthquakes. Of course it's not as extreme as it was when she was a little girl, but yet she will become panic at the slightest rumble. In reflecting on my experiences with my sister as a young girl, I started to think about other children in other countries where they have had to deal with earthquakes of great magnitude and the devastation's that can follow as a result.
I still remember the Earthquake in China back in 2008, and the serious devastation's that it created for all the people, including the children. "On the afternoon of May 12, 2008, a 7.9-magnitude earthquake hit Sichuan Province, a mountainous region in Western China, killing about 70,000 people and leaving over 18,000 missing. Over 15 million people lived in the affected area, including almost 4 million in the city of Chengdu". I think the reason I also remembered that earthquake of 2008 so clearly is because at the time my In-laws were traveling on vacation and they were in China at the time of the earthquake. We were so scared back here at home, But thankfully at the time the earthquake hit China they were not close by, so they were safe. But I remember how both me and my husband were feeling at the time, not knowing if they were safe, how helpless we felt. I could only imagine how frightened all the people of China were, as well as their families that were here in the U.S. At the time I also recalled my sister's fear of earthquakes when she was young, so I could imagine how terrified the children of China must have been right at that minute. I also thought about how many of them might have been trapped, or worse have already lost their lives. "The Chinese government has refused to release the number of students who died or their names. But one official report soon after the earthquake estimated that up to 10,000 students died in the collapse of 7,000 classrooms and dormitory rooms".
In conclusion after everything had occurred in China, I than thought about how do people, especially young children deal with the stress as well as recover from such a devastation And I suppose the only way to accomplish this is to just move on no matter how difficult that might be, as well as to try hard to learn what you can from this kind of disaster in the event that it would ever happen again.
Dealing with Earthquake Fear
Objective:
- Students will recognize and articulate their fears about
earthquakes.
- Students will learn earthquake facts and myths, and see what
things can happen during an earthquake.
- Students will formulate earthquake plans and decide how to deal
with their fears.
Procedure:
1. Begin a discussion about earthquakes.
2. Have students write down some of their fears about earthquakes.
3. Compile a list of the most common fears and hand out a copy of the
list to the class.
4. Have the students do on-line research about each fear. They should
try and find out:
1. If the fearful thing or event can actually happen during a
quake.
2. Ways to help calm that fear and increase safety
5. Once the students have handed in their research open up another
discussion about earthquakes and see if they are less fearful. What fears do they still have? Are these fears irrational or justified? Are these fears irrational or justified?
6. Discuss earthquake safety and make an earthquake plan.
Reference:
http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/news/science/topics/earthquakes/sichuan_province_china/index.html
Resources:
USGS Earthquakes for Kids & Grown-ups!
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/4kids/
SCEC Electronic Encyclopedia of Earthquakes
http://www.earthquake.info/
Earthquake Myths
http://www.scec.org/education/public/allmyths.html#codes
FEMA: Earthquakes for Kids
http://www.fema.gov/kids/quake.htm
Earthquake Preparedness
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/hazards/prepare.html
Earthquakes in China:
I still remember the Earthquake in China back in 2008, and the serious devastation's that it created for all the people, including the children. "On the afternoon of May 12, 2008, a 7.9-magnitude earthquake hit Sichuan Province, a mountainous region in Western China, killing about 70,000 people and leaving over 18,000 missing. Over 15 million people lived in the affected area, including almost 4 million in the city of Chengdu". I think the reason I also remembered that earthquake of 2008 so clearly is because at the time my In-laws were traveling on vacation and they were in China at the time of the earthquake. We were so scared back here at home, But thankfully at the time the earthquake hit China they were not close by, so they were safe. But I remember how both me and my husband were feeling at the time, not knowing if they were safe, how helpless we felt. I could only imagine how frightened all the people of China were, as well as their families that were here in the U.S. At the time I also recalled my sister's fear of earthquakes when she was young, so I could imagine how terrified the children of China must have been right at that minute. I also thought about how many of them might have been trapped, or worse have already lost their lives. "The Chinese government has refused to release the number of students who died or their names. But one official report soon after the earthquake estimated that up to 10,000 students died in the collapse of 7,000 classrooms and dormitory rooms".
In conclusion after everything had occurred in China, I than thought about how do people, especially young children deal with the stress as well as recover from such a devastation And I suppose the only way to accomplish this is to just move on no matter how difficult that might be, as well as to try hard to learn what you can from this kind of disaster in the event that it would ever happen again.
Dealing with Earthquake Fear
Objective:
- Students will recognize and articulate their fears about
earthquakes.
- Students will learn earthquake facts and myths, and see what
things can happen during an earthquake.
- Students will formulate earthquake plans and decide how to deal
with their fears.
Procedure:
1. Begin a discussion about earthquakes.
2. Have students write down some of their fears about earthquakes.
3. Compile a list of the most common fears and hand out a copy of the
list to the class.
4. Have the students do on-line research about each fear. They should
try and find out:
1. If the fearful thing or event can actually happen during a
quake.
2. Ways to help calm that fear and increase safety
5. Once the students have handed in their research open up another
discussion about earthquakes and see if they are less fearful. What fears do they still have? Are these fears irrational or justified? Are these fears irrational or justified?
6. Discuss earthquake safety and make an earthquake plan.
Reference:
http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/news/science/topics/earthquakes/sichuan_province_china/index.html
Resources:
USGS Earthquakes for Kids & Grown-ups!
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/4kids/
SCEC Electronic Encyclopedia of Earthquakes
http://www.earthquake.info/
Earthquake Myths
http://www.scec.org/education/public/allmyths.html#codes
FEMA: Earthquakes for Kids
http://www.fema.gov/kids/quake.htm
Earthquake Preparedness
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/hazards/prepare.html
It is easy to dismiss how natural disasters can impact young children. As adults, we tend to focus on injury, property damage and rebuilding. Having lived in Florida for much of my life, hurricane preparedness is very ingrained in all of our lives. However, what has become second nature to most adults can cause anxiety and panic in young children.
ReplyDeleteHi Sylvia,
ReplyDeleteI have never experienced in earthquake. However, we live in SC and we have Hurricanes here. I remember in third grade Hurricane Hugo hit here and we had to go to a shelter with dozens of families. I also remember not having lights and water for days following the hurrricane. Any type of natural disaster can be scary and emotionally disturbing for young children especially when they dont undestand what is going on.
My husband and I lived in Lancaster, California for ten years before moving to South Carolina. I recall when an earthquake hit while my husband and I were in bed. Everything was shaking, including the fish tank. I can understand how your sister feels. Another occasion when we had a small earthquake, my son was 3. He still remembers it and can recall seeing the blinds move and the ground shakes because we were reading a book on the floor. My cousin, attended UCLA and soon after she graduated, moved back to North Carolina. She was so terrified, she said she will never go back to California. Exploring our fears helps us to relate and understand the child's emotions/fears.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! The plan for dealing with this fear can be modified to assist with any fear. My daughter and I were in a car accident when she was two and as a result she was terrified of loud noises for quite a while. While this plan may have been over her head and impractical at the time, I'm sure it can be adjusted to help kids of any age deal with the anxieties and frustrations of life.
ReplyDeleteInteresting choice of topic, I can recall back in August there was a Earthquake on the East Coast. The earthquake, which hit at 1:51 p.m. ET, measured 5.8, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The size of the quake, said Brown University seismologist Karen Fischer in a seismic understatement, was "very unusual" for the East Coast.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the quake caused no major damage, reported deaths or major injuries, millions of workers evacuated buildings or were sent home early, sparking titanic traffic jams hours before the usual commutes.
I am certain this event was an opportunity to education children on the importance of doing the drills at school and or at home in prepration of a disaster.