[WS] FW: Thinking about talking with children

[michael peterson <jmpeterson@MEDIAONE.NET>]

A note from Michael in Detroit.

Like many of you, I suspect, I had trouble sleeping, watched an update
around 2 AM, and found myself thinking of many of you who=B9ve posted on
this list about your talks with children. I have the greatest respect for
teachers in this most critical of times in interacting with children. Here
are a few thoughts and resources if these are helpful.

Most of you have talked about helping children process their feelings. May
you have strength today and coming days as you do this more. Sydney, your
thoughts timely posted yesterday were very helpful. Mary, I loved your
blessing (my words) on your children as they left.

If there's a teachable moment, the time that learning either has made a
difference or not, a time when adults are useful mentors, it=B9s, of course,
in the midst of great tragedy or great joy. This is obviously the former.

What happened? (The facts)
Why did it happen?
What are people's reactions? The reactions of the government? 
What are the options?
What are our own reactions-- feelings, thoughts, wonderings.
How can we support one another? What can we do? How can we form opinions as
to what to do that helps create a more caring community in the midst of this
tragedy?

Here are general mainstream news sites:
NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/
CNN: http://www.cnn.com/
ABC: http://www.abcnews.com/
CBS: http://www.cbsnews.com/

I'm going to send around a post from Rich Gibson I hope you'll find helpful,
if not a bit disturbing, in thinking through all this.

For me, the critical question for all of us, including, perhaps especially
children, to be addressing with the guidance of a caring, courageous adult
is the question: "Why did this happen?" Nancy said, that there "There is
not an answer to that question that we can find in our reality." Yes. But
we must try. Because it happens and for every happening there is a reason
in someone's mind. Please note some of Rich's suggestions along this
line. More immediately, the press so far is targeting Osama bin Laden, a
wealthy person who has aimed to declare jihad, a holy war, against the
United States. How is it that likely several young people went to their
death, causing the death of thousands? Helping us all learn that trying to
understand other people does not mean we agree with them.

Here's a Frontline site on him that includes video interviews:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/binladen/who/
Testimony from bin Laden's trial as part of the World Trade Center bombing.
http://cns.miis.edu/pubs/reports/binladen.htm

Many, many questions are part of this? How do we react? What will
"reprisals" mean? What do children think and why? How do we separate what
bin Laden has been doing from reactions to Islamic people in general? And
more.

I know some schools have refused to allow discussions with children, some
parents don't want them to know. I hope you are able to help children work
through their feelings and think critically about these events. This will
be particularly important as the reprisals occur, potentially against
whole countries. Helping children know we can be more than victims, we can
think and understand, seems to me critical in this situation.

Hope this is helpful. Thinking of you all.

Michael
___________________________

Michael Peterson
Wayne State University
217 Education
Detroit, Michigan  48202

Whole Schooling Consortium
http://www.coe.wayne.edu/CommunityBuilding/WSC.html

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