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Iraq Schools preparing to ease war anxiety
Educators are getting ready to help children deal with possible terrorism and being at war.
By JANET ZINK
© St. Petersburg Times
published March 19, 2003
TAMPA -- Guidance counselors, social workers and psychologists in Hillsborough's public schools will receive materials this week that suggest ways to help children deal with the stresses caused by war.
The documents include an 18-page handbook titled "Stress and the Military Family," a brochure titled "Helping Children Handle Stress: Assistance for Parents," and a teaching guide developed by the Red Cross called "Facing Fear: Helping Young People Deal With Terrorism and Tragic Events."
"We've been working on materials like this and updating them since Sept. 11," said school spokesman Mark Hart.
The packets will arrive in schools today and Thursday.
On Thursday, the supervisors of the elementary and secondary social studies programs and members of the school district's crisis team plan to finish a curriculum on the war in Iraq. That's been in the works since late last week, Hart said.
"It's a resource for the teachers. We would expect that we will have varying levels of usage depending on the school. Each school is unique," he said.
About 3,000 students with parents on active military duty go to Hillsborough County schools. Schools with more of those students and those close to MacDill Air Force Base, where tensions might run a little higher than in other locations, may be more likely to use it.
Similar steps were taken during the Persian Gulf War, but this is a little different.
"There needs to be some integration because of the issues involved," Hart said. "There's a two-front war. We're trying to teach people about Iraq and the possibility of a terrorist attack in response to an invasion.
"That's why we need to make sure the curriculum and the people who provide social services to the students are all working on the same page."
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