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Contact: Rene Abadie
Date: 9/15/05
 
Denny TaylorClick on image for publication quality photo 
Denny Taylor, a Hofstra University professor, speaks to Livingston Parish School System teachers and counselors. She advised school personnel to be flexible when dealing with children displaced by Hurricane Katrina.
TEACHERS, COUNSELORS ADVISED TO BE FLEXIBLE WITH HURRICANE-AFFECTED CHILDREN
       HAMMOND --  Teachers and school counselors have a large and important role to play in the recovery of children and their families affected by disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, a Hofstra University professor told school and university personnel in the area.
       “School provides a strong sense of structure to these children and it represents a safe place for them,” said Denny Taylor, professor and doctoral director of literacy studies at Hofstra in New York. 
       Taylor is currently working with national and international agencies to establish an organization called “Teachers Helping Teacher” to raise awareness of the trauma experienced by children living in areas of armed conflict and natural disasters. During her visit to southeast Louisiana, which was sponsored by the Southeastern Louisiana University College of Education and Human Development, she spoke with teachers and counselors in Livingston Parish and with faculty and students at Southeastern.
       Taylor volunteered her services, said Diane Allen, dean of the college. “She is very concerned about the children impacted by the hurricane and wanted to offer her insight for our students and others who will be working with these children.”
       “Children need time to be able to think through what they have experienced,” she said. “They need time to catch up, not just in school work, but in what they have gone through. Homework as we traditionally think of it doesn’t make sense during this time.”
       She advised the teachers to avoid a lot of “pressure work” such as test preparations and testing during the initial period following a disaster. And she emphasized the importance that children have tools of their own: books, crayons, paper. These may be the few possessions some of them own.
       “Our teachers need to be flexible with these children,” she emphasized. “The last thing we need is for children living in shelters and failing in their work.”
       Taylor said teachers and others should respect the wishes of children if they do not feel like talking about the trauma they may have experienced. “If they are willing to share their experiences, then certainly we should listen,” she added; “but we should never try to drag it out of them because that can also be traumatic.”
       Art, she said, can be very therapeutic. “It gives them something to do, and allows them to express themselves.”
       Taylor suggested other points that teachers and counselors should consider in dealing with distressed children:
       Make sure that children have adequate food, clothing and shelter.
       Assume that children are doing their best to cope with the situation.
       Establish basic routines with children, encourage them to engage in self-care and to feel as much in control as they can.
       Read stories and more stories; sing songs; make sure there is time for children to play.
       Reassure children that, with the exception of self-destructive behaviors and emotions, their feelings and reactions are reasonable given the situation.
       Keep parents informed of observations by sending letters when possible.
       Taylor said it is also important that teachers take care of themselves and each other. “Schools need to make time for teacher support groups either at lunch time or after school,” she said. “Teachers need time to discuss what is happening and to share their own feelings.”