This week we were looking at the topic of disasters. I learned about how different countries prepare for and deal with the consequences of disasters. Two contrasting examples are Japan and Haiti. On 11th March 2011 Japan was hit by a massive 9.0 earthquake which then caused a tsunami to hit the North-Eastern coast. The Japanese government are among the best prepared to deal with disasters. A tsunami warning was issued 3 minutes after the earthquake, military forces were called in to help and the government did it’s utmost to minimize the damage.
On the other hand the 7.0 earthquake that hit Haiti on 2nd January 2010 received a poor response from the Haitian government. They were badly prepared to deal with the event the decisions made after the earthquake were not always concerning helping the people impacted. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and there were already shortage of fuel and water before the earthquake even hit. Makeshift camps set up after the event caused outbreaks of disease due to poor sanitation and decomposing bodies in the area.
We also had to create a group presentation and teach the rest of our section about different types of disasters. My group chose to talk about floods. I focussed on the consequences of flooding. This included: drowning/injuries; diseases; damage to homes and property; disruption to services and transport. We also looked at the causes of flooding; how to prevent and deal with flooding; and how flooding ties in with the curriculum for excellence.
I think the disasters is definitely a beneficial topic for children to engage with and one I would feel comfortable teaching. I feel that it is also important for children to have an awareness of the environment they live in, respect our planet and also appreciate that sometimes bad things can happen. I think (if possible) focussing on a current disaster would be a good opportunity to do some charity fundraising which -from my experience- children really enjoy. This promotes the idea of being a responsible citizen, one of the four capacities. I also really like the idea of incorporating disasters into literacy or an expressive arts lesson.
