After undergoing a traumatic episode, such as experiencing a war zone or surviving a bombing or missile attack, many people are apt to be tense and nervous. They may not be capable of functioning at their usual level.

At the initial stages, the best thing to do is to allow them to vent. Most people will appreciate this opportunity.

Students who have undergone a traumatic situation may affect other students. Some teachers may feel that it is good to keep things quiet and not to frighten other students in the class.

Indeed, in the lower grades this may be an appropriate solution.

However, the more that other students can understand, accept, and deal with the situation, the more it is helpful for them to communicate with the student who has undergone the trauma.

Some of these older students may try to avoid the discussion. Others will try to make light of it, as a means of coping behavior.

But it is likely that a large percentage of the class, will be very interested in what this student explains, and that they will learn a great deal about human behavior in this way.

This venting is thus good for both the student who has undergone the tense situation and his classmates.

If the children are old enough, then this discussion may be far more important than the other material that you had intended to teach.

At any rate, there is never a reason to spend more than twenty to twenty-five minutes on this venting.

The teacher should not make a general announcement that the class will allocate twenty minutes for the venting. Instead, near the end of the class try to casually explain to the child that you noticed that she came from a dangerous location. Ask some key questions:

• What is happening there?
• What did she notice?
• Did she feel anything?
• Did she hear any bombings?

These direct questions can usually be answered with a yes/no answer, and in other cases they will help the child open up and vent. Let the child decide whether to lead the discussion from that point.

The child may exhibit some frustrations about a particular person, event, or issue. He may complain about the way the authorities handled the emergency. They may comment on various issues, such as the efficiency and availability of the social workers or psychologists. Let them lead the discussion. Your job as teacher is simply to ask directed questions, as an interested listener.

The child is likely to thank you and the class for listening to what she had to say.