I've been worried about the little kids, because there's no way to credibly
tell them that it couldn't happen to them. Kids aren't stupid. And no
matter what you tell them to your face, they'll be listening to your grownup
conversations when you least expect it, and they'll hear YOUR anxiety.
In my New York bedroom community, they didn't tell the students what was
happening. Instead, they held impromptu "social studies" classes in which
each kid had to say where they were from and where their parents worked.
Then they told the kids they had been working so hard this year (all two
weeks, right?) that they could just watch movies all afternoon -- while the
teachers tried to sort out each kid's fate.
Fortunately, I've only seen one tragedy once-removed, so far, but like
Patrick said, I don't expect that figure to hold.
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Deb Messling =^..^=
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