Students Learn To Cope

September 28, 2001|By Peter Bernard Staff Writer

Anger, disbelief, anxiety and depression were just some of the reactions people throughout the world had after witnessing the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks against America.

Broward County's students were no exception.

"I feel sad and nervous," said Jeffery Ervin, 12, of Coral Springs. "They attacked our freedom."

Fortunately for Ervin and other students at Parkway Middle in Fort Lauderdale, teachers found a way to guide negative emotions and feelings into positive thoughts.

Many schools came up with creative and constructive ways to deal with grief, confusion and all the other feelings and emotions that accompanied the tragedies.

"At times like these, it's very important that students have a way to express themselves, to get out their feelings and to also convey a sense of pride to the school and community," said Darren Todd, an art teacher at Parkway Middle.

Todd and other art teachers at the school guided their students through a lesson where the students took a red, white or blue plastic streamer and wrote a message on it. The students then tied their streamers to a fence at the school so the message could blow in the wind.

"A lot of the students are scared right now," said art teacher Ellen McMillan. "We want the students to express their emotions, but we also want to keep things positive so they can cope."

McMillan was inspired to use the streamer idea after she took the students to an exhibit by artist Lee Ming Wei at the Museum of Art in Fort Lauderdale. People could express themselves in letters to the artist. If the letters were open, the artist would read them. If they were sealed, he either burned the letters or floated them down a river, so the writers' thoughts would join a public consciousness.

"When they tie a knot to put their streamer on the fence, it becomes permanent," McMillan said. "But their message flutters in the wind and sends their positive message off into the air."

Such projects help students deal with their apprehensions in a positive way, McMillan said.

"This was a great way for me to express myself," said seventh-grader Gary Dunkley II, whose streamer bore a message written in urban-graffiti style that said, "America will always be off da chain."

"I just wanted to say we have the best country in the world," Dunkley said.

School Board psychologist and clinical consultant Earnest Carlton said an expressive, honest and safe environment is the best way for students to deal with their fear and apprehension.

"All of us know that expressing ourselves verbally or through artwork is a way to get through fears or anxieties," Carlton said. "Activities that are also supportive of people who are coping directly with the disaster can help a child not feel so helpless."

At New River Middle in Fort Lauderdale, students wanted to let the firefighters and police who are working so hard in the wake of the disasters know they are appreciated, so they wrote heart-shaped letters to the rescuers -- a lot of them.

Health occupations teacher Sheila McFadden and art teacher Mary Bapty had their students distribute 2000 blank, heart-shaped pieces of paper to every classroom in the school so students could write poems, illustrations and letters on them.

"This was an idea to have the students get their emotions out on paper," Bapty said. "It helps them begin to understand what happened."

Bapty said the hearts have been mounted on 20 24-by-3-foot banners and will be presented to area firefighters in about two weeks.

"It felt good to do something constructive," said seventh-grader Sergio Castro, who read the message on his heart. "To firefighters with broken hearts: you can have mine."


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