When tragedy like 9/11 or hurricane Katrina hit it is important not to ignore the incident. The children in your classroom will hear about this at home, on the bus, and on the street. Even if you ignore it in the classroom it will still affect the class. These events should be talked about and used to teach the children, about cultures, religous ideas, and the way others live. This is a time to use tragedy to teach the children in your classroom about others who may live in a completly diffrent way then they do. It is a time to teach tolerance and understanding. It is also important to informe the parents if you are dealing with a delicate subject and to remember the ages of those you are teacheing. While a child in highschool may be able to understand the government, the anger, and the loss of life associated with Katrina a child in first grade may not be able to comprehend all this and it is important not to display in appropriet pictures and subjects. To learn about how to use these moments to teach websites such as tolerance.org provide teachers with ideas and tools to teach your children about these subjects, and keeping up with what is going on so you are relaying the correct imformation is important.