What happens when the walls fall down?

The Australian newspapers are full of the impending natural disaster. While holiday makers to Bali scramble to change their plans, people in the shadow of Mount Agung pack their belongings and prepare for uncertainty (NBC News, 2017).

Image 1. Balinese Hindu villagers gather after a prayer for Mount Agung at a temple in the Pemuteran village in the Karangasem district on Sept. 27

Evacuation camps are established and the locals wait. They have been separated from normality. They enter a time of liminality, they wait to return.

Research tells us education will be impacted. It is the first to go and the last to return. Yet the value of education in times of disaster can not be underestimated (UNICEF, 2017). Teachers Without Borders initiatives provide frameworks; preparations for future learning spaces can begin (Mednick, 2011).

Will the new learning spaces mirror those left behind? How can they when the walls are gone?

It is the child's personal efficacy that will take them through the uncertainty and allow them to rebuild their personal learning communities.

Resources will be determined by what is available. Communities of practice will be formed and learning will occur when and wherever safe and supportive environments are established.

The personal comes first, the curricula second. The future learning spaces of Bali, supported by child friendly spaces may look very different from the traditional classroom.

References

Fred Mednick. 2011. Guidelines for child-friendly spaces in emergencies. Retrieved from https://www.scribd.com/document/269780134/Guidelines-for-Child-Friendly-Spaces

NBC News. (2017). Residents flee as Bali volcano rumbles. Retrieved from https://www.nbcnews.com/slideshow/residents-flee-bali-volcano-rumbles-n805326

UNICEF. (2017). Education in emergencies. Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/education/bege_70640.html