On April 4th, teachers from the Minamisanriku Town Board of Education visited the Minamisanriku 3/11 Memorial as part of their new staff training.
This was their second visit since last year, and some of the teachers are from outside the town, so they came to learn about the earthquake.
At the entrance, a staff member who actually experienced the earthquake gave a talk about the situation in Minamisanriku at the time of the earthquake, the reasons for building the disaster prevention building, and how the lessons learned from the Chilean earthquake and tsunami were used during the Great East Japan Earthquake.
The main learning program was Regular Program 1, "Evacuation that determines life and death."
This program uses video testimonies from residents who faced the difference between life and death at the time of the Great East Japan Earthquake to learn how people acted and how they spent the bitterly cold night with all communication with the outside world cut off. Participants will also discuss and think about what kind of ultimate preparations are needed to protect lives from natural disasters.
In the Minamisanriku 311 Memorial learning program, participants are asked the question, "What would you do in this situation?"
In Regular Program 1, "Evacuation that determined life and death ," the principal of Tokura Elementary School at the time talks about the school's evacuation plan, which he had been debating with other teachers for two years, regarding whether to evacuate to higher ground or to the rooftop in the event of an emergency, and what decision he made when the earthquake actually occurred on March 11th.
The new teachers were engaged in lively discussions, thinking about how they should behave towards their students and listening to the stories of teachers who had experienced the disaster.
After taking the learning program, we spoke with the new teachers who participated.
"At the time of the earthquake, I was in the second grade of elementary school. I remember our teachers at school urging students to go up as much as possible! To the second and third floors. After evacuating, I saw the waves coming on the first floor and was worried, but I remember feeling relieved that my friends were nearby and my family came to pick me up right away. Evacuation situations vary depending on the area, so as a teacher I wanted to think about that and convey it to the students," he said, looking back on that time.
I would be happy if I could be of some help to the teachers who will be teaching their students for the first time, in raising their awareness of future disaster prevention, and in helping them think about the earthquake with children.
Thank you very much to the teachers from Minamisanriku Town Board of Education for visiting us.