[Visit Report] Teachers from Iriya Elementary School visit the museum for staff training

On August 8th, teachers from Iriya Elementary School in Minamisanriku Town visited the Minamisanriku 3/11 Memorial as part of their summer vacation staff training.

In January of this year, fifth and sixth graders from Iriya Elementary School visited the facility as part of a study session on the earthquake disaster, but this is the first time they have visited as part of a staff training session.

The reason they chose Memorial as the training site for this training was that they wanted to "learn about the earthquake disaster and also use it as an opportunity to think about what they can convey to children."

First, a staff member who was an employee of Minamisanriku Town Hall at the time of the earthquake spoke about the thinking behind the town's disaster prevention and evacuation plans, and the lessons that have been learned from the Great East Japan Earthquake.

During this training, in addition to viewing the exhibits within the museum, the participants also viewed Learning Program 3, "Thinking about Life," which was newly launched in April of this year.

This program teaches participants that the sense of security that comes from being in a shelter with many other people can dull their sense of danger, and also allows them to listen and think about how elementary and junior high school students and fishermen from that time have lived since the disaster.

In the Minamisanriku 311 Memorial learning program, participants are asked the question, "What would you do in this situation?"

In Learning Program 3, "Thinking about Life," the questions were inspired by the testimonies of townspeople who expressed regret over their actual evacuation actions during the earthquake, and the teachers discussed the questions together and made choices.

The distinctive feature of our learning program is that participants watch the testimonial footage, discuss the various questions posed, and think about them together. It was impressive to see the participants talk about their experiences in the town at the time, and recall the everyday behavior of the children as they converse.

After the learning program ended, we asked the teacher, who experienced the earthquake in this town at the time, for his thoughts.

"At the time, I was a university student and helping shucking oysters at my parents' house when I felt the shock. Now I am in charge of children who were born after the disaster. I would like to think about what I can tell them and what they should think about, while also sharing my own experiences."

The Iriya district of Minamisanriku is the only district in the town that does not face the sea, and was almost completely unaffected by the tsunami during the earthquake. I think that teaching children living in such districts about the earthquake disaster will be different from teaching children in districts with a view of the sea.

Some teachers were affected by the disaster in Minamisanriku, some experienced it in neighboring cities and towns, some became teachers after the disaster, and some were away from the town when it happened. With each teacher's different experiences, how do they think about the disaster and the children who were born after it?

The Minamisanriku 311 Memorial Learning Program is not a program that provides clear answers to disaster prevention and natural disasters. It is a program to give you an opportunity to think about how you would decide and act in a given situation.

I would be happy if I could be of some help to the teachers who spend their days with the children to think together with the children.

Thank you to the teachers at Iriya Elementary School for visiting us.