Early Childhood Education Students' Reflections: Volunteering after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

Source: Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, Volume 28, Issue 1 January 2007, pages 83 - 88

After the hurricanes, faculty asked the students to help with the relief efforts in different ways. Most students volunteered to work in shelters directly with individual or groups of children, youths, and adults. After their experiences, they wrote brief reflections about what they had done. Their comments show that they developed a better understanding of the impact of the crisis and life in the shelters, strong impressions about specific children, a sense of community with their fellow classmates, or learned about the importance of flexibility and supervision in early childhood programs.