Educators have assisted in rescue efforts and sought to ease children’s fears by creating spaces ‘where kids can feel like kids’
Yulia Kuryliuk, a teacher in a village near Lviv, woke on 24 February to find her country at war and gathered her sixth-grade class on Zoom. Two children tearfully asked when the fighting would end. She didn’t have an answer, but she led her students through breathing exercises to manage anxiety and encouraged them to hug a relative, pet, or stuffed animal for comfort.
With Ukraine’s education system upended by the war, teachers are helping provide stability for their students, along with other forms of emergency support such as evacuation and humanitarian aid. While the ministry of education and science declared a two-week break after Russia’s full-scale invasion began, lessons have now resumed where possible, though they are frequently interrupted by the wail of air raid sirens.
