Earthquakes are difficult to teach because it includes understanding the structure of the Earth and basic seismic principles of how energy is released.  Earthquakes are just one part of teaching Plate Tectonics.  Basically volcanoes is the physical evidence and earthquakes are the geophysical evidence.  The data collected from both of these subfields of earth sciences provide the evidence for Plate Tectonics.  Once a child or adult has been taught the basic principles the hazards can be approached in a scientific and engineering way.

The Plate Tectonic Cycle refers to the movement of large portions of the earth's crust in what is termed "plates." The boundaries of these plates are generally defined by the occurrence of volcanoes and earthquakes. The driving forces that move these plates are a combination of events that occur within the Earth. Stresses on the crust caused by the spinning of the Earth also is a factor. The immediate fueling of the movement probably occurs within the atmosphere which includes the crust of the earth and the upper portion of the mantle. There are basically 2 divisions that geologist use to divide the earth - one that deals with the entire Earth (core, mantle, and crust) and one that deals with the outer portion (asthenosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere). More information is known about the asthenosphere and the lithosphere because data is more easily obtained. The mechanism of how these various layers of the earth interact is still being investigated.