@Siobhan, we clapped because, I guess, we always clapped in that class when we'd accomplished something together, be it a fire drill or cleaning up the classroom. It was part of our ethic.
@Anon . . . This was over a decade ago. I don't know why the adults didn't protect ourselves. We always did in the drills. We were just so focused on the kids, and the building seemed solid, and it all happened so fast that none of us even noticed until some time later. The fact that were so calm and matter-of-fact, however, was powerful.
Your post really hit home for me. Ten years ago a tornado hit the school I was teaching at on the first day of school. It was severe enought that it destroyed a large part of the building we were in. When it was all over and parents arrived to pick up their children, one of the kindergarteners started sobbing, not because she had been frightened, but because she had to go home before eating her first school lunch. I think that's when the teachers knew they had done their jobs, keeping the children both safe and calm.
What is the clapping for?
ReplyDeleteI think you need to adjust your drill to include the adults. You're no good to the kids if you get injured.
ReplyDelete@Siobhan, we clapped because, I guess, we always clapped in that class when we'd accomplished something together, be it a fire drill or cleaning up the classroom. It was part of our ethic.
ReplyDelete@Anon . . . This was over a decade ago. I don't know why the adults didn't protect ourselves. We always did in the drills. We were just so focused on the kids, and the building seemed solid, and it all happened so fast that none of us even noticed until some time later. The fact that were so calm and matter-of-fact, however, was powerful.
Your post really hit home for me. Ten years ago a tornado hit the school I was teaching at on the first day of school. It was severe enought that it destroyed a large part of the building we were in. When it was all over and parents arrived to pick up their children, one of the kindergarteners started sobbing, not because she had been frightened, but because she had to go home before eating her first school lunch. I think that's when the teachers knew they had done their jobs, keeping the children both safe and calm.
ReplyDelete