By Dr. Tom Horton

Preface: 
​School fires may occur in a manner not anticipated by those whose duty it is to plan for contingencies outside the norm. A periodic meeting of school officials who "brainstorm" the ways fire could break out and short-circuit the fire alarm system (airplane crash, earthquake, terrorist attack, etc.) should be anticipated and planned for. 

Though not a school event, an elderly couple in my town recently lost their home to fire and the cause was the amount of lint and dust collected in the rear of the washing machine coming into contact with a frayed wire.  All schools have clothes washers for athletic purposes, but I wonder how many principals insure that even these obscure areas are frequently checked?

​As a lifelong educator, I am committed to being a lifelong learner, and that means that many lessons will come from living life and not from text books or classroom instruction. As an educator I have served in many different roles:  classroom teacher, principal, and superintendent.  With each of these roles, there have come many opportunities for “lessons learned”.  As a redirected superintendent the opportunities for lessons learned have not ceased.  In fact, they have enabled me to look at them through different, and often clearer, lenses.
 
In August 2005, I experienced Hurricane Katrina, as a provider of shelter and resources.  Hurricane Rita quickly followed in September, and I learned new lessons as an evacuee.  To document these lessons, I became the Executive Producer of a documentary film entitled, “Why Plan”, a video that captured lessons learned by Texas schools through their experiences with Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
 
And now, having once again experienced the role of an evacuee, whose community was devastated by Hurricane Ike, I have learned new lessons.  Many of these new lessons have once again provided a new perspective – through the eyes of someone who was blessed by sustaining little personal damage and loss, but someone who has become a first-hand observer and provider of help to others who suffered untold loss and devastation.  It is these lessons that I want to share.
 
Disasters and tragedies tend to polarize the reactions and responses of those impacted.  Some react with heroic human kindness, while others display the very basest of human behaviors, trying to take personal advantage of others’ tragedies.
 
My goal in writing this is to share some personal human interest observations, in the hope that it will help others to see disasters, not through the eyes of the media, but through the eyes of an average person living through the disaster.  Each of the comments or observations below could easily be developed into lengthy, stand-alone accounts; however, my intention is to simply offer a glimpse into the reality of the aftermath of a large scale disaster.

Observation #1
Returning to ravaged communities and beginning the cleanup and recovery efforts presents one with opportunities to play the role of a heroic figure such as the “Crocodile Hunter”…Be prepared for dealing with heaps of worms inside your home, snakes as the new inhabitants of your dwelling, and alligators as new neighbors

​Observation #2
Be prepared for inconveniences.  You may have to drive for miles, even crossing state lines, to find such common place items as gasoline, groceries, and post offices who, because they are rural and have not been totally computerized, can still operate.  And, as a word of advice based on experience, be prepared for a lack of clear thinking.  You may find that you’ve forgotten to take your purse – not once but twice in the same day – when you’ve gone in pursuit of these necessities for those who are depending on you.  It seems that a mental fog and confusion, often accompanied by unexplained depression, seem to be ready companions.

​Observation #3
When determining startup dates for “relatively” undamaged school facilities, consider the following questions.

1. How will you provide drinking water when the local water plants are still submerged?  I saw truckloads of bottled water distributed to area schools daily.
2. How will you deal with sewer needs when the local sewer systems are still under water and not functioning?
3. How will you staff your schools when staff members have no homes and are living in tents and cars?
4. How will your students respond to the return?  Do they have places to live?  Do they have clothes to wear?  Do they have food to eat?
5. How will you provide opportunities to “debrief” and talk with experienced counselors, many of whom have suffered the same losses.

NOTE:  One local teacher posed a question to the children in her 5th grade class:  How many of you have lost your homes and everything in them?  The response to this question was an unbelievable 98% of her children had no homes, nor any clothes or any other possessions.
​
    6.  How important are English, math, geography, etc. when faced with the challenges of just surviving?

Based on a quote from literature, I share the following:  “In the midst of darkness, bright flows the river of God.”  The following are examples of the very best of what makes us human and what constitutes some of my most memorable and meaningful lessons learned.

• One of our community’s elementary schools, one of the few undamaged, is hosting “HALLoween” in the hallways of their elementary school where children from neighborhood elementary schools who lost their entire campuses and homes can take part in traditional Halloween festivities.
   
• Area school districts have come together in the true spirit of collaboration and entered into an agreement whereby neighboring district school buses will pick up displaced students, now living in another school district, and transport them to their home campuses.
  ​
• Big city, Houston schools have “adopted” area campuses that no longer exist and are providing such help as the “One for Books” initiative where an elementary campus from the Cypress-Fairbanks school district is sponsoring a fund raiser to assist two Bridge City schools who were 6 feet under water and lost every book in the buildings.  Students can donate money that will be used to buy books, AND Scholastic Book Fairs will match each dollar donation with a book - $1.00=1 Book!  Additionally, this same school is sponsoring a “Helping Hands” drive to collect items for another school district.  They are collecting items in several categories that will be delivered to the devastated schools:  Baby supplies, Cleaning supplies, Kid-Friendly food, and Basic Needs.  They have also scheduled a book drive to follow this initial “Helping Hands” project.

​All in all, the greatest lesson I’ve learned is to never underestimate the caring spirit of your fellow human beings.  The media may highlight the worst of the human spirit – looting, fraud, etc. – but the majority of humans still come forward in a spirit of caring and helping.
 
Yes, lessons have been learned and one lesson continues to be reinforced for me as a school administrator:  “We are in charge of people’s most important possession:  their children.”

​You told your teachers and students to take emergency protective actions in case of earthquake or for tornado. You thought you were doing everything right because you told them, “The book and experts all agree.”  Unfortunately, the voices that disagree with ‘accepted approaches’ are often censured or ignored. That’s no relief to you when you face angry parents who want to know why their child was injured, or killed, because they followed the advice you gave to their teachers. Two such pieces of advice need to be changed. These are two serious myths you should reconsider.  They have been protected far too long by the originators who believe their reputations are tied to upholding these fallacies. Please consider this contrarian information. It makes sense and is based on lessons learned and sound logic.

Earthquake Immediate Actions

​First, the drop-cover-and hold on mantra for earthquake safety is a direct carryover from the Cold War Era of civil defense drills.  This seemed logical to some who wanted an easy connection to early drills generations had to perform in their schools. Those drills, too, were based on a myth.  It was pure pabulum for anyone in a blast zone to believe that school children would be safe by hiding under a desk. On the other hand, this protective action does have some specific value for earthquakes, by keeping a close, sturdy object between our fragile bodies and falling debris—especially light fixtures and ceiling tiles.  That part of the emergency action makes sense…unlike other quake protection myths like standing in a doorway because it was the safest place to stay during a strong earthquake.  That idea turned out to be an absolute fallacy.  So why isn’t all of the ‘drop-cover-and hold on’ approach correct?
     Falls are one of the most serious accidents that can cause major damage to humans.  Our natural reflex when falling forward is to put our hands and arms in front of us so we don’t strike our heads.  Picture how gymnasts, martial artists and even parachutists are taught to land safely. You will note it is never on their backs.  The spine is too easily damaged. If landing on their feet safely is not possible, or likely to fail, all of these professionals roll to their sides as they fall. 

Our ribs are designed specifically to protect our most vulnerable core organs.  That is another reason a fetus takes a curled position. That shape protects against injury.  If we tell students to hide under desks with their backs upright, and their heads directly pointed downward, we put them at great risk for catastrophic spine and head injuries. Earthquake waves can toss objects up and down, not just side to side.  

This is why I have refused to teach the ‘spine-high’ approach for many years.  It makes no sense. Instead, the students should hold on to the table/chair leg while protecting their head, huddled in fetal position.  In this way, they can also best create a small air space near their face, which has proven critical to quake survivors in major building collapses.  One of the leading causes of death in building collapses from quakes is dust inhalation, so pulling a shirt or blouse over the mouth and nose while in fetal position may be just as critical as avoiding the initial falling debris, especially is strong quakes. 

​SPECIAL NOTE: This approach has nothing to do with the “Triangle of Life” hypothesis, which this author does not support as a successful strategy for immediate reduction of injury from quakes

Tornado Sheltering

​The second myth became obvious in recent years as CCTV footage caught a school being torn apart by a powerful tornado.  Until recently, emergency managers and public safety responders advised placing children in hallways with no glass present during high-wind events.  Some also supported using a gymnasium as a safe site. The footage available below clearly demonstrates what happens if we relocate children to long hallways that have exit doors, or to large gyms.  A central, protected, glass-free location is still my favored location, but not with overhanging lights (like the gym) or an exterior door that acts as a suction tube for external storm debris, turning the evacuation shelter point into a blender. This spectacular video should be ample proof that designation of tornado safe havens in our schools needs careful reconsideration.   

Cameras catch the damage done as a tornado rips through an Indiana middle school's gym and hallway. Fortunately no one was in the school when the tornado hit
YouTube Video, Published on Dec 17, 2013

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