Oklahoma Tornado- This is not a drill!

TeachersPayTeachers Fundraiser for teachers in OK

I’ve lived in several “tornado friendly” places in my life.  Growing up in Sioux City, Iowa, I remember the tornado sirens going off during bad thunderstorms- usually at night.  My parents would march us down to the basement and make us stay in the “safe” corner until the all-clear.  Our neighbors would join us, as they didn’t have a basement.  Luckily, the tornados never hit where we lived.  They saved their fury for the farmlands around us.

Fast forward a few years and now I’m in college in Lubbock, Texas. If you’re not familiar with the panhandle of Texas, it’s considered part of “tornado alley”.  I lived in the second-story of an apartment complex that was southwest of a trailer park.  It’s my understanding (and please feel free to correct me if I’m wrong) that tornados generally travel from a southwesterly to northeasterly direction, skipping across the land, indiscriminately wreaking havoc. Tornadoes seem to love trailer parks- don’t ask me why, and I figured I was right in the path of their favorite target.  The best protection I had was the bathtub. Lucky again, I never had to take cover. (I did have some friends who decided it would be cool to go looking for the tornado... Who says college students are smart?!?)

As a teacher in the Denver metro area, we were required to have a tornado drill once a year.  I’ve seen that murky green tornado sky color, so I always took those drills seriously.  The younger kids were always nervous, and some in tears, as their teachers calmed their fears. The difficult part was convincing the sixth graders they also needed to take it seriously.  Even though I understood the need for the drills- it was really all we could do, I was skeptical that the plan would actually work.  Yes, they were away from windows and sitting facing the walls with their heads tucked, but it didn’t seem like it would protect them from an actual tornado.  My former school had their drill earlier the same day the tornado ripped through Moore, Oklahoma.

Given that Oklahoma is also deep in the heart of tornado alley, I’m sure those teachers and students were very familiar with the drill, and everyone did what they were supposed to do.  What a frightening experience for everyone involved!  My heart goes out to all the families and everyone who was affected by that monster storm.

We teachers took to the forum on TeachersPayTeachers as soon as we heard, wondering how our friends in Oklahoma were faring and worried for the teachers and students at those schools. Immediately, we all wanted to help. 

This is what we came up with~

A TeachersPayTeachers Fundraiser has been set up and will run from May 24- June 3.  There are 4 different bundles (each over $100 value for $25!) from which to choose, two different bundles from K-2 and two different bundles from 3-6, all with a variety of products in math, literacy, science and more.  For specific product details and contents, please follow the links to each of the bundles.  There is no purchase limit and ALL proceeds will go by check from TPT to the appropriate  Moore, OK School District Representative, earmarked specifically to aid the teachers affected, as they begin their rebuilding process.

Thanks for helping us help them!

~Ralph Waldo Emerson