Crazy Old Man Drill

Last night I had a very vivid dream about a tornado coming to the Jr High School.  One of the students pointed it out to me and I started rushing about getting everyone under a desk since we don't have a basement.  I then tried to frantically figure out where to put everyone since every room in the building has windows and to get to the gym you have to go outside and across a parking lot.  No one would listen to me because they were all really curious and wanted to see the tornado since they had never seen one before.  I wasn't panicked in the dream but I remember thinking about how no one knew what to do and that I was therefore in charge and it was up to me to get everyone to safety.

I think I had this dream because this week on Tuesday I took part in a practice earthquake drill at an elementary school.  Though I know the basics of an earthquake drill (get under a desk, stand in a doorway) I wasn't sure if one should go outside after the shaking finished.  The teachers taught me that I should go outside only after the all clear had been given and that I should take something to cover my head in case of falling debris.  I also learned that one shouldn't go back inside for quite awhile because of aftershocks.  Good to know.  We don't really get earthquakes here but they like to practice for obvious reasons.  It just made me think about how my kids won't ever practice Tornado drills unless they got to high school in America.

One other drill that they do here that I think we should do in America (if we don't already) is "Scary Old Man Drill."  I'm not sure if this what you would really call it, but that is how it was explained to me.  I feel like I already blogged about this, but for those who don't know, SOMD is when the kids practice what they would do if a crazy person came in with a knife or something and tried to attack the students/teachers.  They go to safe locations, keep quiet, and wait for the crazy old man to be caught and escorted away by police.  It looks silly when they do it because the guy playing the old man usually looks harmless, but it is a good thing to practice in this day and age.

However, once when we were practicing this drill at an elementary school I was "hiding" in the teacher's office with some first graders when a real scary old man showed up.  Actually, it was someones grandpa who was bringing something a student had forgotten (homework, lunch money, PE clothes, etc).  The old man, not knowing we were having a drill, came and knocked on the window of the office.  The students, not knowing if the drill was real or not, thought he might be the scary old man and started screaming.  I, being a first timer this specific time, really had no idea how I was supposed to react or what I should say.  Luckily a secretary came running over and explained to the guy that we were in a drill and he needed to leave.  As much as the kids were traumatized, it was really funny.