I spent the day in a high school media center trying to do some very important work. But I couldn’t concentrate. I was agitated, distracted, stressed, and even a bit scared. Hurricane Sandy, reported to impact 60 million people and some of the biggest cities in the country, loomed right out my window, ripping autumn leaves from trees and pressing down with ominous clouds that looked like they belonged on that first Ghostbusters movie. I was mostly stressed due to the fact that the hurricane was headed toward New York City, toward my son, his wife, and my granddogs, Ramsey and Bella. And as I worked to reign in my rambling thoughts, I remembered how hurricanes had impacted my students over the years.
Hurricane Sandy made landfall on October 29, 2012
I particularly thought about Hurricane Fran that arrived the day after my birthday in 1996. School had been in session a little over a week that year, and I remember thinking that the students were an especially focused group, conscientious students who worked hard at learning, listened carefully, and had high standards for themselves when it came to submitting assignments. But then the hurricane winds blew, the lobby of my school flooded, and the power was out around the state for two weeks.
Hurricane Fran hit North Carolina on September 5, 1996.
Once the flood waters receded, and the students returned, something was different. My one time conscientious seventh graders were now rambunctious, squirmy, and unfocused. Every drop of rain that fell during the remainder of that year would mean twenty-eight sets of eyes pasted to the windows, looking for a flood or a sign of a power outage, some indication that school would be out again. I remember thinking that I may never make up for the momentum we lost as a result of that hurricane.
I also thought about particularly catastrophic hurricanes, like Katrina, and the stories I’ve heard about the devastation there; and Floyd, the hurricane that sent teachers to flooded classrooms where nothing could be salvaged, every book soggy and dripping.
As I continued to attempt to squelch my uneasiness, I thought about how there are students who deal with this type of distraction on a daily basis. Disasters at home can mirror the natural disasters that disrupt the rest of us. Domestic disputes, physical abuse, and neglect impact our students’ attention during their school days just as this storm impacted mine today.
It’s just something to think about as we ride out this storm. I, for one, recognized today how difficult it is to concentrate when stress and the potential of danger come into play. As teachers, we need to be aware of that same type of distraction that our students may display and consider strategies for dealing with those factors that impact student learning.
Meanwhile, hold on, Will and Rebecca! Stay safe in NYC…