Not So Fast

Almost all of the schools in the Montgomery and Birmingham areas have closed for the day, due to the threat of severe weather this afternoon. I am trying to remember a time that my elementary schools let out early because of potential tornado threats, and I can think of only one. (Incidentally, my mother was out driving around in the weather and didn't know that there was a weather problem, much less that we were let out early.) Instead, I remember several trips out to the hall with a heavy textbook in hand, where we would sit against the wall with the book ready to cover our heads in the event disaster struck.

But the phenomenon of late seems to be letting students go home when severe weather is a strong possibility. And I'm not sure this is such a great idea, for several reasons:

1. It causes chaos and confusion among the students, and the teachers can just kiss the whole day good-bye.
2. It forces parents to drive with their children in the inclement weather, which we all know is dangerous.
3. It brings the possibility that little Suzy's parent didn't get the message, and she's left sitting by the carpool line until someone gets in touch with her mom, who just happens to have gone out of town on business for the day.
4. The best reason is one that someone mentioned on the radio this morning: in Alabama, many students live in mobile homes. Everyone knows that (a) mobile homes are extremely dangerous in a storm and therefore (b) tornadoes seem to aim for mobile homes. Any school building in the state would be safer for a student than his mobile home, where he has no protection from the elements.

This is not a snow day. Letting out early for snow makes sense. You may not be able to get your child from the school once the snowstorm hits. But once a tornado or storm system has blown through, you can go get your child. You may have to dodge some debris to do it, but you can get there.

UPDATE: Following the devastating loss of life at Enterprise High School a couple of weeks ago, I gave further thought to my original stance. Although I certainly understand the argument that keeping so many students in one place can result in more lives lost if a tornado hits a school, I continue to believe that students are safer in their schools than on the road going home or in mobile homes. I sincerely believe that the school did everything that they could do to protect the students. Sometimes you can do all you think possible and still wind up with disastrous results.