My Odd Anniversary: Nashville Tornado 1998

Your first year of teaching is never "easy".  People have all kinds of stories from their beginnings in education.  Some funny, some embarrassing, and some are just plain cringey.  

My first year of teaching ended in disaster.  This is not an exaggeration.  There literally was a natural disaster.  A tornado(s) went right through Nashville.  Growing up in Appalachia in the middle of the forest, I had no idea a tornado could hit a city.  It can. It did.  I had left 15 min. before it hit, and had been in my classroom till six at night the whole week until the day of the tornado.  Everyone thought I was still in there, and had the police dogs search my portable to see if I was still in there underneath the debris.  I finished the year on a cart and working from the stage of the cafeteria. I learned a lot about myself & what a wonderful community can do in the face of adversity.   

 

The Anniversary of Nashville's 1998 Tornado

Today is the anniversary of the 1998 tornado that hit Nashville,TN.  

Why is this something I'd share on my blog?  Well...it was my first year of teaching & my school was in one of the worst hit areas.  Oh...and my classroom was destroyed.

I'm getting ahead of myself...lets start at the beginning. 

(my portable is the one behind the mess in the foreground...to the right of the picture...notice how far it is from the steps!!)

 It was report card time again, and I had been staying at school until 6pm almost every night.  On this particular day...as I was driving to work in the pouring rain a belt on my car was damaged.  I was able to drive to a repair shop near my school, and call someone to come get me.  That meant I'd not be able to stay and work after school though.  All day we had tornado warnings/watches...and had to come back into the main building several times.  I would have people knock on my door though, because my P.A. system was not working in my portable.  The end of the day came....and my ride was ready to take me to see if my car was ready.  As we left...we had no idea that a tornado was right behind us!    We stopped at the repair shop, but my car was not ready yet.  My friend said she'd be happy to take me home.  As we drove past Opry Land Hotel...the hail started coming down.  We pulled over because it was almost impossible to see.  As the hail cleared....we started on our way once more.  However, we quickly saw the tornado dropping out of the sky less than a quarter of a mile from where we were...and pulled over once more.  I'll never forget the sight, but could never truly describe it.  My friend said, "What do we do? Do we get in the ditch?"  Looking at the ditch full of water & power lines over head...I told her I thought we were safer in the car.  WE PRAYED.  We also watched.  The funnel dropped down and went through a building in front of us...then crossed the road we were on.  We had no idea that this tornado had just went through our school...destroying many of our portables and doing unbelievable damage to the neighborhood.  

It was several days before I was allowed back to see the damage to my classroom.  There area was so severely damaged that it was not safe to return (power lines, trees, debris from homes & other structures).  I had been told it was bad & to prepare myself. The administration & staff knew I had poured my heart & soul into making that little classroom a magical place for my students...so much of my time & money invested.  I arrived to find my portable had been pulled off its foundation and landed on a car that was parked next to it(the teacher seemed to blame me for this the rest of the time I worked at that school??).  Parts of the roof were missing & there were holes on opposite walls were something went straight through.  All the kids art was ruined (I'm friends with one of my girls from back then on Facebook...and she still brings up losing her rose painting!  Art has impact...missing her painting after 20 yrs!!)  My books & electronic devices were ruined.  To the surprise of many... much of my supplies were saved because of storing them in Sterilite containers! (I get nothing for promoting them...I just believe in the product!!!  http://www.sterilite.com/ )

I taught the rest of the year going from classroom to classroom(no art on a cart...those were all destroyed too).  My home base was on the cafeteria stage.  What memories!? However, all the families at my school were safe even in the midst of all that destruction.  Things can be replaced.  I guess another bright side was the following year we got brand new portables that actually had running water in them!

So next time you want to complain about your first year of teaching...it could be worse.  I know of many stories that are much more devastating than mine.  

I count my blessings!!

Remembering April 16, 1998

Today is the anniversary of my first classroom my first year of teaching being destroyed by a tornado.  

ha ha ha TOP THAT FOR A FIRST YEAR TEACHER STORY!!!!!!!!  ha ha ha

I had no idea I was moving into part of tornado ally, but now they are just part of life in Nashville Metro.  I also had no idea tornadoes could even hit a city?!?!!?  That is my rural Appalachian root showing I guess?!?! 

ANYWAYS?!?!!?  It was report card time again, and I had been staying at school until 6pm almost every night.  However, on this particular day...I was driving to work in the pouring rain, and a belt got "thrown" on my car.  I was able to drive to a repair shop near my school, and call someone to come get me.  That meant I'd not be able to stay and work after school though.  All day we had tornado warnings/watches...and had to come back into the main building several times.  I would have people knock on my door though, because my P.A. system was not working in my portable.  The end of the day came....and my ride was ready to take me to see if my car was ready.  As we left...we had no idea that a tornado was right behind us!    We stopped at the repair shop, but my car was not ready yet.  My friend said she'd be happy to take me home.  As we drove past Opry Land Hotel...the hail started coming down.  We pulled over because it was almost impossible to see.  As the hail cleared....we started on our way once more.  However, we quickly saw the tornado dropping out of the sky less than a quarter of a mile from where we were...and pulled over once more.  I'll never forget the sight, but could never truly describe it.  My friend said, "What do we do? Do we get in the ditch?"  Looking at the ditch full of water & power lines over head...I told her I thought we were safer in the car.  WE PRAYED.  We also watched.  The funnel dropped down and went through a building in front of us...then crossed the road we were on.  We had no idea that this tornado had just went through our school...destroying many of our portables and doing unbelievable damage to the neighborhood.  

It was several days before I was allowed back to see the damage to my classroom.  I had been told it was bad...and to prepare myself.  The portable had been pulled off its foundation and landed on a car that was parked next to it(the teacher seemed to blame me for this?!?!?).  Parts of the roof were missing & there were holes on opposite walls were something went straight through.  All the kids art was ruined.  Many of my supplies were saved because of storing them in Sterilite containers!!!(still a brand I trust)

I taught the rest of the year going from classroom to classroom(no cart..that was destroyed too).  My home base was on the stage in the cafeteria.  What memories!?!?!?!  I guess the bright side was....the following year we got brand new portables that actually had running water in them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

SO...next time you want to complain about your first year of teaching...THINK TWICE!  Someone has probably had it worse (even worse than me!!).  

My First Year of Teaching

In August of 1997, I packed up all my things in my Chevy Cavalier & moved from southeastern Ohio to Nashville, TN to begin my teaching career. I had only been to the city once to interview for the position, I knew no one, and I had no place to live(or even stay for that matter) . Great way to start things, eh?(sorry for the "eh?"...I did my student teaching in Montreal, Quebec & haven't been able to get rid of it all these years later!!). I told myself if nothing else I could sleep on my teacher desk until I found a place(I was joking..kind of). I quickly found a place...and amazing group of friends(the Art Gang)...and seemed to know or be known by many in the city! It helps to be an outgoing personality in a situation like that! My school was welcoming & supportive. My classroom however...was kind of a nightmare. I had the old ISS portable out back( no water!!). With 1st year teacher enthusiasm....I decided I'd transform that portable into an amazing place for my students to come. And over the next several months...I did just that!! Paint, a fun border, curtains I had made.....and even a trash can cozy(that matched my curtains....yes...I am a bit OCD). My classroom was my home away from home. I loved being there. However, April 16, 1998....that all changed. A tornado goes through downtown Nashville & surrounding areas(who knew tornadoes actually hit cities?!?!?). East Nashville was the worst hit. That whole week I had been staying till 6 or later trying to get grades ready for report cards. That morning though...in the terrible rains we were getting...a belt on my car was thrown, and I had to take it to the shop. So...as soon as school let out that day...a teacher took me to the mechanics to get my car. They said it wouldn't be ready for a day or two...so the teacher offered to take me on home. As we were driving...the weather was getting worse & it began to hail. As we looked ahead...we saw a funnel cloud drop out of the sky and go through a building...and then continue on across the road we were driving on. It was only about a quarter mile ahead of us. We watched in fear & amazement as the tornado crossed the road in front of us. We thanked the Lord for protecting us...and then continued cautiously onward. We had no idea that tornado we just saw moments earlier had hit our school. I found out later that evening that my classroom was lifted off the foundation & dropped on a car next to it. The roof had giant holes in it that allowed the rain to soak everything. Something had pierced the wall of my portable & went straight out the other side. One of the teachers was sure I was still in there, and made the police go in with dogs to try to find my body! I am extremely blessed that my car had issues that morning...or I might have been!!! After a week of not being allowed back in the area, I finally was able to go & see what was salvageable. There wasn't much. All of the kids art, my books, my art posters....ruined. I was extremely happy to see the supplies I had stored in Sterilite containers were ok, but that did not make up for the lose of everything else. For the rest of the school year my desk & supplies were on the stage, and I had to go room to room to teach art(or bring the kids to the cafeteria). It was tough...but I made it through. So, the next time you think things are tough...remember my story...and realize that things could be worse!