Teacher World

A group of students from the Austin area have something to be proud of; they helped in a clean-up project in Joplin, Missouri this summer.

The “Austin Slam” baseball team had been looking forward to the 10-hour trip to Joplin to compete in a tournament until the terrible tornado struck in May. As soon as members of the Austin team heard the devastating news, they began to text their teammate, Nick Balley, asking what they could do to help the people of Joplin.

Fourteen-year old Nick and his fellow teammates turned to their coach, Scott Leon for advice. When Leon was a child, he witnessed the destructive force of a tornado first-hand when a funnel cloud hit his family’s home in Kansas, so he knew the team had to pitch in.

With help and encouragement from their coach, the team headed north to volunteer. Upon their arrival in Joplin, Leon said, “It didn’t even resemble a town in some places. It just looked like a junkyard.”

The team had no idea what to expect when it came to playing a tournament game, especially when they saw the condition of the park where they were to play, Balley said, “We were at a park, and we were helping rake up glass and nails and all the debris from the houses.”

It may seem silly to us to even think about playing baseball at a time like this, but the American Premier Baseball Association games help out Joplin’s economy, which clearly needs a major boost right now. And the citizens of Joplin surely needed to take their minds off the tragedy all around them and enjoy an age-old tradition: a good old-fashioned baseball game.

So, after cleaning up the field, the “Austin Slam” got to play their tournament game, against all odds. Nick’s team made it all the way to the championship game but then lost.

But there were no losers here. Nick said he gained more than he lost because he got to help people who really needed it. Nick said, “As a 14-year old, it kind of changes the way you look at things. Everything’s different now.”

And my guess is that that little piece of normal, playing in a baseball tournament, probably helped those boys from Joplin as well.

Later, Leon said of Nick, “Leaders like him are going to become good people, and hopefully, you know, with hard work, he’s going to become a good baseball player.”

We tend to think of teenagers as being rather self-absorbed, a stereotype that these boys proved to be inaccurate. What a great story, and what an inspiration this group of boys is to so many who hear their story.

I’m sure that the members of the “Austin Slam” will never forget what they saw in Joplin and how their contribution made a difference to the baseball team and the spectators in that courageous city. It is a story that I hope they shared with their classmates as they returned to school last Monday, August 22.

Perhaps their story will encourage others to lend a hand in Joplin or wherever help is needed.

Teacher-World's Blog "Austin Slam" baseball team, Joplin, Missouri, Nick Balley

Good news has come out of Joplin, Missouri! Only three months after experiencing our country’s deadliest tornado in 60 years which cut their school year short, Joplin’s students returned to school yesterday.

Finally, after months of dealing with the trauma from the horrific tornado which occurred in late May-hauling debris, sorting through what was left of family possessions, attending funerals of family members and friends, and watching the constant television coverage of the devastation all around them-these kids are finally getting back to something that resembles normalcy. School.

And since six of Joplin’s school buildings were destroyed, including their high school, and seven other buildings were damaged, being able to start school this soon is nothing short of a miracle.

Students will be going to some interesting places for an education this year. An old Shopko store at their Northpark Mall has become a school. The recently-vacated Missouri Department of Transportation district office now houses the offices for the superintendent and other administrators. Rival elementary schools combined to free up space, and a middle school found some space for classrooms in an industrial park.

Senior and junior high school students are attending Joplin High’s upper school which is a converted big-box retail store at the city’s mall in an area well outside of the worst-hit area of Joplin. And freshmen and sophomores met on the other side of town in another building.

Seniors and juniors arrived at their school Wednesday, where they received encouragement from people in the community who held Joplin High signs and wished them well.

Some of them met in modular classrooms located next to a row of concrete-lined storm shelters (as if they needed any reminder of what has happened to this community). Others reunited with friends and compared their schedules in the hallways.

And even though the trophy case near the front entrance was almost empty, classroom walls were conspicuously bare, and boxes of unopened textbooks, computer monitors, and miscellaneous equipment were scattered throughout the building, students were excited. They loved the college-like feel of the building, with its own Joplin Joe’s coffee bar. And thanks to a huge donation from the United Arab Emirates, each student received a bookbag which contained their own Apple laptop computer.

Brenda White, an English teacher at the new high school said, “You can’t pretend like nothing happened. But everything is so new here. Every single thing that is in this school is new and different.

And as she stocked the shelves in her classroom with copies of books, such as The Great Gatsby and The Kite Runner, she continued, “It’s going to take a while to build everything back, but books are a good start.”

White is accustomed to the people of her town who value hard work, but even she was surprised at how quickly the schools have been transformed.

“I’ve always known people are strong here. But this has really brought it home,” she said. “People are so strong. They just get up, dust off and go to work. That’s what we do here.”

Students and teachers weren’t the only ones amazed by what has been accomplished. Pamela Berry brought her 17-year old nephew to open house the night before school started and said, “It just blows your mind! I want to come back to high school.”

And after a tour of the high school on Wednesday, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon encouraged the students to take full advantage of their new facilities. He said, “I hope you use what has been given to you to lift the expectations of Joplin even higher. While there’s been tremendous suffering, there are even greater expectations.”

In order to help students and families who are still struggling with the aftermath of the tornado, additional counselors and trauma workers have been brought in to the building.

Superintendent C.J. Huff said, “We can build buildings, but the emotional damage that this storm has caused is of a very significant concern and something we’re going to be watching closely for months, if not years.”

Phillip Gloyer is a National Guard chaplain as well as a communication arts teacher at the high school. He said he plans to use his divinity school training as well as his understanding of British literature this year.

“I’m just really focused on the kids’ emotional health,” he said. “A lot of hugs, a lot of encouragement. Asking them to tell their story. That’s the best therapy.”

One of the reasons that Joplin is coming back so strong is due to the outpouring of donations and goodwill from various individuals and organizations all over the world, like the United Arab Emirates.

But Kim Vann, district director of community development told the Huffington Post that Joplin will continue to need help in the future. “We expect the need for clothing and basic supplies to be great this year because of requests in just the last week or two,” Vann explained.

Vann reported that the donations that have poured in so far, in the form of money, gift cards, and supplies, have been “amazing.” On Wednesday, he said, “I was in the elementary schools and the high school today and teachers were so very grateful for all the supplies that have been donated. Teachers and kids really feel the outpouring of love from the nation.”

According to the district spokesman, Jim Dunn, money would be the most helpful donation at this time.

I am including the link to Joplin’s district website for those of you who might be reading this blog and wish to contribute in some way to the schools in Joplin, Missouri. You will find several different ways that you or your school can make a difference. Please consider joining in one of these projects below to give these young people hope and the knowledge that their efforts are being supported by a community who cares.

Thank you.

Teacher-World's Blog Joplin, Joplin tornado, Missouri, students

Missouri has taken a controversial stand to protect students from predatory teachers through Senate Bill 54, which outlaws teachers from friending current or former students on social networking sites. This threatens some basic freedoms, so I’m hoping to hear a lot of feedback on this one.

So, here’s the story. Senate Bill 54, which is also known at the Amy Hestir Student Protection Act, was sponsored by Senator Jane Cunningham, signed into law by Governor Jay Nixon last week, and will go into effect on August 28. The goal of the bill is to do away with unreported sexual misconduct and to improve background information for hiring employees in schools.

Amy Hestir, who at the age of 13 was sexually assaulted by her teacher, is the motivation for this bill. She appeared in front of the Missouri House Education Committee testifying as to what had happened to her roughly 20 years ago, and said, “I support this bill 100% and I am not afraid to tell my story even though it brought so much shame on me for so long.”

If you read the summary of the law, you will see that the majority of its policies deal with the reporting of sexual misconduct by students, the proper procedures to be followed after a report has been made, more clearly defining teacher-student boundaries, and hiring practices to avoid these kinds of terrible situations. The main focus was to avoid a process called “passing the trash” which allows teachers who have been accused of sex or other inappropriate activity with children to resign quietly only to be hired in a different school district.

Tech and social media site Mashable wrote, “Inappropriate contact between students and teachers is at the root of the legislation, compelling school districts to adopt written policies between teachers and students on electronic media, social networking and other forms of communication.”

This legislation mandates that all school districts create a written policy concerning teacher-student communication by the first of January, 2012, which includes: “appropriate oral and nonverbal personal communication, which may be combined with sexual harassment policies, and appropriate use of electronic media as described in the act, including social networking sites. Teachers cannot establish, maintain, or use a work-related website unless it is available to school administrators and the child’s legal custodian, physical custodian, or legal guardian. Teachers also cannot have a nonwork-related website that allows exclusive access with a current or former student. Former student is defined as any person who was at one time a student at the school at which the teacher is employed and who is eighteen years of age or less and who has not graduated.”

What many are objecting to is the limits this law places on social media contact between teachers and their current or former students, and even though this law deals with any social media contact, it is being referred to as the “Facebook” law.

First, it must be noted that not all teacher-student contact on social media is forbidden, just direct contact, which means that teachers are prohibited from friending students on private profiles; however, they can set up fan pages that are open to the public. According to Springfield’s ABC affiliate KSPR, what is being outlawed then is any social network “that is exclusive and allows for private communication.”

The first issue that teachers have with this law is that it sends a message that teachers, in general, can’t be trusted to have an innocent relationship with a student. I have attended graduations and weddings long after I had those students in my classroom, and communicated on a fairly regular basis with several of these students while they were still in school. I would hazard a guess that it is a rarity to find a teacher out there who hasn’t kept in touch with a few students throughout their career who they developed a friendship with.

If one of my ways of keeping in touch with those students was through a social media such as Facebook, I would be appropriately angry to be told that a state law now made it illegal for me to continue that friendship through that media. And, let’s get real; this law is aimed at those teachers who are predators, so if it is now illegal to talk privately to these students on Facebook, there’re always cell phones, right?  Is this law really going to stop a determined sexual predator? Or is this a round-about way for school districts to control what teachers are posting on their social media networks?

Secondly, Mashable commented that “on the surface this sounds like a good idea,” but it raised the question which I have, and that is how would this be policed? Are school administrators going to be given a window into your Facebook account so that they can see who you’ve friended lately? Wouldn’t that require them being your friend in order to have that kind of access? And is there anyone else out there thinking, “Big Brother?”

The Turner Report, a blog written by Randy Turner who is a teacher in Joplin, Missouri, as well as a former reporter/editor for several Missouri newspapers, wrote an angry response to the signing of this law. In it, he refers to the “considerable evidence that social networking has been a positive force in education,” as well as the use of Facebook to help locate children after the Joplin tornado, something that would not have been allowed had this bill already been a law, as teachers and students would not have been allowed to communicate through Facebook. 

He brings up valid points regarding this law. First, the main goal here is to end the process of “passing the trash” which was already addressed in the mid 1990’s when Missouri enacted laws which demanded tougher background checks on teachers, accelerated the removal of teachers with criminal records from the classroom, and guaranteed the revoking of their teaching licenses. And apparently, these laws were working as the state ranked high in subsequent years for revoking licenses for teachers who were involved in sexual misconduct with their students.

So, if they were cracking down on sex offenders already, and there was no clear evidence that friending students on social media was a contributing factor, Turner questions why it was included in yet another law for an issue which has already being addressed.

It is true that there are a variety of methods of communicating with students, but it is also true that Facebook tends to be the media of choice especially for young people. This law will effectively restrict good teachers from interacting with students who may need advice; someone to talk to whom they trust about issues they may be unable to discuss with parents. It seems to me that this law punishes good teachers and students who look up to those good teachers. And blocking teachers from being friends with a student on Facebook will not stop a teacher who is determined to use their position to take advantage of a student sexually. They will find a way, with or without Facebook.

I will end my blog with the conclusion of Randy Turner’s because I think he summarizes this situation far better than I ever could:

“The signing of Senate Bill 54 continues the degrading of our profession and the only effect it will have is on teachers who have always followed the law and who would never dream of violating the sacred trust we have to teach children. We will eliminate students and former students from our Facebook lists.

For some students, that move could very well prevent them from confiding in a trusted adult friend who might be able to help them get through serious problems in their lives. For Joplin students, that could be dealing with the aftermath of losing their homes and having their lives uprooted on May 22. For others, it may be confiding in just the kind of horrific crime that the Amy Hestir Student Protection Act is supposedly designed to eliminate.

Because of this short-sighted bill, the next time students find themselves with problems they need to talk over with a trusted adult, there may be no one legally able to listen.”

Please take the time to share your thoughts on this one. It’s too important to ignore.

Teacher-World's Blog Facebook, Joplin, Missouri, Randy Turner, Senate Bill 54

I continue to be so incredibly touched by every article I read about the courageous citizens of Joplin, Missouri. This latest article clearly captures my heart as a teacher, because at a time when most school districts, unless they are year-round schools, are taking a little breather before plunging into the 2011-2012 school year, Joplin doesn’t have time to take a breather, as they are desperately trying to rebuild and reinvent their educational system.

Not only did last month’s destructive twister take the lives of more than 150 people, including seven students and one teacher, but it destroyed three of its school buildings, including Joplin High School, and it badly damaged seven other school buildings. With school scheduled to begin on August 17, there is much to be done.

But before decisions could be made about where to put students in the fall, the school district had to get summer school up and running. Can you imagine? Last week, only three weeks after this horrific tornado hit, this resilient community and its tenacious school district got more than 1,600 elementary school students enrolled in summer classes! That doesn’t even count middle and high school students.

Enrollment has doubled from last year, and that’s no accident. First, the district is offering free transportation, but more importantly than that, school is providing these traumatized children with a sense of stability; a normalcy, which they so desperately need. Being in school gives them hours during the day when life is pretty routine, and they don’t have to think about the problems their families are facing.

“These children don’t have a home to live in,” said Irving Elementary School Principal Debbie Fort, whose school was one of those destroyed. “Parents know they need to get a routine back. Their lives have been turned upside-down.” (Principal Fort spent her time after the storm searching for teachers who were missing.  She has opened her arms and her home to two families who were displaced, one of whom is a faculty member.)

Isaiah Basye, a teacher, said, “The kids are just relieved to be back at something peaceful. It gives them hope, to see that we’re not letting the tornado change us. We’re still here with open arms. This place is a haven.”

So, what will it take to get kids back in classrooms in the fall? It’s a pretty intimidating list: buildings which escaped destruction will have to be turned into schools with classrooms, computers and furniture need to be replaced, teacher’s treasured resources that were bought or created over the years will need to be saved or reinvented,  and water-logged and dirt filled books will need to be salvaged.

Decisions have already been made concerning where some students will go to school next year: many middle school students will go to an empty warehouse in a distant industrial park while half of the high school students will go to an empty big-box store.

Joplin’s football team has already started practicing, in spite of the fact that their practice field and weight room were destroyed in the tornado and one of their members is still in the hospital. Even though their numbers are down, some players returned even though they have been living in temporary housing or with friends or relatives far away.

The team is feeling the need to represent Joplin this fall, but their new coach, Chris Shields, who lost his rental home as well as some of his belongings in the tornado said, “We don’t really feel like we need to say, `Win for Joplin.’ We know inside that Joplin is helping us. It’s time for us to help Joplin.”

With all the chaos and misery the people of Joplin have experienced and continue to face, it would not be surprising to find them simply demoralized and beaten. But the reality is the people of Joplin refuse to give up. And right now, they seem to be rallying around the resurrecting of their schools.

The sign outside where their high school used to stand, once read JOPLIN HIGH SCHOOL. After the storm, it read OP HIGH SCHOOL. Someone used duct tape to change the OP to HOPE! If that doesn’t bring goose bumps, I don’t know what would!

Three wooden eagles, Joplin’s school mascot, stand proudly in front of this sign, and someone spray-painted a sign that says, “Her feathers are ruffled, but she’s not dead.”

The best part of this story, is the hope that Joplin has for the future, because they are not content to simple rebuild their schools. They have a vision of a state-of-the-art building which would be a testimonial to their innovation and tenacious spirit, rather than one that reminds them of their losses.

“We need to let ourselves be free to dream,” Assistant Superintendent Angie Besendorfer said. “It’s really hard. We’re living with the reality of what happened. You almost have to give yourself permission to move past the really horrible, horrific things.”

Teacher-World's Blog Joplin, Missouri, schools, tornado

My heart is still with the brave people of Joplin, Missouri, therefore, I watch any news from that area with great concern. As a result, I was alarmed to hear the latest news that, as if they aren’t dealing with enough tragedy, they now face the added threat of a fungal infection which is potentially lethal.

Zygomycosis, or mucormycosis, is the name of the latest threat to Joplin. It is an infection which is caused by fungi commonly found in soil and decaying vegetation. This fungus most commonly invades the sinuses, brain, and lungs, producing a wide range of symptoms, depending on where the initial infection occurred. People with weakened immune systems are at greatest risk of this infection which kills about half of those who contract it. The only course of treatment is to remove any tissue which has been killed by the fungus and follow up with intravenous antifungal medications.

According to experts, the tornado’s high winds caused soil and other debris to be deposited under the skin, thus allowing the infection to commence. It is not clear at this time how many cases of fungal infection there are in Joplin, but Dr. Uwe Schmidt of the Freeman Health System told the Springfield News-Leader that he knew of at least nine cases. Of those cases, three or four of the victims have died.

“It’s difficult to say if it [the fungus] killed them, but it was definitely a contributing factor,” Schmidt said.

According to Schmidt, these patients were admitted to the hospital on May 23, and about a week later, the staff noticed mold growing out of their wounds.

“These people had multiple severe lacerations and wound infections,” Schmidt said. “Biopsies indicated tissue invasion by a fungus.” Samples of these tissues were sent to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta for further testing.

Jasper County Coroner Rob Chappel told CNN that one of the deaths was definitely caused by mucormycosis, but the cause of death for the other two victims has not yet been determined, since the victims had serious injuries along with the fungus.

Those patients who have been infected have typically shown up at hospitals with visible fungus growing in their wounds or, in some cases, on their skin. Schmidt said that it looks as though wounds were not thoroughly cleaned during the colossal rescue efforts that took place following the tornado on May 22, the deadliest tornado ever to occur in the United States.

Doctors are cautioning people with wounds not to panic, but to keep a close eye on them. “If they have wounds which they suffered during the tornado that aren’t healing and are getting worse with increasing redness, swelling or tissue necrosis, they should be evaluated by a physician and should be biopsied,” said Schmidt.

The good news is that this is not an infection which is likely to spread through a population as it is not spread from person to person and doesn’t invade normal undamaged skin.

Also from Joplin, decisions have been made concerning where junior and senior high school students will attend school in the fall since Joplin High School was also destroyed in the tornado. Apparently, nearby Northpark Mall escaped destruction, and classrooms will be constructed in an 80,000 square foot space which was vacated years ago.

Angie Besendorfer, the assistant superintendent of Joplin’s school district said, “A school is more than a building. The environment is not as important as the high quality of education students will continue to receive.”

Tough times and tough decisions are still ahead for the people of this once thriving community. I will continue to keep you up to date on the situation in Joplin, and I continue to encourage all of you to do your part to help these people in any way you can.

Teacher-World's Blog fungal infection, Joplin, Joplin High School, Missouri, tornado

On this Memorial Day, we come together as a nation to pay homage to the countless people who gave their lives to secure our liberty and protect our basic rights. We, at Teacher World, want to express our sincere appreciation for all that our military personnel have done to protect, not just this country that we love so much, but to help protect citizens in other countries whose liberties or rights have been threatened. We pay special homage to those who are currently serving in a branch of the military and wish them peace and a safe return to their family members very soon.

As we celebrate the memory of these valiant soldiers, I can’t help but think of the everyday soldiers in our country, who don’t wear a uniform, but serve their fellow man just as diligently, especially in times of great need, and therefore, deserve our gratitude and prayers as well.

In light of recent events, the proud, resilient people of Joplin, Missouri, and so many others who have come from all parts of the United States to battle the total devastation that was left by the tornado that hit just a little over a week ago, come to my mind as excellent examples of these everyday heroes.

There are so many people who have shown tremendous bravery and heroism during and after this terrible tragedy, and I wish I knew the stories of each and every one. Though that is simply impossible, I will tell you about those I can, and I leave it up to those of you who are in Joplin to continue to tell the world the rest.

There were so many nameless people who opened their businesses, their storage rooms, and their walk-in coolers for those who were out driving or walking when the storm hit. Had it not been for these resourceful people, countless others would have been numbered with the dead. Two of these heroes paid the ultimate price, as they sought to protect as many people from the storm as they could. President Obama honored the memory of these brave men in his memorial address.

He told the crowd about Dean Wells, a hero who ushered both his co-workers and customers at Home Depot to a safe place to wait out the store. Not content to save a few, he kept going back for more people, bringing each to safety. Just like a military leader protecting his troops, Dean did not stop until the storm finally stopped him. Sadly, Dean’s mission as well as his life ended when a wall of the store fell down on top of him, but many lives were saved as a result of his bravery.

Christopher Lucas was the 26-year old manager at a Pizza Hut in Joplin. He literally herded his employees and customers into a walk-in freezer, and then, in order to keep them secure and safe, he wrapped a bungee cord to hold the door shut from the inside and wrapped the other end around his arm. He held on to that bungee cord for as long as he possible could, until the incredible force of the tornado’s 200 mph winds finally pulled him away. His heroic efforts that night saved more than a dozen people’s lives.

Then there’s Jason, the tree cutter and his crew, who watched the storm coming in and the trees and debris flying, but rather than run for cover themselves, they got their chainsaws and began cutting up and removing trees from the roads knowing that ambulances and fire engines would need to be able to pass through. When Jason began to hear screaming coming from houses, he ran to the houses, isolated where the screams were coming from, and dug and cut his way to them in order to move them to the street. Jason continued to do this for four or five hours.

Jason said that one of the houses had smoke pouring out of it, so he cut an opening in the roof in order to get inside. In his urgency to get to the victims, he went through the hole, only to have the wall give way and be showered by burning ash. Luckily, Jason, an everyday hero, lived to tell his story.

Then there is Mark Norton, Will Norton’s father, who held on desperately to his son who was being pulled through the sun roof of his car. In spite of his own injuries, which were massive, he held on tightly until the strength of the winds was stronger than the strength of a father’s arms. I want Mark to know that he made the most heroic effort to save his son. Will knew that and so does the family. Not every soldier’s mission is successful, Mark. It is the valiant effort against all odds that we honor, and pray that you will find the courage to forgive yourself for a force that was simply too powerful to be stopped. 

We need to honor Will’s Aunt Tracey and his sister, Sara, who diligently tracked down every lead to try to find him, alive or dead. Their compassion for the many families who were going through a similar hell touched everyone who heard their words of faith and strength. Their stoic response to the worst possible news and their obvious faith, even when faced with such a seemingly unfair loss, is a true example of heroism which rises above personal sorrow.

Dan Mitchell, president of the Bridge Ministries, who has been so instrumental in trying to organize rescue efforts and set up distribution centers, has been a hero to so many. Through his heroic efforts, he worked with the family of Lantz Hare, a friend and parishioner of his, to get definitive proof that he was one of the victims of this terrible storm.

Additionally, it was his strong plea for urgent help and his insistence that it was time for someone to step in and do for Joplin what the grief-stricken, tired community cannot do for themselves, the whole time being so respectful of the work that those in charge have been doing, that also makes this man a hero.

Listen to his heroic words: “We are forced into a major operation where we’re organizing efforts to make a difference, to make the straightest line to the victims. And all of us are traumatized, too, by the friends we’ve lost and just the fear of life and death; things that have occurred here over the last few days…this is a strong community, and there’s a deep faith here. And God is good at bringing order out of chaos, and that’s what’s happening.”

When he was asked about the President’s visit, and what he would like to say to him if he had the chance to talk to him, he pleaded, on behalf of Joplin, for the government to step in, to take control. He said he had heard in a meeting that other agencies were unwilling to step on anyone’s toes by coming in and offering help. His answer: “We’re overwhelmed; we need you…We do need some help, I think our local officials are amazing men and women, and they are doing an incredible job under the circumstances, but there’s more here than we can do…So, I would say, let’s step on, go ahead and step on our toes, and help!”

A true hero knows when he has done everything he can do on his own, and has the courage to ask for help. Dan Mitchell has been a heroic presence in Joplin and has sacrificed his time and energy to help the families, especially his kids from Bridge Ministry, get back on their feet. But, he knows when it is time to step aside and let others, who have more resources, take charge. Thank you for your heroic dedication, your tireless efforts, and your willingness to step out of the limelight in order to get things done.

There are so many more: parents searching for their children and children searching for their parents, Governor Nixon who has worked tirelessly to get more help for the people of Joplin, and ministers who hold church services in the street because the churches they once served have been leveled. This list goes on; everyday people rising to the challenge of this terrible tragedy to become heroes to us all.

President Obama summed it up so well in his memorial speech when he said, “There are heroes around us all the time. And so, in the wake of this tragedy, let us live up to their example, to make each day count, to live with a sense of mutual regard, to live with that same compassion that they demonstrated in their final hours. We are called by them to do everything we can to be worthy of this chance we’ve been given to carry on.”

Teacher-World's Blog Dan Mitchell, Governor Nixon, Joplin, Mark Norton, Memorial Day, Missouri, President Obama, Will Norton

This is a sad follow-up on Will Norton, the young, recently-graduated boy from Joplin, Missouri, who has been missing since Sunday night when he was sucked through the sunroof of his car.

I discovered this morning that Will had a YouTube channel which was very popular. In fact, it has received more than 1.5 million views. I spent some time getting to know him through his videos, and was blown away by this talented, gregarious, creative, young man. What a joyful spirit! This is a young man who clearly lived life to the fullest.

Which makes the news out of Joplin this morning even harder to take. Sadly, reports indicate that Will has finally been found, but that he is another victim of this terrible tornado. My heart grieves for this boy, who was clearly so very special, and had his whole life ahead of him. And I grieve for this family, who had such hope, as did many of us, that they would find him alive.

His Aunt Tracey posted this message on his Facebook page last night: “Everyone, tonight is a sad night for us. I’m sorry to tell you that Will was found but he was not alive. We are grieving deeply. It brightens our lives to know that even in his passing he touched lives. We will write more soon but tonight we will mourn as a family. Please pray for Mark, Trish and Sara as well as my parents. God bless you all. Please pray for those still lost and hurting. Aunt Tracey”

I send my deepest regrets to this family, and to so many others who are going through such desperate times. God bless, and know that our thoughts and prayers are with you all.

Teacher-World's Blog Joplin, Missouri, Will Norton, YouTube

Sadly, I have an update on two of the boys I blogged about yesterday from Joplin, Missouri. The families of Zach Niederhelman and Lantz Hare learned that both of their boys died in Sunday’s deadly tornado.

Late yesterday afternoon, Tammy Niederhelman received word that her 12-year old son, Zach, was one of the victims whose body was positively identified in the morgue. She and her husband, Tony, have been searching for their son for the last four days and had gone to the morgue daily since a neighbor had told them that a boy who looked like their son had been found dead near their house. This neighbor stayed with the body until an ambulance took it away.

Tammy had remained hopeful and fought hard without success for the opportunity to see the bodies at the morgue in order to see if one of them was her son. Yesterday, she was reunited with her son and is now finally able to begin the grieving process; such sad news, but at least they can stop frantically searching for a son who is not coming home.

Also, yesterday the family of Lantz Hare finally got answers about their son.  Dan Mitchell, Lantz’s minister, reported that two of Lantz’s friends kept bugging him on Monday to help them find his car so they could find some clues that would lead to their friend’s recovery. Mitchell finally left the job of setting up a distribution center to someone else in order to go with them.

Together with his daughter, Lantz’s two friends, and the youth minister from their church, they walked two miles to the area where they thought he had been. After searching two more miles, they finally found Lantz’s blue car. Their efforts to find Lantz were unsuccessful, however, some firemen told them they needed to go to the hospital because anyone who had been found in that area had been sent to the hospital.

They contacted the family so that they could go to the morgue as well. Lantz was not in the hospital, but they were given the names of 50 other places to call. A huge group of people began calling these places trying to track down information. Somehow, Mike Hobson, a long-time friend of the family and whose son was a good friend of Lantz’s, was able to gain access to the morgue where his body was believed to be and make a positive identification of Lantz’s body. It is possible that the fact that  Hobson is a police officer allowed him to gain access to the morgue where other people’s efforts have been unsuccessful .

Of the situation in Joplin, Dan Mitchell said, “I just know that, what I’ve experienced in this disaster is you have to fight for it. You know, if, when people are weak someone has to stand up and fight. And it’s not; they don’t have to do that because there’s evil intent. They have to do it because everyone’s confused and just doing the best they can. And so, our city officials are working hard and making decisions on the fly, and I think they’re doing the best they can…Mike just did what other victims need is an advocate, and that’s how this young man was found. And that’s what we all need is an advocate on our side who will stand up for us when we’re weak.”

Well said, and, as sad as this news was for the Hare family, I am certain that they are grateful for the dedication and strength of these people who worked together to find their son.

The other missing people I reported on, Will Norton and Dee Ann Hayward, are still unaccounted for, and there are so many more. We need to surround these poor families with our thoughts, our prayers, and for those of you who are close enough to that area, they need more advocates. Step up and be a voice for these aching family members who are too weak to fight right now.

Can you hear the crying in Joplin? It breaks my heart, and I will continue doing my part to support these grieving families by continuing to blog about their needs and their frustrations.

These missing children could be our missing children. These missing parents could be one of us. These are our families, and we owe it to them to be their advocates while they are weak.

Teacher-World's Blog Joplin, Lantz Hare, missing people, Missouri, tornado, Zach Niederlhelman

After watching video after video from CNN out of Joplin, Missouri, seeing the frustration, anger, and fear that families still searching for loved ones are feeling, and shedding many tears for the victims and for their frantic families, I felt compelled to write this blog for these families, if for no other reason than to let them know they are not alone. I find myself writing this blog with both a heavy heart and an angry one as well. After such a devastating storm, chaos is understandable, but it looks as though there is simply no one in Joplin who has the wherewithal to organize the chaos so that families can find or claim their loved ones; making this an hourly, even a daily tragedy for these poor people.

Why is there so much frustration? First, information is so disjointed and the searchable area is way beyond Joplin, as the storm picked up and carried cars, houses, and buildings for miles. Second, at this point, 125 have been confirmed dead, but an estimated 1,500 are still missing! The sheer number of missing people makes this a nightmare in a town covered in debris and human suffering.

In a press conference, Governor Jay Nixon stated, “When you have folks that are lost, and when you have folks that are missing, we are very cognizant of the need to talk to those families first, and trying to get to the families.” But while rescue efforts are obviously underway, the questions these families have about their missing loved ones seem to be falling on deaf ears.

A local call-in center has received a multitude of information and potential leads. Brian Todd reporting from the call-in center explained, “After the calls come in here the information immediately goes into a database shared with the sheriff’s office, the state highway patrol, and the first responders who are coming through all the neighborhoods.”

But their efforts don’t seem to be working. The problem is trying to co-ordinate all of the information coming in and getting that information out fast enough to families who are desperately awaiting news.

Michelle and Mike Hare have been searching for their 16-year old son, Lantz, and have received multiple leads that have, according to Michelle, “turned out as cold as ice.” Yet, Michelle says she’s grateful for every lead and follows up every one. Lantz was in his car when the storm hit, and though his wrecked car has been found, he has not turned up. One of the leads they were given was that a body matching their son’s description was found near his destroyed car, and the individual who found him stayed with him until authorities arrived and took him away. That is the last piece of information they have received regarding their son. 

Michelle said, “We need to have some closure one way or the other to be able to move on and, if it is my son, to…let him rest in peace, and not be, you know, out there where his family’s not able to do what we need to do for him now if it is him.” Meanwhile, she waits, prepared for the worst.

And her ex-husband, Mike, says they have gone from hospitals in Springfield, Kansas City, and Wichita looking for their son. They have a Facebook page for Lantz Hare and Mike’s cell phone number is on this link if anyone reading this has any additional information.

I blogged earlier in the week about Will Norton, a graduate of high school for only a few hours who was ripped out of his Hummer through the sun roof. His father, who was with him at the time, tried to hold onto him but had to watch as his son, who was quoting Bible verses the whole time, was ripped out of his arms and up into the tornado.

They had been very hopeful because they had received a lead from a doctor that their son had shown up in the ER, had been treated, and had left the hospital. Unfortunately, the boy in question was not their son, and Will’s condition remains a mystery. They, too, are searching all over, as there is no way of knowing how far he was taken by the storm.

Then there’s Dee Ann Hayward, whose son, Caleb, had graduated from high school on Sunday. She had gone to pick up pizza for the graduation party, but she never returned. Her three children, Christina, Caleb, and Robert are frantically searching for her. Robert said, “We all miss her. She was a great person. She didn’t deserve this at all. Any one of us would trade places with her.”

Like so many others, they have been looking everywhere for her, including in neighboring states, and in the hospitals. They reported, as did another family CNN followed, that people at the morgue have been very unfriendly and unwilling to let them search for their mother. 

Finally, I was so furiously saddened by the story of Tammy and Tony Niederhelman whose son, Zach is believed to be dead. Before the storm hit, Tammy told Zach to get into the bathroom for safety. Somehow, when Tony woke up, he was sitting out in his pickup truck with no recollection of how he ended up there. He said that they looked for Zach and couldn’t find him. The next day, he was told by a neighbor that he found Tony standing over Zach’s body after the storm, and he made sure Tony got to the hospital. The neighbor said about 20 minutes after the storm ceased, Zach was picked up by an ambulance, and there was no doubt that he was dead when the ambulance took him away.

Three days in a row, starting on Monday, the Niederhelmans showed up to the morgue where they were told they had to fill out paperwork. Each day, they brought pictures of their son. Each day, they tried to get down to the morgue to identify and claim their son, but each day they were told they couldn’t do that. They even tried to bring a CNN camera crew inside with them, but the camera crew was blocked. Each time, they have gotten a different answer, even being told that the morgue had lost their paperwork.

Today, when they went back again and filled out more paperwork, they were told it might be as much as two weeks before they would be able to try to see their son! Are you kidding me? What parent is going to accept that answer? I sure wouldn’t; I would be breaking down those doors to see my child at this point! No guard would be able to stop me!

The Niederhelmans have said that they are arguing for all of the families out there who just want to know, and have the right to know, if their loved one is in the morgue. Anderson Cooper who has been reporting from Joplin said, “I don’t understand, wait a minute; they said it’s going to take two weeks for them to be able to go to the morgue and find out whether their child is there? I was in Sri Lanka after the tsunami, and they would photograph those people who had died in the storm, and loved ones could just look at the pictures and identify their loved one if they were able to. I don’t understand why that can’t happen here.”

According to John King, from CNN, one of the reasons things are moving so slowly at the morgue is because they made a mistake in identifying somebody, so they have pulled back and have reverted to this ridiculously meticulous process.

This is simply not acceptable! These people in Joplin, Missouri, have suffered enough. Someone needs to get in there who can get the process moving in a methodical fashion and allow these people the chance to either care for or bury their loved ones. It’s been done before; it can be done again. Get this process moving and allow these poor people to move on!

Teacher-World's Blog Dee Ann Hayward, Joplin, Lantz Hare, Missouri, tornado, Will Norton, Zach Niederhelman

I’m certain that you have seen pictures and listened to gut-wrenching stories from Joplin, Missouri, in the wake of last night’s tornado. We’ve heard of the destruction to their local hospital and to the town in general, and are beginning to hear of missing people as well as people who have died in this ferocious storm’s tirade. But, as if we need to hear more tragic news, this storm started right after the graduation ceremony for students from Joplin High School.

We know the emotions connected with high school graduations: joy, relief, excitement, and a healthy dose of fear from the seniors, and those same emotions seasoned with a dash of sadness and nostalgia from the parents. Most of us have experienced graduations from one or both of these vantage points.

So we can imagine the excitement as the 450 seniors and their family members began to stream out of a local university where the graduation ceremony was held. And, as seniors posed with their loved ones for the pictures to mark the momentous occasion, the sky began to darken and rain began to fall. Before too long, the storm had turned violent, and happy thoughts were quickly replaced with thoughts of self-preservation.

Let me tell you of some of the lucky and maybe not so lucky graduates of last night’s storm. Meet 18-year old Aaron Frost, who left with his girlfriend after his graduation ceremony to meet up with his family at a restaurant, when his mother called him on his cell phone. “She pretty much demanded that we pulled over,” he said. “I would have drove right into the storm. My mom pretty much saved me there.”

He and his girlfriend were able to get to a Fast Trip convenience store where they took cover in a walk-in cooler with about 18 other people. According to Frost, “You can’t really do anything. We just bent over and covered our heads.” During the storm, Frost’s hand was struck by a piece of glass, but he was fine otherwise. Both the store and his car were damaged.

Frost later went to Joplin High School to see how it had weathered the storm. I can’t imagine the feelings that must have raced through his head when he saw the roof ripped off of the building and debris everywhere. “To see my high school flattened is especially hard,” he said. “It’s indescribable.”

The principal of the high school, Kerry Sachetta, shared the same reaction as he surveyed the damage which he called terrible. “I walked around as much as I could to see it and it just looks like it’s been bombed from the outside in,” he said. In response to the devastation, Joplin public schools have cancelled school for the rest of the year.

Scott Lauridsen, another 18-year old graduate described the change of emotion he experienced in just a few short hours. “I was excited — ready to start things new and move onto college and experience life and then all this happened. Now I’m just worried about helping out with the community and getting things back together,” he said.

One of the most difficult aftereffects of this terrible tornado has been the uncertainty of not knowing what has happened to some of the members of this community. The unreliable phone service is making it even more of a challenge for friends and family to connect with missing loved ones.

Will Norton, a friend of Lauridsen’s, is one such unlucky graduate. His family knows that Will and his father were driving when the storm struck. Sara Norton, Will’s sister said that after the graduation ceremony, she and her mother were in one car about 30 seconds ahead of the Hummer which her father and Will were driving in. She and her mother immediately went down to the basement for safety after getting a call from her father asking for them to open the garage door.

The next thing she heard her father say was, “Pull over, Will! Pull over!” And then, according to Sara, their car started flipping. She said that when her father regained consciousness he told them that he had seen Will, whose seat belt snapped and he was then ejected through the sunroof.

Will’s father is in stable condition with broken bones and 20 staples in his head, but the family does not know what has happened to Will. In order to try to garner information which would help them in his recovery, they set up a FindWillNorton on Facebook, asking people if they have seen him. Sara received notification that a doctor had seen Will’s name on the ER roster; he was checked in before his father got to the hospital, and he was checked out, and was alive. That is the last they knew as of 10:54 a.m.

Taylor Costley, another graduate expressed her sadness that so many of her classmates have lost their homes and that some are still unaccounted for. She was one of the lucky ones whose family survived this brutal tornado. She summed things up quite succinctly when she said, “Graduation’s supposed to be a joyous occasion, but we can’t really feel that happy about it. At the same time, I’m so thankful I’m okay and my family’s okay.”

What a horrendous ending to such a momentous and important day! My thoughts and prayers go out to all of the victims of this recent tragedy, as I’m sure do yours. I hope Will and so many others like him are found safe and secure. And I also pray that this community is safe from further storms that have been predicted.

Teacher-World's Blog graduation, Joplin, Missouri, tornado, Will Norton