Sandra Carolina Hernández Rivera

February 7, 2002
SPED 410
Health & Safety: Safety Procedures in the School
“Teachers need to Keep Students Safe”

The teacher I’m working with gave me a tour around the school and the
classroom to know the safety procedures of the school. She told me that there are fire
procedures, earthquake procedures, and in case of anything going on, there is a lockout
procedure. She mentioned that if there is an earthquake, the only procedure she knows
about is to hide under the tables. If there is a fire, there is a paper clip board next to the
classroom board with some instructions. It has a map as a reminder of where they need
to go if there is a fire. There are two exit doors in the next-door classrooms where
everyone can go out. They will go around and go to where the big parking lot is. There,
the students will be in line behind the teacher and will get in line by alphabetical order.
The teacher will hold her paper clip board up, above her head; it will have her name on
it. As a teacher, she will check that her students are all there. For a lock out, there is a
small box next to the door of the classroom with a metal piece that attaches to the
bottom of the door and prevents anyone from opening it. There are doors in each
staircase that also get closed and locked. There is a white button that is next door that
communicates to the office.
As teachers we need to be aware and well informed at all times. We must get to
know the procedures well so that we can do what is needed in the right moment and so
that we can help others. If we don’t know what to do, it will be harder for us to stay calm
and to help keep others calm and safe. We need to keep students safe. We are
responsible for each of them. We are there to assist them, not only in a moment of
emergency but every day. As a teacher we are expected to respond wisely and learn to
make decisions that need to be made, as well as know who to contact for help. The
safety procedures are not enough to know what to do in every situation. They help us as
guidelines, but we need to also be able to decide what to do in moments that we don’t
even expect to have to decide. I think that communication with other teachers and with
our students can help us be safe every day. If there is an accident or anything, knowing
our students will help us know what to do in those moments to help them stay calm or to
know what their specific needs there are in case that stress or other factors are present.
We can make a big difference in how things turn out in case of an emergency, but we
also need to remember that we can’t always do it all alone.