Apparently it's a mandate from the US Dept of Ed. At least that's what we were told.

It's about FEMA. And it makes zero sense. It isn't about increasing achievement or improving instruction.

Two 3 hour classes followed by a test you have to pass. If you fail you have to take the course again.

I figure in an emergency I pick up my cell phone and call 911. Don't need a 3 hour class to know that, do I?

But you have no qualms about bashing it.

Utterly ridiculous.

I already took it and passed. Both courses.

It had ZERO to do with instruction or achievement. It's about the power structure of FEMA and who is in charge of what during an emergency. There was also a question about what you call the pad a helicopter lands on.

It's a freaking joke and it's obvious someone is making money off of this mandate. But you can just pretend it's important and will make us all better teachers. :crazy:

The OP indicated knowledge of the course so your assertion is way off base, unnecessary, and rude.

folks to central locations. At least mine did.

children will most likely be kept at school. Teacher familiarity with the system that would be in effect under some circumstances could be a good thing.

Also, do not expect cell phone service to be available for general emergencies. First, too many people will be doing the same thing, so it will be worse than trying to make a cell phone call during rush hours when traffic is backed up. Second, depending on the nature of the emergency, both cell phone service and the civilian GPS could be interrupted intentionally to prevent them being used by a) Al Qaeda, b) The Taliban, c) Hugo Chavez or d) Boris and Natasha.

I'm not saying the training is any good, only that some would see a reason for it. Considering how much training people who really deal with such emergencies receive, I doubt a short tutorial and a test will leave teachers knowing anything more about emergency management than 8th grade leaves students knowing about the U.S. Constitution.

Several complete inservice days spent talking about color-coded signs, staging areas, blocked exits, etc. As you said, I would just call 911. I'm not going to remember all the complex protocols for a potential emergency. What also makes no sense is that it took all year to assign various responsibilities to the staff. Next year we will probably be all shuffled around and have to devise a new chain of command.

We didn't have to take a test, though. And the teachers who had to devise the plan are the ones who don't have REAL professional development training, like the reading and math teachers. So far the core-subject teachers haven't even been introduced to all the preparations! If there was a shooter roaming the halls, they would have to take the time to read the big thick binder to figure out what to do! Insanity.

A couple of years ago, we had to spend hours on self-defense training. Yeah, I would really try to take a gun off of someone. Sure I would.

They are a sad sign of the times.

Have you had to do this NIMS training? I am wondering who came up with this idea and who is profiting from it.

I read through your link and it does seem like a lot of it is aimed at emergency personnel -- not necessarily for teachers. Is FEMA requiring teachers to learn all this stuff now? It seems excessive.

NIMS and ICS course several times (Red Cross Disaster Assistance Team and Fire Department Ham Radio club).

As to the cell phone net being "dead" - that's why the Red Cross and the Salvation Army use ham radio.

I have lived in the Lake Erie-Lake Ontario Blizzard Belt, Tornado Alley, the Gulf Coast Hurricane Belt, and in California in the valley between the San Andreas-Hayward Faults. You need some reflexive knowledge of NIMS-ICS systems if you are responsible for the health, safety, and welfare of others.

NIMS-ICS may not be necessary to improve instructional skills. But they are necessary for safety and survival when things "go south."

We need to spend what little PD time we have on increasing achievement.

I can understand requiring principals to take NIMS training and using it to develop a safety plan for their schools. But it just seems to be a waste of time for teachers.

This is about keeping your charges alive and relatively uninjured after, e.g., a tornado or earthquake.

My mind is made up -- I am a long time Red Cross Disaster Assistance volunteer and an even longer time Ham Radio operator. I have used NIMS-ICS in actual emergencies for years.

My wife had to take the program as an assisted living facility social worker.

Sorry

Understanding that Heck of a Job Brownie is no longer #1 at FEMA couldn't be LESS important to me. Or less relevant to my students.

Sorry. :)

The training is most definitely not memorizing the names at FEMA.It is all about "When the FIT hits the shan, who does what" --- and keeping your kids alive. I am part of a local Red Cross team -- and we teach such basics as

1. Airway - breathing - circulation
   
2. Compression only CPR
   
3. How to use an automatic electronic defibrillator --- and where are they in your building.
   
4. How to control arterial bleeding - without putting the kid into circulatory shock.
   
5. How to cut off the electricity and gas in the event of a fire.
   
6. How to evacuate your building.
   
7. What does the incident commander do?
   

If you are not a fire fighter or paramedic -- figure 8 hours once a quarter.

It's a small sacrifice to save a life.

It's an online course.

At least, not at this point.

We DID have to pull all the kids in off the field the last hour of the last day of school this week to allow a helicopter to land. We're the closest open space with room for landing to the emergency; a suicide attempt in the local neighborhood was being airlifted out.