Tornado Chase Creates A Vortex For Learning

By Eliza Hallabeck

With just a general idea of where he was landing and what he was looking for, Newtown Middle School technology education teacher Don Ramsey set out for a spring break adventure last week.

The Thursday before spring break, April 15, Mr Ramsey said he made a spontaneous decision to fly to Oklahoma City and roam around with the “mission of trying to find a tornado.”

“I was very lucky to be led to the right place in a small town called Canadian, Texas,” said Mr Ramsey. “Indeed, I was able to photograph, what the locals all verified, was the beginning of a funnel formation on Thursday evening, April, 22.”

When he landed, all he could see was the flat distinction between earth and sky. Oklahoma City was his chosen destination, because NMS parent Charles Wright had told him the panhandle has the largest frequency of tornadoes in the country, he said.

“I’m one of those types of people,” Mr Ramsey said on Tuesday, April 27, “I like to go off on an adventure every now and then.”

After leasing a rental car, Mr Ramsey spoke to locals, and found his way to Canadian. He had a hand-held Brunton brand device containing a barometer, an anemometer, a thermometer. and a hygrometer as his only tool to find a tornado, but back in Connecticut fellow NMS teach Chester Washburn was a phone call away with weather forecasts, driving directions, and more.

Mr Ramsey said the assistance he received from Mr Washburn was essential to the trip.

“He was my base camp,” said Mr Ramsey, adding he could not have found as much as he did without the help.

Mr Washburn helped navigate Mr Ramsey through information about restaurants and historical places, find interesting destinations, and directed him to more scenic routes for the trip.

“He really set out for an adventure there,” said Mr Washburn, “and he really trusted that whatever learning could happen, would happen.”

And learning was always on Mr Ramsey’s mind. He took photos, spoke to locals, and picked up pamphlets all with the concept of returning to his students with a lesson, he said.

“If I just did this for myself,” said Mr Ramsey, “it wouldn’t have been as fun. It gave [the trip] a sense of a mission, because I had that as my agenda.”

Mr Ramsey said he is sensitive to the fact that tornadoes do cause death and destruction, like the tornado that killed ten people, injured at least 49 and damaged about 700 homes as it plowed nearly 150 miles through Mississippi over the last weekend, according to the Associated Press.

During his second night in Texas, Mr Ramsey had reached Canadian, where he went to eat at a place called the Cattle Exchange. Later, he walked across from where he was staying to a park, “and that’s when I saw the start of the storm coming in.”

He only had his cellphone on him, but he took a photo, and it was later identified as being the start of a funnel formation. The storm did dissipate, like the great majority of tornadoes, according to Mr Ramsey.

“Though I originally set out for an adventure to look for tornadoes, and that was very successful,” he said, “the main part of the trip became experiencing the people, culture, history, technology, and all the things that drive a community of that region.”

Canadian reminded him of Newtown, on a smaller scale. He drove by the middle school, and, on a whim, entered for a visit. Unlike Newtown Middle School, there was no buzzer on the door. He was also met immediately by the school’s principal with, “‘Well, hello sir, how are you?’ That was what he said.”

“It was nice to see a sister school, so to speak,” Mr Ramsey said. He was led to the school’s computer education teacher for a visit, and later kept in touch through email.

Mr Ramsey took a photo of the school to bring back for his students, and also visited a church that had been saved from destruction by a local doctor. The town, Mr Ramsey said, was ready to demolish the building, when the doctor stepped in, transformed it into a sanctuary open to residents, and saved it. Mr Ramsey took a photo of the church, too, to share the concept of having vision with his students.

He also brought back images of wind turbines and more, to have a discussion with students about using an area’s resources.

“If you can use technology to paint a picture of history through artifacts and objects, obviously, the kids are a lot more interested,” said Mr Ramsey.

He visited an antiques store and photographed some of the gadgets inside, such a milk shake machine and an air freshener that would have been used in parlors.

Continuing his adventure, Mr Ramsey followed a tip from Mr Washburn and headed to see the largest cross in the northern hemisphere. The cross in Groom, Texas, stands at 190 feet, and, Mr Ramsey said, has 15 feet below the ground to support it. Mr Ramsey sent a photo of the cross to Mr Washburn.

“And the adventure didn’t cost me anything,” said Mr Washburn.

Six hours after being sent the photo from Groom, Mr Washburn noticed the same image while reading during a bible study at his church.

The “Internet point man,” as he called himself, said the experience was cool.

When back in the technology education course classroom room with students on Monday, April 26, Mr Ramsey said he used the Groom cross as talking point with students.

Before the cross was constructed by Steve Pampa, Groom had been struggling economically, according to Mr Ramsey, who shared a photo of Groom’s 2010 graduating class with his students. There were 15 students in the photo.

“It changed the whole complexion of the town,” said Mr Ramsey, about the cross, “because it became an attraction. So I explained to the kids what a difference one man can have for a whole community.”

Every bit of the trip was made in the context of bringing it back to share with his students, he said, and once back, he printed photos from his trip to keep at the school.

“I was able to hit about every subject that they teach,” said Mr Ramsey, “from art, to science, to technology. It just goes on and on.”