Just because the Cold War ended and people spend their day to day lives with less fear of nuclear war than they did in the middle of the twentieth century does not mean that there is less cause to prepare for disaster. Most high schools still have their bomb shelters because once those were built they did not require constant maintenance. The same cannot be said of survival kits, however, which require frequent attention to maintain the items ready in case of disaster.

Regardless of the high levels of security we currently enjoy, disasters beyond our control still happen. We cannot forget the tragedy of the events of September 11, 2001. It would also be foolish to forget the victims of hurricane Katrina and the government's inability to provide support. The tsunami victims in Malaysia and other Asian countries were also unprepared for the terrible disaster that struck. Since disasters such as these can strike at any time, even while class is in session, schools and parents have an obligation to make preparations.

A classroom survival kit is one of the best ways to prepare. It is common to maintain a 72 hour kit inside of our home, but much less common to include one in our school classrooms. The safety of our children may depend on such a kit in the future. Since it is so inexpensive to prepare one nowadays, teachers should work together with parents to maintain such kits up to date each year.

Some of the most important items to include in such a kit include large bottles of water and water purification tools. People can survive much longer without food than they can without water, so assuring the presence of clean, drinkable water should be the number one priority. Electricity is almost always out during disasters so at least one good flashlight with a back up case of batteries is also important. A good first aid kit with disinfectant and plenty of bandages is also of the highest priority.

Other less important items that are good to include in such a kit are hard hats, strong leather work gloves, goggles, blankets, a crow bar, an AM/FM radio, a short range broadcasting radio, icepacks, and non-perishable high calorie food items. Many granola-type bars fit this description and flavor will not matter in a disaster situation.

For those who wish to go above and beyond in their preparations, it would not hurt to also include duct tape, yellow caution tape, a larger variety of non-perishable food, perhaps some powdered juice like Tang to mix with the water, multiple flashlights and more tools. Signal flares are very common and easy to obtain, and satellite phones cost much less than they did a few years ago, making highly specialized tools more available to the masses.

The decision is between the parents, administration, teachers, and the school boards. What can be prevented should, and what cannot be prevented should be prepared for so our children will not become the victims we hear about on the news.