"You can finally teach without constantly worrying about what to do when there is a rocket attack."

Who hasn't been there--in the classroom on a Monday morning, going over Virginia Woolf's "A Room of One's Own" for the millionth time--when a rocket attack is unleashed, and you think, "Even the gods have mercy on people reading Virginia Woolf."

Except even rocket attacks won't save you from Virginia Woolf now--because Israel has the first rocket-proof school.

Sdereot, Israel, is a town in the south of the country, about a mile from the Gaza Strip border, and usually under threat from missiles, rockets, and other artillery from militants in Gaza. Some estimates claim 440 rockets were fired during the past year, which generally puts a damper on the day-to-day educational happenings at school.

Now there's a $27.5 million structure in place, with gigantic concrete defenses, reinforced windows, and walls angled at varying degrees to deflect projectiles as best as possible. The new school even has mini fortified bomb shelters out in the school yard that are easily accessible within the 15 second window people have to take cover from the moment a siren goes off to the moment of impact. School administrators hope this will decrease the trauma some students have felt from attending school.

Except nothing can stop the trauma of reading Virginia Woolf. Nothing.



photo: AP