Educating the Children of Katrina...

As I read through the article named above, I had two main reactions: shock that it has been seven years since this disaster, and intrigue as I read about the author's proposal for schooling. He said the schools should essentially duke it out for the students. Let the schools fight for them. Of course, there are rewards if you win, but that incentive also works to entice schools into the battle.

The families affected by Katrina were devastated in many ways: homes torn apart, jobs lost, families changed forever. The young people affected will never know life without this change. I remember growing up how important it was to feel at home. And being as I grew up in a military family, that didn't happen very often. Each time we'd move I had to make new friends, figure out the house, try to decipher with my five-year-old ears the various languages spoken around me. It was difficult. But I didn't have any natural disaster kicking me out from one place to the next. I didn't have to worry about whether or not my friends lived through the storm. I didn't have to worry about my school, house, and parents' workplaces being torn apart. There was a lot I didn't have to think about. But these kids do. Every day.

I think the plan laid out in the article was a brilliant one. The children of Katrina have already faced so many hardships, why not let people fight for them for once. I'm sure they've felt like the odds were stacked against them. For once, offer them the place they need. This plan for schools to bid for students would be excellent in almost any setting, though. There are schools where I teach that excel in special education. In fact there are families who have moved into my district to go to one of the elementary schools because of its amazing special education program. Now that's commitment. Parents doing whatever it takes for their children to receive the best education.

Last year, when I subbed in Metro, I knew a number of students whose families moved to Nashville because of Katrina. They were all very young when it happened, but they felt the effects every day. I remember asking them if the transition was hard, and if they liked school in Tennessee, etc. Most replied quite positively. I wonder if their parents would say they felt good about the education their children were getting. I wonder if the parents had a choice in their move or if they had to move just for a job. I hope, of course, that these kids, like all kids, would be able to receive the best education possible. And, like everything in education, that solution is not a one size fits all.