Ideology and Policy: Educating the Children of Katrina

Katrina left 372,000 students in search of a school to continue their education while displaced. The students and their parents not only lost their schools but they lost their homes, jobs and all of their belongings. The wrath of Katrina converted working families to homeless evacuees in a matter of few hours in time. How do you begin to repair the damage of Katrina?


The neighboring states provided shelter, food and clothing. Some states provided medical insurance, job search assistance, welfare and food stamps to assist these families in minimal recovery. Education is the next step in an attempt to establish normalcy to the lives of evacuees.


The article, Educating the Children of Katrina (Goodman, 2005) offers alternatives to providing education to these students. The Value-added ranking of schools provides information to parents about the schools in areas around their new homes. The rankings considered income levels, percentage of minorities served and performance information for existing student populations. The information was designed to assist parents in selecting a school for their children to attend. I am of the opinion that the information was limited at best. The information did not contain the cultural barriers that will be facing the students as they prepare to enter the schools selected by their parents.


Understand, I believe the information to be valuable but lacking cultural aspects not experienced in the schools of neighboring states. Currently, several perishes in Louisiana are under a federal court order to desegregate. These parishes lie in the path of Katrina and were the hardest hit. The choice of attending school was not given to the students prior to this time. The change to the new school could be as traumatic as Katrina itself. In order to effectively address the needs of the students, one must look at the services required for the students based on the community from which they came.


Louisiana is a state highly defined by culture, especially in the southern part of the state. I had the honor of working with a group of teachers and administrators from several parishes. There were 35 schools participating in all. I was ask to be a presenter as an expert in Small Learning Communities or Career Academies at the High School Reform Retreat. I have been teaching for 11 years and in two states but I could not believe what I was hearing from the educators at this conference. They repeated responded with: We can’t do that hear; you can’t do that in low income schools; that won’t work with our black students. The teachers would not consider utilizing a full-time business teacher for two schools in need of a half-time business teacher at each. The schools were not more than five miles apart. I thought I had stepped back in time. The teachers continued to say what they couldn’t do and could not agree on something that they could do. Not once did the teachers consider what was best for the students. I did not here one teacher refer to the students in a manner that put them first. If this is the education the Katrina students were accustomed to, them a drastic culture shock was just ahead for the first day of school at many of the schools they would choose.


Mississippi is a state with continuing racial issues. I visited a friend for a few weeks and could not wait to return from the past. The town was about forty miles south of Jackson and permanently stranded in the early 1960s. Woman in the family gathered at one home during the day while the men worked. They would return home in time to cook and clean. Daughters lived with their parents until they married. Everything was closed on Sunday. On the surface, it seemed like a nice place until you took a closer look at the racial component. The African-American population could only live on one side of town and no “self-respecting” white person went to that side. The white students attended academies and the African-American students attended public schools but both were funded with public funds. Could you imagine relocating from this community to Dallas or Memphis?


The Katrina students required additional resources to assist in the transition dependent on the community from which they evacuated and the community which offered them shelter. School psychologists needed to be prepared to provide individual and group meetings for the Katrina students to accept and adjust to both the devastation and the transition.


In addition to the psychological issues, students faced academic deficiencies which could be addressed by schools that had proven to be effective in proficiency attainment. Schools were required to make specific adjustments for students lacking course requirements for graduation by the relocating state standards. Katrina seniors were now in jeopardy of not meeting the new graduation requirements. The individual states would have to address these issues as they presented themselves.


The Katrina evacuees faced many obstacles when attempting to establish new homes in neighboring states. Finding a school was only one part of the equation.

The Threat of Cultural Pluralism

I believe that Multiculturalism is necessary in today's schools. I do not believe that all teachers understand "how" to teach a subject integrated with multiculturalism. Teachers create division among the students, faculty and school community when the line is crossed with respect to "how" to teach multiculturalism. The students in our schools today do not need additional help in causing conflict. I believe multiculturalism can reduce conflicts in the schools if taught correctly.


We give the topic names that change with the politically correct term of the day but the truth is we should teach the students compassion, acceptance and understanding of the various cultures around our world. We should never teach violence and separation to minds that absorb everything you have to teach.


Dr. Geraldine Campbell-Munn told me "We model, we teach and they act accordingly." She was one of my professors at Fayetteville State University in the School of Education. She taught diversity. I prefer this term to any I've heard. She was a very wise women with more guidance and information than any teacher could hope for. The one thing I will never forget is who I teach. She made sure we were well aware of just exactly "who" was in our classroom. I don't teach color of skin or religion, I teach children with baggage and disabilities. If I am lucky, I will teach a child that is absolutely normal. In my career as a teacher, I have never forgotten that. At times, I wish some of my peers had been given the opportunity to meet Dr. Munn. I fear that either they have forgotten or they had never learned the concept.


I have had the honor to work with some wonderful teachers. Mr. L. Patterson was one the best. He is now retired but I think of him often. Mr. Patterson did not acknowledge I existed for my first two years of teaching. We would pass in the hallway and I would say hello. He never responded. As a new teacher, I wondered what I had done to make him dislike me so much. In my third year of teaching, I relocated across the hall from Mr. Patterson. I dreaded the move but I did it and thought that if I just ignored him and focused on my students it would be alright.


The year began and I did not change a thing about my teaching, even with Mr. Patterson across the hall. After about five weeks, I was walking down the hall when I heard someone say " Why good morning Mrs. Reed. How are you today?" After what seemed like hours, I responded, "Just fine Mr. Patterson. And how are you?" I could not believe that Mr. Patterson had spoken to me. We began speaking most every day and I soon had the honor of calling him "L". I wanted to ask him what I had done but I never got the chance nor did I have to ask because "L" told me in a conversation.


"L" is a very intelligent, sophisticated and experienced teacher. He stood more than six feet tall and his stature was enough to terrify the bravest of men. "L" was also an African-American teacher in a predominantly African-American, low income school. I, on the other hand, was a middle class, white teacher new to both the school and the community. He did not know nor did he trust me with his students. I understand how "L" felt. He did not know how or what (if anything) I would teach these children. "L" had faith in most every child that walked into his classroom. He refused to let the circumstance limit the child with respect to life.


He had seen many a teacher come and go but I realized he only spoke to teachers that treated the students with the same respect that he did. I originally thought that "L" disliked me because of the color of my skin. As I got to know him, I understood that he was waiting to see if I saw the color of my student's skin. "L" suffered through much in his life. Things I could never imagine. He also witnessed changes he thought would never come. With everything "L" had seen in his many years, I would have done exactly the same thing if I were him.


I miss "L" and the other teachers at my old school. Each of them reinforced what I had been taught or taught me something new about teaching. I see teachers unable to work with diverse learners (academic or cultural). I see teachers that model separation versus unity within the school and community. I see teachers that need to meet "L" and Dr. Munn.


I choose not to utilize some of the terms in the course readings. Terms such as centrist and extremists, religious and ethnic groups bring a separation to the classroom that we can not afford. I teach Obama as a man and president. We do not discuss his race or party affiliation. We discuss his economic plan and his speeches. This teaches my students to look at "Who" the person is and "What" they stand for. In doing this, I teach the subject matter, acceptance, research, intellectual discussion and multiculturalism.


The students will rise to the occasion if we lay the foundation of expectations. I model how we behave in a civilized society. I teach the students how we interact in a civilized society. And, the students act accordingly. I enjoy watching my students debate causes and effects of various economic events in history or appropriate ethical behavior of business and political leaders. We discuss the impact on various cultures. We discuss the impact on the various income groups. The key words are that "we discuss". We never separate, degrade, or disrespect. We discuss all views. I feel this is teaching multiculturalism.

Nationalism and Multiculturalism

The debate over nationalism and multiculturalism is just as heated as religion in education. To say that one view is grounded in unbiased research and theory is impossible. Research studies contain the bias of the individual group completing the study. Let's try to remove the bias and discuss the issues based on the definition of the two terms and the implications to our country.

The terms are defined in dictionaries, encyclopedias, textbooks and other literature. For the sake of consistency, refer to the terms as defined at http://www.wordiq.com/ as the following:


“Nationalism is an ideology that creates and sustains a nation as a concept of a common identity for groups of humans. According to the theory of nationalism, the preservation of identity features, the independence in all subjects, the well being, and the glory of one's own nation are fundamental values."

“Multiculturalism or cultural pluralism is a policy, ideal, or reality that emphasizes the unique characteristics of different cultures in the world, especially as they relate to one another in immigrant receiving nations.”


In the text (Spring, 2008), Spring is up-front in stating that “The themes are my interpretative perspective.” Each individual will interpret the events in history as he/she see and understand it. The reasoning for teaching history is to provide a historical account of the events of the past that has brought us to this point in time. To color history with hatred and bias provides a division within our country and within our various cultural groups. I can not change the events of the past but I can take the time to learn about them and not repeat them.

In reading the texts and articles for this course, I find my opinion to be difficult to express without referencing to my own experiences as a teacher. I have been blessed to work in high schools at both ends of the spectrum. I began my teaching career at a majority Minority, low-income, overcrowded school in a poor school district. I currently teach at a majority Caucasian, middle to upper income school at below capacity in a wealthy school district. The difference in the students is not the standard curriculum but the baggage brought into the school from the adult role models in the students' lives and the history presented to each and every one of the children.

The United States of America was founded by people of various cultures attempting to escape persecution. Within this new country each was provided the opportunity to live with a common law protecting the freedoms of the individual as one of the members of our country. The rights of individual Americans were and still are protected by the United States Constitution. I believe this to be nationalism with the understanding that we are a united people. We stand together in the love our country and people. If you every doubt this, remember that ethnicity and culture did not divide our people as we watched the towers fall on September 11th or as we sent our soldiers to war following that fateful day. We fly the American Flag and we create signs that say “We Support Our Troops.” These signs refer to every man and woman serving our country, not with respect to cultural background.

I feel it is necessary for children to be aware and knowledgeable about their individual heritage or culture. In lessons, I encourage students to speak with parents and grandparents when investigating events in history. When the discussion resumes in class, every child has a view to bring to the discussion. The view may be by class, religion, race or even region of the country. In some cases, the view may be by various countries. I find this to be multiculturalism. Discussions in a multiculturalism format are possible if the foundations of respect, compassion and understanding are in place. The discussion of assassinations should include both John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King. The importance of the events should include both national and cultural impacts of the events. The discussion of the Civil War and Civil Rights should be given equal weight as well. The impact of these two events influenced both the nation and the various cultures of America. All views should be considered and recognized in order for students analyze the event as well as its impact. Is this not teaching them to learn from the past in an attempt to not repeat it?

As a parent, I feel it is my responsibility to teach my children about our culture and our family’s history. I remember listening to my grandparents and great-grandparents telling stories about war and the Great Depression. We have looked at the family Bible and at family photos for hours. The lives lived by our previous generations can not be fully understood in any book written by someone who did not experience life as our family elders did. I teach my daughter to live as I was taught as a child. I pass down stories as we garden, can/pickle and quilt just as my grandmother did with me. I tell the stories my grandmother told me and I add the stories of my mother. This is her history. It is the history that has stories that date back more than a century. With it, my family and my husband’s family have compiled books which tell the stories and the history of the families in a more formal arrangement. These stories do not include life in New England or the life of a slave owner. Instead they tell of a poor Tennessee farming family and how they arrived here. They tell of the men that went to various wars and of a Baptist Preacher that died in 1982 with his 14 children and their families gathered at his bedside. That was my great-grandfather at 84 years old. He died shortly after bringing in his sweet potato crop that year. My culture is that of a Tennessee Baptist farming family of both Irish and German origins. Can a generic cultural textbook provide my children with this information? Does it create a greater divide in the cultures? Or by including bias, does it teach my child about hatred and division that is something not included in my belief and values?

The adults in this country determine the direction our children go. We lay the path and the understanding of the past. If we are to maintain the original design of this country, we will have to change how and what we teach our children about the past. Consider Wold History. Do we quickly discuss Hitler and continue to the next topic? Or do we ask a Holocaust survivor to speak to our children in an effort to help them understand what Hitler's activites did to people because of their differences? I believe we should teach history as important events in the evolution of our country. I also believe that influencial events should be examined as to its impact on the various cultures of a community, a country or the world.

Religion and Education (Entry 2)

As the readings demonstrate, the topic of religion in the schools is one that has been debated and argued for a century and it will continued to be debated and argued for years to come. The topic has judicial rulings both for and against even the smallest of religious implications within the education system. Is the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance or allowing for a moment of silence something that requires a Supreme Court Ruling? As a matter of fact, it is.

This country was founded partly due to individuals seeking freedom from religious persecution. They were not of one religion but of many. The United States Constitution states in the First Amendment that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech…" and this is in part where the debate began.

By requiring students to say the Pledge of Allegiance, we have created a law regarding religion. Requiring students to observe a moment of silence is a violation of the Constitution as well. Though one practice provides for putting one’s country before religious beliefs, the other requires the open practice of religious beliefs of individuals who may not practice a religion. Both activities are a violation of the Constitution and should be amended. I am of the opinion that individuals should not be “forced” to participate in either activity. I believe children should be taught to respect the choices of others regardless of whether they agree or not. With that being said, I do not believe these two practices should be remove from the education system but modified to include those who do not wish to participate.

Unfortunately, this is a difficult subject for a retired US Army wife and teacher. I was teaching a class composed of approximately 60-70 percent military dependents when word came down the hall about the attacks on September 11th. The school was located just off of the largest military base in the country. I was in the middle of teaching a computer research project. Within seconds of the news from administration, students were watching the events unfold before their very eyes. What I thought could not be more terrifying quickly became much closer to home. Student cell phones began ringing. Following those rings came tears as children were told that their parents would not be coming home but were being deployed. They weren’t alone. My cell phone rang to let me know my husband had already left. We were on lockdown because of the very nature of our location and our student population. Commercial airliners were unaccounted for but we were protected by the fighters circling a perimeter which encompassed all of the schools surrounding Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

We were told to continue teaching but leave the news on for the students. I was locked down with 30 students but what about my children? I knew what my students were feeling but what were my children feeling? Two different schools within a mile of me and I could do nothing. As time went on, my students began to pray and so did I. The law states that I was wrong for allowing it to take place within my classroom during instructional time. As a parent and military wife, I knew it was the only comfort these children had.

What would you have done?

Historical Perspectives (Entry 1)

The “innovators” and “makers” influenced the development of public education through both positive and negative means. Both were equally responsibility for the problems created and both will be responsible for education reform. The “innovators” desired a public education system based on providing a quality education for all children. The “makers” desired to create a population of workers and consumers for industry. This information is my understanding based on the material read but is not necessarily my opinion.

I teach my students to look at the information available and research the topic. Only after this is complete can he/she determine his/her individual opinion on the topic. I do not believe that one is the lesser evil but that eventually the two will meet in agreement on a teaching strategy that works. This point of agreement can be observed with respect to John Dewey and Henry Ford.

As an “innovator”, Dewey’s education philosophies lead to the development of "experiential education programs”1. Gatto considered Henry Ford to be a “maker” in both sources reviewed. Gatto believes Ford to be an American industrialist with the desire to have “school in America became like school in Germany, a servant of corporate and political management”. According to the Henry Ford Learning Institute, Henry Ford is said to believe “that the teaching of, and learning about, history had to include some understanding of the people, lifestyles, and values of the time, and that history should be experienced”2.

Problem Based Learning (PBL) pedagogy is the point of agreement for Dewey and Ford. Both the “innovator” and the “maker” are listed as contributors to the modern pedagogy. Dewey is considered to have developed the most basic concepts of the strategy while Ford provided funding for the development of such programs through personal and Ford Corporation donations and contributions.


1. http://www.wilderdom.com/experiential/JohnDeweyPhilosophyEducation.html

2. http://www.hfli.org/model/#history

Back to Class

I am currently in my 11th year as a Marketing & Business Teacher. I have been working with computers my entire career but I had to go back to school to blog for the first time.

I can see the many uses of blogs in my classroom. I believe this class just might help me determine how to utilize blogs in lessons with my students.

I guess we all need to step back to the other side of the desk every now and then.