Gulf Coast Disaster

What conversations are occurring in classrooms that are addressing this situation? Please submit your ideas, lesson plans or comments on how you have considered this catastrophe. More importantly, how have the students responded to this situation? I look forward to hearing many great comments.

Hurricane Blog responses

Like many of you, the images of Hurricane Katrina still haunt us to this day. Why wasn't more done before, during, and after the hurricane? I visited post-Katrina New Orleans, LA, in March of 2009 and was still amazed at the work still left to be done.

Working with Shawn Bell, a 7th grade science teacher from Farmington Middle School, we developed a space for students to share their comments regarding the impact hurricanes can have on a community. This assignment was only one part of a larger project.

There were two resources the students had to read and to listen to before they could write their responses. The first was a podcast from NPR and the second was a poem. The link is provided below, along with the poem. Please feel free to share your thoughts and comments as well.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=13999598

Coin Drive

by Janet S. Wong

There’s a coin drive going on at our school

for children hurt by the hurricane.

Teacher says, “Handful of dimes is fine.

But only give if you want to share.”

Momma says, “Those people should have known.

Should have done more than they did to get out.”

Poppa says, “Look how those people stole.

Criminals. Animals, them. Their kind.”

I saw the pictures, too, myself.

People with nothing, no cars, for sure.

Swollen old ladies could barely walk.

Crazy boys with stolen guns,

but also daddies grabbing bread.

I saw the pictures, too, myself.

So many bodies floating, dead.

Waiting, water creeping up,

up past neck, past mouth, past eyes.

How long did they wait for help?

I feel proud for the fifty cents

I put today in the coin drive jar.

I feel proud that I can say:

I saw the pictures for myself.