Hurricane Katrina Reflection Paper.
By Lenny Giardino
Hurricane Katrina was an interesting presentation and gave many examples of how racism has played a role in recovery. The music was symbolic of the role of lyrics and education. Music regarding social justice belongs in the classroom.
While listening to the presentation, I began to think about a catastrophe of proportions that has happened in Upstate New York that rarely gets media attention. Unfortunately, due to standards, our schools lack the leadership to ask kids to discuss this economic holocaust that has existed in Upstate New York for more than 20 years.
The Problem: The statistics are as follows. Over one million New Yorkers have left Upstate New York between Schenectady and Buffalo. The largest economic migration in times of economic prosperity that has ever happened in our nation’s history. The loss of jobs has greatly increased the poverty in Upstate Cities, and divided schools by race and class. According to U.S. Census data, every county in New York except for one has experienced a mass exodus of young people ages 18-49. School census data shows that upstate cities have losses up to 25 percent in school populations. This population loss has had a devastating effect on school budgets all around the state.
Independent data has shown that many families will lose numerous members of their family to the migration south and west of Upstate New York.
Reasons for Loss: Many people blame the loss of population in Upstate New York on high taxes. Unfortunatly, high taxes were caused by external factors. When NAFTA went into effect, numerous firms in upstate New York left for Mexico or Central America. This depleted tax revenues from school and city budgets. Next, due to a lack of power nationally in the house and senate, base closure commissions closed two large upstate bases, and again depleting the tax base.
In all fairness, Administrators and school boards in education failed to respond to the rapidly changing climate. This void in educational leadership led to deepening problems for many local communities. For this reason, I choose to reflect on the importance of educational leadership not only in Louisiana, but in New York State. I strongly suggest an inclusion of this discussion in next years Leadership Academy. Since many students come from New York, they need to be aware of the economic hardships faced by this geographic area. Many I have talked to are simply unaware, just like those who did not know the facts about Katrina. Similar to the books on ecology we have read, it may be better to look in our own backyard, get a local favor prior to examining more abstract connections such as Katrina.
By Lenny Giardino
Hurricane Katrina was an interesting presentation and gave many examples of how racism has played a role in recovery. The music was symbolic of the role of lyrics and education. Music regarding social justice belongs in the classroom.
While listening to the presentation, I began to think about a catastrophe of proportions that has happened in Upstate New York that rarely gets media attention. Unfortunately, due to standards, our schools lack the leadership to ask kids to discuss this economic holocaust that has existed in Upstate New York for more than 20 years.
The Problem: The statistics are as follows. Over one million New Yorkers have left Upstate New York between Schenectady and Buffalo. The largest economic migration in times of economic prosperity that has ever happened in our nation’s history. The loss of jobs has greatly increased the poverty in Upstate Cities, and divided schools by race and class. According to U.S. Census data, every county in New York except for one has experienced a mass exodus of young people ages 18-49. School census data shows that upstate cities have losses up to 25 percent in school populations. This population loss has had a devastating effect on school budgets all around the state.
Independent data has shown that many families will lose numerous members of their family to the migration south and west of Upstate New York.
Reasons for Loss: Many people blame the loss of population in Upstate New York on high taxes. Unfortunatly, high taxes were caused by external factors. When NAFTA went into effect, numerous firms in upstate New York left for Mexico or Central America. This depleted tax revenues from school and city budgets. Next, due to a lack of power nationally in the house and senate, base closure commissions closed two large upstate bases, and again depleting the tax base.
In all fairness, Administrators and school boards in education failed to respond to the rapidly changing climate. This void in educational leadership led to deepening problems for many local communities. For this reason, I choose to reflect on the importance of educational leadership not only in Louisiana, but in New York State. I strongly suggest an inclusion of this discussion in next years Leadership Academy. Since many students come from New York, they need to be aware of the economic hardships faced by this geographic area. Many I have talked to are simply unaware, just like those who did not know the facts about Katrina. Similar to the books on ecology we have read, it may be better to look in our own backyard, get a local favor prior to examining more abstract connections such as Katrina.
posted by book1 at 4:05 PM
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