The Lessons of
Hurricane Katrina

Below is a lesson assembled by NYC educators Alan Singer, Bobbie Robinson, and Michael Pezone.

Current Events Assignment:

Ask each student to select a mix of news articles, opinion articles, editorials and cartoons about Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. Ask them to write a one-paragraph summary of the major points made in each article or cartoon and to mount the articles and summaries in a notebook or binder.

Then ask students to examine the poem and questions below.

Afterwards, ask students to write a 500-word essay using information from their current events articles to answer the questions that most concern them.

Invite students to create an imaginative cover for their project.

A Poem by Moira Tierney, a young Irish immigrant to NY

master bush is showering louisiana with his christian largesse
'shoot to kill
says the governor
with a shirt on her back
food & water for her children
& a home to go to
'the plantation is alive & well in america'
if that's how it goes
in the home of democracy
it's time for a serious discussion about race in the us:
who are the victims of the Louisiana hurricane?
why was funding cut months prior to the disaster?
why was there no provision made for evacuation of those who couldn't afford to leave?
why did FEMA stall for days before belatedly getting down to business?
why did the media show white people 'struggling for survival' & black people 'looting'?
whose country is this?

Questions about the government response to Hurricane Katrina

1. Why is it that some people were able to get out and others were not? Was this a known risk? When did we know about it?

2. Did the state, local and national government agencies do enough before, during and after to get the people out? Is it enough to say "get out" when people may not have the means to do so?

3. What can we learn from this? Can it happen here? What if there were an evacuation due to failure of a nuclear power plant or coastal flooding? Would some people not be able to get out? If so, is the government required to go and get them?

Broader Questions about our Society

1. Has global warming contributed to greater frequency and severity of Atlantic hurricanes?

2. Has environmental degradation along coastlines (disappearance of marshland, etc.) contributed to hurricane damage?

3. How do social class differences affect how a natural disaster strikes different people?

4. Are nationwide rises in gasoline prices a result of the hurricane damage or of industry manipulation of inventory and price-gouging?

5. Are changes in the patterns and habits of energy production and consumption necessary?

6. Is the government's ability to respond to the crisis affected by war-making in Iraq and elsewhere?

7. Have government budget cuts in recent years (for example, last year's cuts in the project to strengthen levees in New Orleans) contributed to the present crisis?

8. Should the federal government implement New Deal type programs to help the millions affected by the disaster?

9. How should money for disaster relief be raised? by government? from public contributions? from a special tax on corporations?

10. Is looting justified in some circumstances?

11. Does media focus on looting indicate more concern for property than for human beings?

12. Has media coverage of looting reinforced racial stereotypes?

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