Houston, TX, post-Katrina

[Marie]

Originally Posted by 33girl

If you signed up to teach kids who are learning far below their grade level and know it's coming, that's one thing. It's quite another to have it thrust upon you w/ no warning.

This is difficult to say unless the teacher is in a private school where there is some control/background info over who is attending school there. Many many public schools, esp. those in low income neighborhoods where many Katrina evacuees have likely gone to, have students that read below grade level. There is a potential to get a student who is not up to par with the other students every year a families move in and out of the neighborhoods and schools. I don't see why this would be an absolute culture shock.

I completely understand the difficulty of working with students w/behavior problems or who are not at grade level. It does take time and creates a compromise in the classroom. However, it seems kinda tragic that these kids who sincerely need help are being looked upon as a burden to the teacher and other students.

[adpiucf]

Originally Posted by macallan25

Thats why you should live in River Oaks.

From your lips to God's ears. I'm stuck in the (now) ghetto-fabulous Galleria-area. I <3 Westheimer traffic.

[Marie]

Originally Posted by adpiucf

From your lips to God's ears. I'm stuck in the (now) ghetto-fabulous Galleria-area. I <3 Westheimer traffic.

Gotta love it. I live right off from the mall, and it takes me 15 mins just to travel the 2 blocks necessary to get on 610.

i finally just finished apt. hunting, but when i was, i'd ask people around the office for opinions...

i heard many opinions like, "you don't want to live there it's katrina infested and not even pizza will be delivered after dark" or "not a good idea there are a lot of louisiana people and the cars get broken into"

so, that has been my experience... so far.

Originally Posted by adpiucf

From your lips to God's ears. I'm stuck in the (now) ghetto-fabulous Galleria-area. I <3 Westheimer traffic.

i feel your pain and all i have to do is cross westheimer... a five mile drive takes me at least 20 min.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by Marie

This is difficult to say unless the teacher is in a private school where there is some control/background info over who is attending school there. Many many public schools, esp. those in low income neighborhoods where many Katrina evacuees have likely gone to, have students that read below grade level. There is a potential to get a student who is not up to par with the other students every year a families move in and out of the neighborhoods and schools. I don't see why this would be an absolute culture shock.

I completely understand the difficulty of working with students w/behavior problems or who are not at grade level. It does take time and creates a compromise in the classroom. However, it seems kinda tragic that these kids who sincerely need help are being looked upon as a burden to the teacher and other students.

Well, I think that in most areas of the country you pretty much know what you are getting into. For example, here in Pittsburgh, you know that the students that you'll be teaching in Pgh City Schools are going to be different than those you'll be teaching in the suburbs. And suburb to suburb will be different too. I would think that any teacher would check these things out before they accepted a position there.

It's one thing to get one or two students that read below grade level who require extra time and care and teaching - it's quite another to get 30 of them.

[adpiucf]

Originally Posted by PoohsHoneyBee

i feel your pain and all i have to do is cross westheimer... a five mile drive takes me at least 20 min.

I was so happy when my office moved from Post Oak in the thick of it all, and closer around Voss. I get to move on the opposite flow of traffic and I'm no longer getting stuck in all the construction on San Felipe.

[BaylorBean]

Luckily my neighborhood has been relatively unaffected. We are in this hidden area that is tucked away right off of the north loop. There has been some more sketchy people walking through the neighborhood but based on the reports not much of an increase in crime around us. I think we are too far north to have really gotten many evacuees in.

Working in education now there definately has been an impact on the schools. Its more with the increasing of class sizes though. The classrooms were already over filled and then were more so. From talking to some teachers this year seems to be going better just because they were prepared for it.

[Kevlar281]

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...n/4171615.html

[Viccaman]

Yeah - Richard Geib posted an article about teaching impoverished immigrants in L.A. - http://www.rjgeib.com/biography/inner-city-blues/innerblu.html

His big problem is the fact that a lot of the kids didn't care.

[RU OX Alum]

Originally Posted by Viccaman

Yeah - Richard Geib posted an article about teaching impoverished immigrants in L.A. - http://www.rjgeib.com/biography/inner-city-blues/innerblu.html

His big problem is the fact that a lot of the kids didn't care.

That sounds like a big problem for society overall.