Blog #5 Hurricanes in Tennessee? Blog #5
During August of 2005, I, like everyone else in the United States, knew there was a hurricane in the gulf. I, like everyone else, hoped and prayed for the welfare and safety of the people in the gulf states. I also knew that my church would probably participate in an effort to help the victims of the hurricane.
What we all didn't know was that this was THE HURRICANE that would go down in history books as one of nature's greatest disasters and also one of humankind's darkest moments.
I would never have dreamed that this "storm" would have any impact on me personally, okay, maybe my pocketbook in the form of a donation to the Red Cross. Otherwise, I knew that I along with the rest of the nation would feel tremendous pity for those victims as we watched their stories on television from afar and from the comfort of our sofas and recliners.
Wrong! At the time of the hurricane, I was teaching English at Siegel High School in Murfreesboro. Within one week of the storm, I welcomed two refugees into my clasroom. These young ladies were among the fortunate few who had close family members that opened their homes and gave them a place to stay. Everyday, their presence in my class reminded me of the enormoity of nature's power and the human spirit's will to survive.
These ladies from Cajun country were a source of delight to my Middle Tennessee hill country students. We enjoyed helping them settle in, and we especially loved listening to them speak with that musical dialect that is unique to Louisiana. My students learned many lessons that year; one of which was that hurricanes don't just impact hurricane country.
Reference:
Harms, N. (2005). Back-to-School After Hurricane Katrina: The New Orleans School District Makes Chnages and Adjustments. Retrieved from
http://weather.about.com/od/famoushurricanes/.
I wasn't a teacher at the time of hurricane katrina...i was in 8th grade and remember sending items to help out. That is really neat that you had some refugees come to your class...natural disaters our heart wrenching...i have lived through the destruction of a tornado and it still affects me today!
ReplyDeleteThat's crazy! I was working on my BA at WKU. My children and I lived in Franklin, KY and I remember my son coming home one day and telling me that he had 2 new students that in his own words were "from New Orleans and they saw the hurricane."
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