It would be crazy to say that Katrina was some kinda blessing in disguise for the people of N.O. Because of so much death and destruction, but I do see how it COULD be a good thing for the education system there.

I don’t know what plan they have in place that the guy in the article is referring to but if for some reason Katrina has led to more education funding from the U.S. department of education and the Louisiana department of education then it more than likely will increase education levels.

Now that I think about it IF this is true that they get more education funding because of Katrina (big if) then it is a good thing for N.O. Certainly not for current residents or older folks, but for kids in school now or will be entering in the future.

It’s terrible to say it and not sound like a complete idiot, but (once again this is IF) if a tragedy like that helps to improve an education system that is constantly ranks in the low 40s out of 50 states then it may be a good thing for young people in the future.

Take it from a person who grew up and went to school in Florida (also usually pretty low in education ranking) about how a bad education system can make it harder.For those living there at the time there is no doubt it that there was no bright side.

who the fuk is this Kazoo lookin mikey fikey

The fact is, the entire US educational system needs a tearing down and restructuring. But new buildings won’t do much of anything, if the same system remains. The American Federation of Teachers is actually the biggest opponent to a true reformation of the current system, and until that’s dealt with properly, all you will be left with is the same dumb children, “graduating” out of pretty, modern buildings. The only thing I agreed with Obama’s SOTU speech, is the new emphasis that should be placed on math and science. These two subjects are the foundation on which people build nations, so most certainly mastering them would go a long way into repairing our communities.

I believe Arne could have worded that differently, it sounds so insulting and a bit ignorant if you ask me. He could have said that Hurricane Katrina has impacted the Education system in New Orleans to do this and that. Sometimes white people and their statements are getting out of hand and we need to put them in their place seriously. You see no one said that Columbine was the best education for that state it happened in do you? Or the Holocaust was the best thing happened for the Jewish people to realize their potential. What’s next? Slavery was the best thing to happen to blacks because it allowed us to assimilate into civilization?

To me, it seems like the Klan is rising again, and many of us are to uneducated, not aware, and ignorant to realize what’s going on on the media and around us.

While he could’ve said his initial statement differently, what he said was ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. It’s just that people would rather look at a statement, and judge a persons comments based off of that one statement, than to look at the context of the statement.

I’m glad NewsOne printed his entire quote, and not tried to frame his comments like he was being completely insensitive to New Orleans . . . like they do with their celebrity articles.

While the people in New Orleans suffered tremendously because of Katrina ( and are still suffering ), they’ll also tell you that the city basically didn’t give a damn about the overall welfare of black folks in that city. The entire city was corrupt, from the politicians to the police. And their educational system was one of the worst in the country.

So when the white dude comes out and says that since Katrina was the best thing that happened to that city’s educational system, he’s probably not lying. The ish is still messed up in New Orleans. But by his perspective, it’s on the road to getting a lot better.

The dropout rate among African-Americans in high school is a national tragedy. Part of that drop out rate has to do with pizz poor ran school districts . . . usually in the poor black areas.

Mayor Nagin, and all of those politicians in New Orleans, nor the state of Louisiana, weren’t going do a damn thing about the educational system in New Orleans, had Katrina not damn near destroyed the city.

So like it or not, the white man was TELLING THE TRUTH.

Louisiana itself has a high school drop out rate hovering around 40%.

THE REASON PEOPLE ARE TURNED OFF BY HIS COMMENTS IS BECAUSE THEY IMPLY THAT BLACK PEOPLE NEED A TRAGIC SITUATION TO HAPPEN IN ORDER FOR “OTHER” (ie. whites) TO COME TO OUR RESCUE AND HIGHLIGHT OUR “PROBLEM” TO THE REST OF THE WORLD.

People have said the same thing about slavery: slavery was good for Blacks because it exposed us to technology of whites and we would be in Africa right now living in poverty/civil war.

Same thing with Haiti……people alrady are talkign about this earthquake is good for Haiti, because the country was corrupt and needs to be rebuilt.

So do Black people need to endure physical disasters for our situations to get better. Ratther condescending if you ask me….then again I expect nothing less from most white Americans.