Challenges for Displaced Youth

The challenges of the 370,000 displaced schoolchildren are innumerable (McClam, 2005).  These teens have had to keep up with new classes where the curriculum may be quite different from that of their old classes (NPR, Talk of the Nation). Meanwhile, finding a space in certain classes, such as overcrowded advanced placement (AP) courses is a task close to impossible (McClam, 2005). Many of the schools are not able to deal with all of the new students; they are running low on teachers, materials, and funds. Juniors and seniors also worry about having their college application process delayed and struggle to graduate on time (McClam, 2005).

Problems outside of the classroom add up as well. Many displaced students find that the locals tease them or make comments at their expense. Sometimes new kids can be bullied, beat up, or excluded from the “in” crowd (Pratt & George, 2005). Maria Hurnanadas, for instance, a senior in Tulsa, Oklahoma, finds herself an outsider at her new school. “I can’t really relate to any kids. I miss my friends, my teachers. [At my old school] it was like a family, I knew everybody,” Maria said during an NPR interview. A part of the problem is that the clothes styles of the native students sometimes differ drastically from the clothing styles of the evacuees (McClam, 2005). Maria, for instance, was extremely surprised by the tight clothes that the boys wear at her new school. At her old school, boys wore very baggy clothes. Furthermore, because they think they could be returned home at any minute, evacuated teens do not know whether to make the effort to make friends with their new classmates (McClam, 2005). Not being able to contact or see the friends they have known and trusted for years often adds to their loneliness, sadness, and frustration.