It is almost unfathomable that virtually three years to the day after the levees broke, New Orleans may well be on the verge of being hit by a Hurricane potentially far more damaging than Katrina.

Gustav has already briefly reached Category 5 status and as of this morning is a Category 3, but is still moving across the Gulf of Mexico, where it will likely gain strength before making landfall tomorrow or Tuesday. As of now, predictions are that it will make landfall just to the west of New Orleans, exposing the city to the more destructive eastern sector of the storm, which it was spared during Katrina. That means the city and its levees may well experience an even greater hit than it did three years ago. Levees unaffected by Katrina may be challenged; those rebuilt since Katrina will be severely tested.

It is sobering to think that decisions already made will make the difference between life and death in the coming days. On the surface, things do seem different and at least some of the lessons of Katrina learned. We are already seeing what appears to be a well coordinated evacuation effort, with busloads of residents being whisked away to higher ground from all over the Gulf Coast. I keep hearing the word “contraflow” on news coverage — a word I don’t recall hearing three years ago — meaning that every available lane of traffic out of New Orleans has been re-routed to help with the evacuation. Mayor Ray Nagin has told residents in no uncertain terms to flee the “mother of all storms.”

As I watch television from my home in suburban New York, I can tune in to a channel dedicated to evacuation instructions for Gulf Coast residents. It posts maps of evacuation routes and lists of pick-up points for residents of every Gulf Coast county.

Only time will tell what Gustav will leave in its wake. As I speak, Florida Governor Charlie Crist is on CNN explaining that “we have learned from our mistakes of the past.” All most of us can do at this point is hope so — and be ready to do our own part to help the people of the Gulf Coast if we are needed.

Today, the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s arrival on the Gulf Coast, The Miami Herald has published an op-ed piece asking the question at the heart of the “Teaching The Levees” curriculum: “What kind of nation do we want to be?”

The piece, co-written by Prof. Margaret Crocco of Teachers College, who led the team that created “Teaching The Levees,” and myself, urges the nation not to lose sight of the many important issues raised by Katrina in this presidential election season.

“To mark Katrina and move forward,” we write, “we must spend more time — in schools, communities, libraries and churches — evaluating who we are as a society and nation. We must ask ourselves and our neighbors: What kind of country are we? What kind of country do we want to be? The poverty in New Orleans that set the stage for disaster, the inept governmental response to that tragedy and our current economic crisis all raise the question: What we can expect from our government in times of acute need? More bluntly, what good is a government that cannot prevent man-made disasters or help us plan for the inevitable natural ones?”

The piece continues by noting that “the preparation of a knowledgeable citizenry that can deal with such problems has been a primary mission of public schools since their inception, and civic education, a required subject in most states for decades. Yet many teachers report that civic education is on the wane, squeezed out by pressures related to high stakes tests in reading and math. Katrina reminds us of the ongoing need for civic education and public engagement with the problems we face as a country, especially as our political culture remains distracted by mudslinging.”

Our piece concludes by asking that “as we elect a new president, let’s not be distracted by the high price of gasoline or the need to raise standardized test scores from the fundamental problem of inequity in our society, not just in New Orleans. What kind of country are we? What kind of country do we want to be? Three years after Katrina, we have yet to ask, much less answer, these important questions as a nation.”

You can click here to read the piece in its entirety, and post a comment on the Herald‘s website.