By: Abe Quiroga, Alejandro Folk Axel Garcia & Mario Ortiz

Table of Contents  How Laredo has changed?  Changes in the educational system of Laredo?  The schools have changed?  Violence and crime increase in Laredo?  Lack of traditional family values?  Lack of parent involvement in their kids?  Growth of population?  Big city problems?  More Entertainment?

Big Changes in Laredo  Laredo, Texas is a very different city and community than it used to be many decades ago. The city has undergone many significant changes over the years that make it a much different society. Most of these differences have brought upon a positive change, but as well a few negative ones. I have not lived long enough and am to young to notice any important differences in our society, but elders who have been residents of Laredo since the mid 20 th century can see how it has flourished into a large beautiful city.

How the schools have changed?  As Laredo keeps growing, more and more people become residents of here. What this means is that more and more schools need to be built to educate the youth. When Mr. Gutierrez attended Lamar as a student there only needed to be one truant officer per every three schools. Now there is at least 3 per every school. There didn’t even need to be any fences to close up the school. Security guards and police officers were unheard of at schools. The schools today are filled with security and police to patrol the school due to all the lack of safety. Gangs, drugs, fights, and other issues of those weren’t problems back then as they are now in our schools. Back in those days they had disciplinary action and paddled the students for misbehaving.

The Educational System  Today in Texas, every school has to take a standardized test called the Taks. In the days that Mr. Gutierrez was a student at Lamar they did not have to take any standardized test to be able to be promoted to the next grade. In the eyes of Mr. Gutierrez, standardized tests are wrong because they limit the amount that we can learn. The Taks today is mandatory to every student in Texas. Mr. Gutierrez believes one single test shouldn’t be an indicator of whether we are capable of passing to the next grade and they are wrong.

Violence and Crime  Population growth in Laredo obviously means less safety in our city. Mr. Gutierrez states that back then it was okay to leave your bike in your front yard and nothing would happen. If you were to do that today, chances are it would get stolen. Mexico, which is one of the most dangerous countries is erupting with violence. Since we are a border city, only miles from Mexico many of the crime over there is reflected in Laredo. The higher the population keeps getting, the more insecurity there is.

Lack of Traditional Family Values  If you observe the families of today, there is a lack of family values within the family. Back then families would communicate and bond with each other or just have stronger connections with each other. They were more respectful and spent more time together. Today it is very rare to see families have these kinds of bonds. Many kids don’t even talk to their parents or they never spend time with their families. Families drift apart slowly and don’t communicate with eachother.

Lack of Parent Involvement  Parents today are responsible for the way their kids act and many of them aren’t involved in their kids lives. Most parents don’t even have an idea of what their kids are doing when their not home. They have no clue of what their kids do at school or who they hang out with. The lack of parent involvement in their kids results in disrespectful and negative attitudes in their children. The parents of these kids don’t want to take responsibility in the actions of their kids.

Growth of Population  The massive growth of population in Laredo leads to a better economy and has other positive effects on Laredo. The growth of population also leads to more insecurity. The city looks more crowded and it is more common you see a lot of people out in the streets. The growth of population also means more infrastructure. When Mr. Gutierrez was a child there was only one bridge connecting us to Mexico. Today, we have five international bridges. The city keeps expanding as more and more houses keep being built, even in the outskirts of the city. More shopping malls are on their way and there might even be another bridge soon.

Big City Problems  Laredo is growing more and more everyday, and our residents will be encountering big city problems. Big city problems the people here might encounter are traffic jams, pollution and crime. The more the population keeps rising, there will be a lot more traffic, and the community will be more polluted. Crime will rise but still it is controllable with our security and police. Laredo is definitely encountering different problems than it used to many years ago.

Entertainment  Back in the old days if you wanted entertainment you had to take a visit down town or go to San Antonio. Today Laredo has a large mall with a lot of stores. There is also a large variety of stores around the city. The nightlife in Laredo is plentiful as there is a lot of bars and clubs to visit. There is three theaters around the city and one inside the mall. There is also of shopping done in Laredo and people have to no longer travel to San Antonio to get their shopping done.

Conclusion  The changes in Laredo have definitely changed the lives of many different people. We are encountering new challenges that we didn’t have before. More changes are coming that are going to change Laredo even more. We are lucky to interview Mr. Gutierrez who has done a full cycle from being a student in Laredo to being an educator. He has seen how Laredo was a town and was turned into a city.