NOLA - Education Style

At the end of January, MTR traveled to New Orleans for our Mid-Year Retreat. I insisted that we make a trip to Cafe Du Monde so we walked from our hotel our first night in town. I broke my diet a few occasions and this was definitely one of them. My face tells you how happy I was to have some carbs-

 We spent the majority of one day observing at two high achieving charter schools. Since Katrina a majority of the public schools in NOLA have become charter schools. Not all of them are as successful as the two we visited, but we were impressed and brought lots of ideas back.

 There was lots of time for bonding within our group. It was really refreshing to lunch together four days in a row because we are used to being spread across Memphis for lunch during the week.

 We had a game night where we learned how competitive Dr. Counts really is.

We spent one afternoon at Audobon Park where the 2nd Annual Secondary vs. Elementary/Staff kickball game was held.The secondary zebras took the game very seriously with coordinated outfits and an organized warm-up. Our preparation combined with skill and plenty of silliness gave us an 11-0 victory.

 The Elementary/Staff team just doesn't look quite crazy enough to win:

Our last evening in town we went to Mulates for dinner and dancing. Bill is at Mulates every Friday and Saturday night to teach guests how to do some Cajun dancing. We loved his lobster shirt.

 By the end of the night, Joel had gotten on stage to sing Amazing Grace and MTR had a Soul Train Line going. It was a VERY fun night!

I didn't get any pictures, but before we came back we spent a morning at the WWII D-Day museum. I definitely recommend the museum and the interactive movie across the street.

Got Squirrels?

There was a little leak at my parents house. To find it my dad cut a hole in the ceiling in the downstairs bathroom.

Fast-forward a few months. My mom goes into the bathroom and finds a baby squirrel, much like this one:

It has somehow gotten into the walls/ceiling and came through the hole. My mom shut it in the bathroom and got my dad. When he came in to catch it he finds it in the toilet. He went to find something to get it out of the toilet with and by the time he gets back it has drowned.

A few days later my mom is sitting in our Den and looks up to see another baby squirrel on the mantle. My parents open the door to the porch and try to get it out of the house, and they don't see it anymore so they assume it got out. A day or two later my mom is in the Den again and sees it run into the front hall. It goes up the stairs and one parent goes up the back stairs and the other up the front to capture it. My mom throws a blanket over it in the hallway and my dad picks it up with the blanket and takes it outside while it squeals.

Since these experiences my parents have taken a few precautions to eliminate squirrels from our house inside and outside of the walls.

1. They have covered the hole in the ceiling. Once they are sure the leak is fixed, it will be more permanently covered.

 2. They have a new decoration in the bathroom: A trap.

 3. They got some fox urine at an outdoor supply company and have put cotton balls with a little urine on them in the attic and crawlspaces. It is supposed to keep all animals away.

Thankfully it has been a month and there are no signs of squirrels at their house!

Compassion

Tonight I completed a reflection for my Spiritual Life class. While reflecting, I thought about Henri Nouwen's explanation of compassion that I learned in college. I think it is completely relevant in the fight for justice in urban education. -----“The word compassion is derived from the Latin words pati and cum, which together mean “to suffer with.” Compassion asks us to go where it hurts, to enter into places of pain, to share in brokenness, fear, confusion, and anguish. Compassion challenges us to cry out with those in misery, to mourn with those who are lonely, to weep with those in tears. Compassion requires us to be weak with the weak, vulnerable with the vulnerable, and powerless with the powerless. Compassion means FULL IMMERSION in the condition of being human.”

SNOW DAY!!!

Teachers like snow days as much as students - 

Sledding was the best part, even though I felt it the rest of the week -

It is so wonderful to live near 22 great friends to play in the snow with!

Such a fun day!

Thoughts on Memphis

One of my favorite blogs is I Love Memphis. Everyone should follow it whether you live in Memphis or not. If you want coverage of Elvis' birthday or Memphis BBQ brackets check it out! This year Kerry, the I Love Memphis czar is doing a 365 project of Memphians with a few interview questions. Justin is Memphian #11 (on the 11th of January:) and I really loved his response to two questions about Memphis. I have tried to say both of these things before much less effectively.


My first impression of Memphis was: After growing up in the south and living in Europe during my first leg of graduate work, it felt a whole lot like home; a sort of cozy but lived in kinda place.  Memphis, like Jackson (Miss), wears its history on its sleeve and that rough-around-the-edges beauty really struck a cord with me.


I love Memphis because: You get out what you put into Memphis, and this city has so much to give.

Cooper Young for Clean Water

The most meaningful part of Christmas this year for me was the amazing way that God provided so that Neighborhood Church could lead our community to raise $5,000 to build a well in Peru. I have not spent as much time sharing and reflecting about this project as I hope to do.

Again this year NC participated in Advent Conspiracy. Our pastor raised the bar this year by setting a goal that seemed impossible by human standards. The past two years we have raised $500 for clean water at our Clean Water Party. This year our goal was to raise $5,000 to build a well for a specific village in Northern Peru, similar to the village in this video:


Christmas [is] changing the world from Living Water International on Vimeo.


This article in The Lampligher shared the challenged with the neighborhood. I asked some family members to donate toward our well instead of buying me a gift and I was really excited that my teaching coach donated money after I shared the challenge with her. A week before Christmas we had $5,600, surpassing our goal. Every time I think about that I get tears in my eyes. God not only met our goal, but dominated it ahead of time.

Our pastor Robert posted this on facebook Christmas Day. Adam is 5 years old:

Today Adam was updating our family on our clean water project: "And in 2 wks we raised $500,000." Should be $5000, but who's counting?

Work on the well will begin in January. Reaching this goal gives me hope for all my personal goals this year, goals for my current students, and goals that education will no longer be an injustice.

Christmas Break

I got a cold for Christmas, so my pictures are limited so this post is pretty random, but I have been doing a lot of little things since school got out. 

I made these creations for the Cooper Young for Clean Water party hosted by Neighborhood Church:

I saw these pinecones on the back of a Wheat Thins box and had to try them. 

Our dining room set for Christmas Dinner:

 Martha and I picked out matching sweaters that we wanted for Christmas
(and I got new glasses!):

 

 I've been crafting just a little:

For my parents this year Carolyn helped me make photo coasters. I think they look great with the black and white photos and they actually work thanks to a polyurethane finish!

My other Christmas project this year was creating the Memphis sign with Memphis themed photographs. If it was an advertisement the description would say, "Come to Memphis and drive across the Hernando Desoto Bridge, listen to some Elvis music, go to a Memphis tigers basketball game, spend the night at the Peabody or a Holiday Inn, donate to support the miracle work at St. Jude, and visit the STAX museum!"