Mardi Gras and Everything Else

As per my dear brother's request, and because I have just OODLES of free time (ok, maybe not the second part) I thought I'd add another post. I know it's been a while.

I don't much remember where I left off last time, but I'm sure a lot has happened since. I had my first Mardi Gras, which was AWESOME. It was like a big outdoor festival for about 2 weeks. I think my favorite part was definitely the Sunday of Mardi Gras week. Myself and a bunch of friends parked ourselves on St Charles Avenue, which is the main parade route, and relaxed there all day, for about 12 hours. We saw 5 parades, got hundreds of beads and stuff thrown to us, listened to live music and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Plus I got a fantastic sunburn with my sunglasses on, so I rocked the raccoon look for about a week. I think every single one of my students asked me "What's wrong with your face?" when we got back.

I got to see my first Hornets game, which was cool. I hadn't been to any sort of sports game in far too long, and after going to UConn, it was about time (on that note, 6 OVERTIMES?!?!? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!). I got to show my friend Brittany around the city when she came for her spring break, which was also a good time. It's funny to watch nearly everyone have the same reaction to New Orleans. It goes something like this:

Day 1: "Ehh, it's cool...very different from the Northeast. Very flat..."
Day 2: "Oh man, this food is so good!"
Day 3: "No, this food is like SOOOOO good!!! And there's so much fun stuff!"
Day 4: "Ok, I want to bathe in this food (that's for you Jamie). And it's so warm!"
Day 5: "I'm never leaving".

It's quite entertaining actually. I did pretty much the same thing, though I think it was a bit slower because of the teaching in between. One night I actually tried to list out all the good restaurants I know of here, so Brit and I could decide where to go. I hit about 35 and was going strong so I decided to stop.

As far as school goes, it's actually gotten surprisingly better as of late. There's always something going on, now that we're approaching the end of the year. Testing is coming up in a couple of weeks, so everyone's going nuts. I'm not quite sure how I feel about the testing. I haven't actually taught students who will be taking the high-stakes Science exam this year so I don't feel like I've had much effect on my students in that respect.

I've actually been really proud of my students lately though. Almost every one of my classes has been getting at least a 75% average on quizzes and tests (they're working on a contest for a party at the end of the year and they have to score at least a 75% to earn points for it as a class). My honor's class actually got a 94% average on their last quiz, and all of them got a "C" or better for our 3rd quarter. But of course it was all them, hard for me to take much credit.

They really are quite funny too. Most students find my class rather difficult and think I am strict/mean (among other, more colorful terms they've used). But they always come back for more, and some have learned quite a bit this year. In fact, some of the ones I've been the toughest on have improved the most. It's hard sometimes to always be strict and tough, especially when I hear about some of the things these kids deal with in their lives. I want to just take their tests for them and write their papers and hold their hands. But it has actually be so much more rewarding to see some of my students take it upon themselves to start doing better. I have one student who is a complete clown sometimes (and is usually cracking me up too). He didn't do very well at the beginning of the year, failed a lot of tests pretty badly and was really struggling. About half-way through the year I met with his mom and the three of us discussed his academics. Since then, he's gone up to an "A" average in my class and scores about an 80% on my tests. He actually got Student of the Month (nominated by me) this month. I thought he'd won the lottery when it was announced.

I suppose it's kids like that that have me hanging in for at least another year. I've been thinking about staying for a 3rd too. It'll be hard to leave all these guys before they graduate. Plus I figure I'll only get better each year, haha.

I am definitely looking forward to April break and the summer however. Don't know much what I'll be up to but it'll be a good chance to re-group and re-focus on what I want to do in my classroom.

As I recently mentioned to my mother, I cannot believe how fast time is moving. In giant chunks, it seems, rather than minutes or hours. One year here is almost over...I don't plan on leaving any time soon (I know I know, much to the dismay of some at home) It's just a great place to be at this point in my life, and I have no rush to move on. I've actually looked in to studying law here, they have a great program at both Tulane and Loyola, and everyone says it's really interesting to study here because of the French codes and all. Since I'm not planning on practicing law (probably) it might be cool to learn in someplace so unique. Apparently scholars come from all over the world to study here......Well and apparently people from TFA get a decent amount of money to help pay. So, you know, that doesn't hurt.

I thought about Chicago next, to continue my tour of US cities. But I just can't bring myself to move back to anywhere cold any time soon. It was late February and I got a SUNBURN from the 75 degree weather. Awesome.

Well, I suppose that about wraps things up. I'll try and be a bit less tardy in my postings. Might get a little easier as the year winds down. Until next time.... :)