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written Fat Tuesday, 2/20/2007
| As I mentioned several entries ago, I started including poems along with the lesson plans I submit to school administrators every week. Scattered throughout this entry are some of those poems. “Beatin’ down this player hater with my graphing calculator”
Since returning to school after the winter break, I haven’t been feeling quite as stressed as I was during the first half of the school year. I still have much room to grow as a teacher, but maybe I’m finally finding some rhythm and confidence in this job. There are aspects of teaching that drive me nuts, but I’m starting to appreciate the bright moments a little more. Perhaps my feud with English teacher Michael Depp is what triggered my brighter outlook (or maybe it’s the Prozac, but who cares what the reason is?) In the New Year, students were anxious to find out whether there would be any further shenanigans from their warring teachers. For the most part, Mr. Depp and I were ready to give the antics a rest, but we had tentatively agreed to a final showdown during Lusher High School’s “Spirit Week” at the end of January. This week would include numerous activities and competitions intended to build class solidarity and pride. The main event would be a rap battle, in which M.C. Depp and Mista Whizz-ite would face off in front of the student audience. I had already written the bulk of my rhymes during the holidays and memorized them in the following weeks. However, Michael insisted that he works best under pressure. True to his claim, he waited until just days before the contest to start writing his verses. He employed his students to help him write his raps, and would just barely finish writing about an hour before the event.
On Friday of Spirit Week, a special schedule allowed for several hours of activities in the gym. The time for the main event had arrived, and I must brag that we put on quite a show. The gym is about to undergo a major renovation, and unfortunately the current condition provided terrible acoustics. I did procure two video cameras and asked colleagues to film the event. As soon as I can figure out how to edit the video with subtitles, I’ll post it here and let the evidence demonstrate whose skills were superior. The students thoroughly enjoyed the event, and it was a fitting conclusion to our epic feud.
Cheering for the SaintsDespite having very little interest in professional sports, it was hard not to get caught up in the Saints championship run. On MLK weekend, the Saints defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in an exciting NFC playoff game.
With a 3-13 record last year, the Saints are now in the NFL record books for having the lowest winning percentage a year prior to going to the NFC championship game. Unfortunately, they fell short of a storybook ending after being defeated by the Chicago Bears. Oh well, the season provided a lot of thrilling moments and inspiration for this city.
American Mathematics CompetitionAfter my student Samane won the Who Wants to Be a Mathematician contest in early January, I was inspired to find an opportunity to let more of my students participate in math contests. (The AMS summarized the event on their web site.) Most of the problems I used to practice with Sam were from the AHSME (American High School Math Exam) contests. This was the only contest from my high school days that was administered on site at my high school, and was open to all students. The same afternoon that Sam won, I checked to see if the AHSME contest was still around. In its 58th year, it turns out the contest is still going strong with over 200,000 students participating every year. About 8 years ago the contest was renamed AMC-12 (American Mathematics Competition 12, for all high school grades), and a slightly less-advanced AMC-10 contest was added with intent of increasing participation amongst 9th and 10th graders. I registered Lusher for the contest, which would have to be administered on February 6, having no idea how many students would be interested. I hyped Sam’s contest win at the daily morning conference, and I believe many students were inspired by her success. I kept repeating to my classes that there is “nothing to lose” by taking these contests, and I shared with them how valuable math contests were to me on my college applications. I started including problems from previous years’ contests several times a week in my lessons. The interest that the students demonstrated in the problems – even many of the weaker students – was awesome! I had anticipated that 50 students at most would sign up for the competition, but I ended up having to order more contest forms when about 80 of the approximately 215 total high school students decided to participate. I kept reminding my students that this is not a typical school test, in which one is expected to score 70-100%. For this contest, getting one third of the questions correct would be about average. With so many students taking the contest on February 6, organizing and administering the event was a healthy challenge for me. I enlisted the help of three other teachers, and split the students up into four classrooms. Things actually went off without a hitch, and I mailed the contest forms on that same afternoon. The feedback I got from the students is that it was very difficult, but generally a positive experience. Students continued to discuss the problems for several days. Since these are exactly the types of problems that made math fun and interesting for me in high school, I hope that objective was achieved as well for many of my students. I just received the results for the AMC contest. Overall the scores are not stellar. The average scores for both the AMC-10 and AMC-12 are in the low 50s out of 150 total points, which is about 10-20 points lower than typical nationwide averages. The scoring system is such that this average represents about 4 or 5 out of 25 questions answered correctly. In any case, I’m very proud of the school winners, and I’m proud of all the students who put forth their best effort. This is the first time almost all of them have ever taken a contest like this, and I know they’ll be able to do even better next year with a little more experience and practice. “Lost love may leave one’s heart in shambles, but fate rewards the ‘mess’ who gambles”Xxxxx xxxxxx xxxx xxxxxxx xx X xxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxxx x x xxxxxxxxx. Xxxxxxx x x xxxxx xx xxx xxxx xx x xxxxx xxxxx xxxx xxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxx. Xxxx x xx X xxxxx xx xxxx x xxxx x xx x xxxxx. X xxx x xxx x xxx. Xxxxx xxxxxx xxxx xxxxxxx xx X xxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxxx x x xxxxxxxxx. Xxxxxxx x x xxxxx xx xxx xxxx xx x xxxxx xxxxx xxxx xxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxx. Xxxx x xx X xxxxx xx xxxx x xxxx x xx x xxxxx. X xxx x xxx x xxx. Xxxxx xxxxxx xxxx xxxxxxx xx X xxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxxx x x xxxxxxxxx. Xxxxxxx x x xxxxx xx xxx xxxx xx x xxxxx xxxxx xxxx xxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxx. Xxxx x xx X xxxxx xx xxxx x xxxx x xx x xxxxx. X xxx x xxx x xxx. Xxxxx xxxxxx xxxx xxxxxxx xx X xxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxxx x x xxxxxxxxx. Xxxxxxx x x xxxxx xx xxx xxxx xx x xxxxx xxxxx xxxx xxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxx. Xxxx x xx X xxxxx xx xxxx x xxxx x xx x xxxxx. X xxx x xxx x xxx. Xxxxx xxxxxx xxxx xxxxxxx xx X xxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxxx x x xxxxxxxxx. Xxxxxxx x x xxxxx xx xxx xxxx xx x xxxxx xxxxx xxxx xxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxx. Xxxx x xx X xxxxx xx xxxx x xxxx x xx x xxxxx. X xxx x xxx x xxx.
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Big Fat TuesdayLast year I technically experienced my first Mardi Gras. I was living in Kenner though, and only made it to one evening of parades. I had a good time, but in some ways I consider this year to be my first real Mardi Gras. Now living in Uptown New Orleans, I’m at a great spot to see the parades. Of the 63 parades this year, 28 follow an Uptown route. My apartment is about a three-quarter mile from the intersection of St. Charles and Napoleon, which is the first turn of the route. I initially set out to attend every Uptown parade. I caught the first 19 over the course of seven different days, but eventually ran out of steam and missed most of the parades on the long weekend leading up to Fat Tuesday. I enjoyed sharing the Mardi Gras experience with a range of friends. On one or more days, I attended parades with a group of teachers from the Lusher Middle School, Mr. Depp and his friends, my neighbor Sandi, TGNO friend Michelle and others, and TGNO friend Sunday. My favorite parades are definitely those with satirical themes. Some of the highlights this year include the Krewe du Vieux parade. Starting in the Marigny and ending in the French Quarter, this is the only non-Uptown parade I attended. I could take or leave the raunchiness, but the political lampooning infused in the “Habitat for Insanity” theme was brilliant. Le Krewe D’État’s television show theme ridiculed public officials and personalities with floats such as “Ameri-con Idle” (targeting mayor Ray Nagin) and “Murder, He Wrote” (aimed at Vince Marinello, local former sportscaster charged with killing his wife last year). Last year, my single parade evening included Endymion (which had been pushed back a day due to bad weather) and Bacchus, which are apparently the two biggest and most elaborate parades. This year they ran on consecutive days as scheduled, and I came to appreciate how much Katrina had downsized the festivities last year. While most parades feature less than 30 floats, Endymion was apparently back to full scale. When my neighbor Sandi told me that there were 60 (!) floats, I realized that I probably should have skipped the two parades earlier in the day. I would not last the evening, and we left after the first 15 floats or so. By far, my favorite parade this year was produced by the Krewe of Muses. The theme for this all-women krewe was “The Adventures of Supermuse,” featuring super(?)hero characters such as Mighty Mouth (Mayor Nagin), Wondering Woman (Governer Kathleen Blanco), Mr. Freeze (Congressman Bill Jefferson, who was caught with a shady $90,000 hidden in his freezer, but still got reelected!), The Fanatic 4 (Bush, Cheney, Rumsfield, Rice), and Cooperman (Anderson Cooper, “saving us one photo-op at a time”), among others. In most parades, my method of acquiring “throws” consisted of using my long arms to grab beads before they could reach the surrounding crowd. Most krewe members are dudes, and I suppose I can’t blame them for not intentionally throwing to a 6’6” man in the crowd. After a couple 24-ounce daiquiris, one shameless night found me crouching behind the police barricades yelling, “I’m a pretty girrrrrrrrl!” only to leap up and snatch the throws away from their intended female targets. Could a lack of chivalry be J-Romeo’s downfall? At the Muses parade, I briefly tried to work my winning smile and charm. Soon realizing that flirtation is not my strongest skill, I reverted to a careful measure of pity. I ran after numerous floats, yelling to the middle-aged Muses, “I’m a public school teacher! I spend all day with teenagers, and I don’t get paid much!” This approach worked splendidly, and I collected three bags worth of goodies. I even managed to score one of the most rare and coveted throws of the Muses parade: a custom decorated woman’s shoe. Yes indeed, those Muses knew how to show lonely J-Romeo some love. Happy Mardi Gras.
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