Engaging Students

This morning I participated on a panel discussion for new faculty entitled "How to Engage Xavier Students." It was very helpful for me, as I desperately need to get my teach on as Editor B put it. It's sort of an attitude adjustment that happens at summer's end, and it's time for me to get back in to the frame of mind necessary to be an effective teacher. I absolutely love universities in the summer when there are no students, I'm sad to say. And I love not having to grade papers and explain to students why their hero Oprah is going to hell. But it's that time of year again, and I need to be reminded why what I do as an educator is important. It helped me to hear some of my talented colleagues talk about what successes and failures they've had in the classroom. Xavier is a pretty special place. This is my seventh year there, but the first for me with tenure and an Associate Professor rank. Xavier and I have had our share of problems and differences over the years. I was especially upset after they fired many of my tenured colleagues after Katrina. But all in all I'm proud to be part of Xavier.

There is something simple that I can do to better engage students. I need to learn their names. I typically have about 120 students a semester, and since Katrina, I have not forced myself to learn them as I did before. I start "engaging" students, at least in theory, next Thursday. But everyone's watching to see what Dean will do.

A NOLA Blogger for City Council

I think that many of the New Orleans bloggers would make a fine representative on the city council. You'll see their wisdom and wit on display at the Rising Tide 2 Conference. But having pondered this for a few days now, and being a narcissistic genius, I think that Karen "Gadfly" Gadbois from Squandered Heritage would make the best candidate. She's the only one I know of who has been stippled by the Wall Street Journal.

There, I blogged it, now make it happen.

Have You Seen Our Cow?

Special Agent James Bernazzani, FBI's New Orleans Field Office, said the following about political corruption in Louisiana:

It's not unique to Louisiana. It's just brazen down here. Machine politics in the north will skim the cream. Here in Louisiana, they skim the cream, they steal the milk, hijack the bottles and look for the cow. And it is brazen, the amount of activity down here where people think it's their right as soon as they assume office to steal from the people.

Corruption

I learned late Saturday night that one of the most beloved politicians in New Orleans, Oliver Thomas, was pleading guilty to charges that he accepted bribes five years ago. That has really got me depressed and feeling betrayed. For those in America who would rather not fund the rebuilding of New Orleans because of alleged political corruption, another arrow is in your arsenal. And then there's this, where Katrina relief tax money is going to build luxury Alabama football condos. Things don't look too optimistic right now.

Gentrified

My family and I attended our neighborhood's Night Out Against Crime block party last evening. We got to meet many of our new neighbors. Our crooked house is sort of famous around these parts (second only to our neighbor's K-Ville house), and everyone was glad to hear our contractors are about ready to start repairing it. There were many middle class families with young children, ourselves included. Moreover, everyone there was Caucasian. I've often heard and read that Katrina was harder on African American families for a variety of reasons. One of the things that attracted my family and I to Mid-City was the mixture of socio-economic classes, and the mixture of races and ethnicities.

Parked

After nearly two months in Israel, a week in Nebraska, and a few days in Florida, our Toyota Highlander is finally parked in front of our house on S. Hennessey. The longer I live in New Orleans, the tougher it gets to leave here, despite its many problems. After being away so long, it seems many things remain unchanged. Only about 1/3 to 1/2 of the residents in my neighborhood are back, and the schools still need a major overhaul. We continue to suffer under the blunders, incompetance, and corruption of many of our public officials. I feel both rejuvinated and worn out at the same time if that is possible. I think we're about two weeks away from beginning to repair our house. Once we start, it will take about 10 months to a year to finish. I can't wait to get our stuff out of storage and finally move back into our house.

Charter School Lobby Touts LEAP Results

Back in 2006 the New York Times ran an article about how students at charter schools scored worse than students in regular public schools. The pro-charter lobby, who wants to privatize public education, needed their own experiment to illustrate how charter schools were superior to public schools. Katrina gave them the opportunity for which they were looking.

Today is the day I predicted back in March of 2007. In this blog and in an opinion piece for the Times-Picayune, I wrote that the pro-charter lobby would use the LEAP scores to claim charter schools are the answer to improve public education. It turns out that charter schools scored better than Recover School District schools in New Orleans. Big freaking deal. Being that many RSD schools had 40 children in a classroom whereas charter schools were able to cap enrollment at about 22 is a major factor. Being that charter schools had certified teachers whereas many RSD schools did not is a major factor. Also notice that the top performing schools, such as Lusher and Audubon, have a selective admissions policy. Another factor was the total incompetance of the RSD governing body. Two of the quotations made me cringe. Brian Riedlinger, the president of Algiers Charter Schools, said that "One of the things we know about successful schools is that they have successful principals." The best principal I have ever met, Keith Bartlett, works at Dibert Elementary, a school where 78% of 4th graders did not score "basic." Leslie Jacobs, the president of the state run BESE school board and who has been pushing for all of New Orleans schools to become charters, claims that students at charter schools feel ownership which empowers them. I went to a great government-run public school and all of the students there felt ownership. What New Orleans needs is a quality school board, something that has been lacking for many years. To compare charter schools to schools run by the RSD is not a fair comparison, and I hope that some journalists dig a bit deeper into this situation.

My Father's Repose

My sister, brother, and I, along with our families, today spread the ashes of my father in two of his favorite places. We planned on doing this immediately after his funeral back in February but due to an ice storm we put it off until today. First we went to Clarks, Nebraska, where we had a cabin on the Platte River. We all shared some of our memories and then sprinkled my father's cremated ashes into the river. Next we went to Cedar Rapids to our family's farm, and spread the remainder of the ashes there. I think he would have enjoyed hearing our stories about him. I know he would have loved reminiscing about all the time we spent at the cabin. I did a lot of growing up there. The wilderness gave me the space I needed to get through some awkward and difficult years. I still miss you dad, and I appreciate all you did for me. Rest in peace.

A Well on a Farm

Today, like yesterday, I drove to Albion Nebraska to complete government paperwork related to a well. When my father passed away last February, my brother, sister, and I became joint owners of a 160 acre farm near Cedar Rapids Nebraska. My family has been farming in that area for well over 100 years, and it was my father’s wish that we keep the farm for at least five years. He wanted me and my siblings to know what it was like to own farmland, and to be part of a long family tradition. Luckily, we lease the land out to a very capable farmer, and so I don’t need to suddenly learn about farm chemistry or buy a combine. But we moved the well on the farm so that it is located close to the central pivot, and with all the water regulations and legislation due to the drying up of the Ogallala Aquifer, this has become a bureaucratic hurdle. We thought we had better move it now, before tighter regulations go into effect in 2008. We also drilled it very deep. We hit water at 60 foot, but drilled it 160 feet deep. Our tenant says it is the best well in the region. That would have made my dad proud I’m sure.

A Brief Homecoming

I was so glad to arrive back in New Orleans early Friday morning. But then late Saturday night we all piled in the car and drove to Nebraska. Here in the Cornhusker state I hope to take care of some legal issues pertaining to my father's estate and farm, carry out the repose of my father's remains, and to provide some quality time between my children and their grandparents. We should be finally back in New Orleans on Sunday.