Cross that bridge

In my quest to become a true New Orlean, I have been spending copious amounts of time on my porch. I fix myself some coffee, or some eggs, or what have you, and bask in the sun next to my camelia plant. I usually wear Brandon's brown hat tilted forward to shield the sun, sip my coffee, and attempt to slow my head down. My camelia plant is actually my new favorite thing to hang out with. She is quiet, beautiful, fragrant company. Being alone is easier when you have a camelia plant.

After my date with my porch and camelia plant, I jumped on my bike to go to the Lower Ninth Ward Village, a non profit community center for youth. For those of you who might not know, the lower 9th ward is one of the most economically depressed communities of New Orleans, and was one of the the neighborhood hit the hardest by Katrina. Before Katrina, the lower
9th had 7 schools, it now has 1 charter school. Most of the students at this charter school are not even residents of the lower 9th, and most lower 9th children have to spend 2 to 3 hours on a bus to get to school. As you can imagine, the drop out rate for lower 9th children is through the roof, almost 65% I believe. The Lower 9th Ward Village seeks to help these children and build community through educational and recreational programs. Mack,the executive director, says that if I really want to make a difference with my teaching, if I want to challenge myself and serve the community that really needs my level of commitment and compassion, I need to be a part of this project.

Duh.

My idea is to have the NOLA free school collaborate with the village and have classes in their awesome facility when they finally open. I want the program to be somewhat of a mentorship, where older students who are struggling in their classes can gain extra credit by coming to my program and helping little kids. They will improve their reading and writing skill while helping others, and I would like them to make books that they can take home. It's going to take a considerable amount of networking and research, but it is so worth it. Even if it isn't as awesome as I envision it, something that even comes close will be beneficial. That's for damn sure.