Trouble the Water

YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS FILM!

Thanks to James' sister, Kathy, we went to the New Orleans preview screening of Trouble the Water at NOCCA last weekend. We had no idea what to expect - we only assumed that the film was about Hurricane Katrina, and Kathy seldom leads us astray, so we went. We were surprised to see the crowds of people lined up, and the red carpet laid out in anticipation of the arrival of the filmmakers and stars, Kimberly Rivers Roberts and Scott Roberts, directors Tia Lessin and Carl Deal (past films include Bowling for Columbine and Farenheit 9/11), and producer Danny Glover (co-producer Joselyn Barnes, did not attend).

It was an overwhelming experience to sit in the theater and watch this film with Katrina survivors. Trouble the Water shows what other documentaries have not about the storm and the recovery since; yet, it isn't hopeless and you cannot take your eyes away. Kim Roberts is the filmmaker and the star, and she is amazing. When she isn't on-screen, you are waiting for her to come back. She isn't an actress, she was a drug dealer in the 9th ward of New Orleans, who bought a video camera for $20 a week before the storm. She had no idea what she would use it for, until the morning before the storm, when watching the weather, and hearing stories from her neighborhood, she decided that if Katrina was going to be what everyone projected, then she was going to get it on film. The storm and the experience changed her, and essentially, you watch it happen.

We were lucky to meet her afterward. She is a real person, with real concerns, and real tragedy in her life, and she is determined to overcome poverty and to bring New Orleans with her. She is a powerhouse. She has agreed to speak at James' school to talk about her life and her transformation, and to, hopefully, encourage kids to stay on track.


Go to the website - read about this film - Go to the film - Tell your friends to go!

Sundance Awards: Mine

by Peter Travers, ROLLINGSTONE.COM, January 27, 2008

". . . this indelible portrait of New Orleans before, during and after Hurricane Katrina through the eyes of a force of nature named Kimberly Rivers Roberts and her husband Scott Roberts. Gifted filmmkers Tia Lessin and Carl Deal stick it to our absent government and in Kim - who raps her feelings in a voice that demands and deserves a record contract - they have found a human face to put on a national tragedy. Superb in every department."

Sundance: A Star Is Born

by Peter Travers, ROLLINGSTONE.COM, January 25, 2008

. . . the behind-the-camera artistry is handled by the extraordinary team of Tia Lessin and Carl Deal. Trouble the Water is a documentary that will pin you to your seat. It's an account of Hurricane Katrina from the inside.

The best of Sundance

by Andrew O’Hehir, SALON, January 25, 2008

“The romping, stomping, electrified-house vibe at the premiere of this New Orleans documentary was one thing…a transformative story about passion, resilience and heroism among the poorest residents of America’s most downtrodden city.”

Capdau Elementary

Last Wednesday, James started teaching 6th and 7th grade Science at Capdau. He leaves for work every morning at 6:30, because he has hall duty as the students arrive for breakfast. His classes start at 8:00am. He has two 6th grade classes and one 7th grade. On the first day of class, he was surprised to find that he was also teaching reading for the first hour of the day to his homeroom (also 6th grade). Luckily, he is resourceful and had stacks of science-related short stories that we had collected before leaving Gainesville, so he hands those out each morning. He has approximately 22 students in each class and the classes are 90 minutes long.

The first day, he wanted to start a simple exercise that would lead to another exercise for each of his classes, so he handed out rulers and asked them to mark an inch on their paper. He waited for a minute, and when they seemed to not be finishing up quickly enough, he began walking around the room to see what was going on. He was shocked to look at each students' idea of what an inch was. Some had a cm, some had 6 inches, some 3, etc. He wasn't sure if they were joking around, or if they really didn't know. After some questions and some very confused student responses, he confirmed that the kids didn't know what an inch was.

The lessons that he had planned up to this point, are much too advanced. So, he is back-tracking. Assessing students' knowledge and trying to give them a base to move forward from.

Also, on the first day, he had students complete an info worksheet - their 411, so he could get contact information, learn about them, and assess their reading and writing skills. Only one of the over 60+ students listed a father as the major caregiver, and only a few more listed an adult male living in the home. The majority loved experiments but none could spell the word correctly - spellings ranged from espimens to esparimints. The students were to list their favorite personal trait and one thing they wish they could change. "Hair" and "everything" were popular favorites. The answers for what they might change, were more varied - "nothing - I'm perfect", "I have a big head", or "My feet are giant" "people say I talk too much". The one that resonates most is "The color of my skin."

Tulane's School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine

Prior to my arrival in New Orleans, I submitted an application to Tulane's School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. I applied with the idea that this would be my fall-back plan, since I hadn't received my Praxis scores (required test scores to teach in certain states) and wasn't confident that the teaching thing was going to happen. Over the following weeks of my move and my teachNOLA training, I went through a series of interviews and was offered a job as Program Manager in the Maternal and Child Public Health Leadership Training program (it's a mouthful, I know ). I attempted to work out a deferment with teachNOLA, because the position is grant-funded and, if the grant is not re-newed, will end in fall 2010. After much discussion, it was determined that I could not defer and that my choice was to either continue with teachNOLA or resign. The Tulane opportunity was one that I wasn't willing to pass up at this point in my life, so I accepted.

The program is exciting and the challenges are many; the job offers opportunities for me to teach and travel, and to do significant community outreach. A major focus will be enhancing the program in order to reapply for the next funding cycle of the grant - 2010 - 2015. I'm currently in the process of designing a public school component in which Master's and PhD students will visit science classes to teach about their professions and possibly mentor students. My envisioned focus is to lead students of NOLA public schools toward careers in public health and master's training at Tulane.

Many students I taught over the summer felt like they wanted to go to college but had no idea which college or what they might study or how to begin to figure those things out. How exciting would it be for them to have a mentor who helps guide them toward that goal with the possibility of a master's degree and a meaningful career at the end!