Peace Corps-esque

Happy hump day, peoples.

Yesterday was probably my last day of tutoring for the semester, since Providence schools are out next week. And while I made a commitment to tutor for one full year (two semesters), yesterday may also have been my last session with the after-school program I have been assisting.

To be clear, there's a big volunteer program, Volunteers in Providence Schools (VIPS), and then there're a bunch of individual programs at local schools that operate under the VIPS umbrella. VIPS isn't going anywhere, but the two heads of the individual program I have been assisting are a boyfriend-girlfriend tandem about the same age as Sue and I that teach high school ESL (English as a second language), and in a couple weeks they will be moving to Jordan to work in an international school. Sounds like they lined up a Peace Corps-esque opportunity. It's unclear what will happen to the after-school tutoring program, since they have been running it for the past couple years.

Yesterday I worked with a young woman who was assigned a year-end trigonometry project. Among some related activities, she had to develop a PowerPoint presentation showing how trigonometric principles could be applied to a sport. She chose softball, but after about 45 minutes of back and forth, it became apparent that she had only the foggiest idea about how to relate softball with trigonometry, and her goal was to get me to do her report for her. I felt a little badly, since the report was due the next day (today), but we're definitely not supposed to do kids' homework for them.

PS
If you want to understand the essence of Providence in 2009 (and Rhode Island for that matter), you have to read this... trust us: WPRO talk-show hosts John DePetro, Ron St. Pierre spar.

While it may get you chuckling, this reflects all the worst things Providence has to offer - insecurity intertwined with machismo, the miserable state of political discourse, a poorly informed but totally fed up citizenry (see the comments), etc. but recognize that these issues they're discussing - pensions, government employees and services - are at the heart of Providence's and Rhode Island's *very* serious longstanding fiscal problems.

It's like a friggin' circus when it should be a public policy debate society. Consider what school children must be thinking when their parents tune in to the previously incarcerated mayor of the capital city - a local radio celebrity.

Reee-diculous. What an embarrassment.