Confratute

Greetings from UCONN! Mr. Connolly, Ms. Lewis, Ms. Stupart, and I are attending a week-long summer institute at the University of Connecticut called Confratute (conference + fraternity + institute). The conference's goal is to offer enrichment activities to teachers, so teachers can make class more fun and interesting for students. I'm taking two classes this week: one on bookmaking and the other on modular origami.

In my bookmaking class today, I learned about a v interesting book called Spoiled: The Refrigerators of New Orleans by Tom Varisco. Varisco photographed the spoiled refrigerators during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. These Katrina Refrigerators became a mode of self-expression during the aftermath of Katrina's destruction -- residents used spray cans and garbage to create graffiti with humorous, satirical, and/or political messages.


As you can see, creativity comes in a multitude of unexpected forms...For example, at lunch today, Mr. Connolly inverted a coffee cup lid to use as a ketchup container. I've also seen him use the gulf of space between a 4-cup cupholder. Creative, but honestly, also a bit depressing. The man, clearly, likes his ketchup.