The Brilliance and Screw-ups of Mr. Lasseter

For this post we had to comment on the success and failure of the second years.

In his failure section, Patrick talked about how miserable his 4th period class was. In a class of 20, about 7 or 8 of them went to alternative schools or were expelled. He thought that after these problem kids were gone, he would have better order and a more productive classroom. He was wrong. Instead, an additional six boys in that class started making trouble. They were talking back, talking during class, frequently getting kicked out, and generally playing around everyday. They didn't pass the first semester and were failing the second but they still had time in last nine weeks to pass. In the end, Patrick gave up and stopped caring if they passed or did their work. He was happy if they just stayed quiet writing something. His other students, however, did pass.

Patrick sees his failure in giving up as a teacher. He thought he should put more effort into those students who were failing and acting out. I understand where Patrick can be hard on himself and think that this was a failure, but before the final straw, I'm sure he did alot to try and motivate those kids. As a teacher, especially in the schools MTC works with, many of the kids go to school because they have to and it's something to do. (I learned this in summer school because many of the parents' eyes lit up when they discovered that they could send their kids to summer school, even if they wouldn't get credit for it. I mean, free daycare? Who's going to pass that up. I digress). So if they are not necessarily performing well, often times it's because they just don't care or there are circumstances outside the classroom that causes them to act out. And that can be very frustrating as a teacher; trying to reach someone who constantly rejects you. I can see where you'd just want to check out. So, in the end, I wouldn't go so far as to call it a failure. I think it's just something that comes with the job.

On a better note,

In his success story, he spoke of a student named Gelisha. She was really quiet and opened her mouth only to say, "Hello, Mr. Lasseter" She flew under the radar the first semester and was one of twelve who failed the class. (Her average was 60%). Second semester, Patrick reached out to her more and found that she had some learning difficulties. She severely struggled when reading. He got her working with other students and taking tests after school when she needed more time. They worked on reading comprehension and other "basic" skills. And he checked on her each class to ensure that she was getting the concepts. Gelisha passed second semester with a 72.

Patrick says his success story isn't one to knock anybody's socks off. But I think it should, especially to those who know the difficulties of teaching. It can be very difficult to motivate an underperforming child to do better because they listen to their peers, and even some adults, call them stupid. In this case, Patrick took an active role as a teacher and got close enough to his student to realize that she couldn't read well. How many of her teachers knew that but passed her anyway just to get her out? No, she didn't get an "A" but her improvement shows just how much of an impact a dedicated teacher can make on a student. She was willing to talk to other students and stay after school, those are successes in itself.

Good job Patrick. I'll know you'll do an awesome job next year.

One Thursday Afternoon

Dr. Boyd spoke to us about the relationship between education and poverty. When he presented his findings of median household income compared to test scores, I was very surprised. New York ranked about number 18 in median household income (a shocker in itself) and number 34 in the percentage of state-wide poverty. I must admit with all the multi-millionaires living it up in Manhattan, I expected New York to be much higher on the income scale. Mississippi was ranked last (50) in both of those categories. What Dr. Boyd found from these numbers is a correlation between poverty percentage/median income and test scores. States that ranked lower in median household income and higher in poverty percentage tended to perform lower on the 4th grade reading exam.

But as I sat there reading these stats I couldn't help but notice that the states doing the worst in these categories are southern, former Confederate states. The majority of these states are rural, some with very poor residents. But then I think of the urban poor in the inner cities of places like New York, Chicago, and Detroit. They probably have just as many poor residents as these southern states except more densely populated, therefore the percentage of poverty would be lower in states with urban poor neighborhoods. I guess what I'm ultimately trying to say is that I don't completely trust his findings. He is a brilliant man and has an excellent resume but I think there are more things that need to be controlled for or taken into consideration before using the data to find questionable correlations.

With a Heavy Heart. . .

This is the blog that I wrote for ASIP. They asked what challenges we face that complicates or affects our job as interns. Here is my response...

Alot of times we are asked to tell how challenges within our internship affect us. I don't really have any challenges though. We have an amazing boss and all of our work is managable. So for this post I'm just going to talk about something relevant to my job.

Being in Mississippi has been a learning experience for me in so many ways. I've learned about Mississippi's rough history, where they are now, and where they are trying to go. Many of our fieldtrips through the Delta really open up my eyes to disparities in education that are present in the United States. People often joke about living "on the wrong side of the bridge" or "the wrong side of the tracks" but I've never actually seen it. Going to Greenwood and Indianola, you can see the blatant differences between the white neighborhood and white schools which are on one side of the train tracks and the black neighborhood and black schools on the other side of the tracks. So let me change my previous statement; I do face challenges in my internship. It is extremely difficult for me to see this and not know what to do. I struggle with this everyday that I am down here. How do we make it better? How do we make the teachers stay? How do we prevent teen pregnancy and break the vicious cycle of poverty and illiteracy? What are the answers to these questions? I don't know. And that is my greatest challenge; wanting to help but not knowing how I can make an impact in a system that's so broken and damaged.

This post got a response in which a fellow Amherst College student in an educational internship presented the following quote, "The best way to predict the future is by creating it."

As I sat there reflecting on it, I realized that it's true. I keep asking how? how? how? can we change "the inevitable." But we, as concerned citizens, have to take matters into our own hands rather than accept that these inequalties exist and that some people just have to deal with a poverty cycle that started with their great grandparents and seem to never end. We have to find a way to change the course these kids are on. And I think there are many programs out there that seek to do just that (like Teach for America or Mississippi Teacher Corps). We just need to figure out how to magnify them so we can reach more kids.

Code Name: 20 LMs, 7 UTs, and 1 IT

About the title: This post definitely needs this explanation. I didn't want to have to do this but the title was too long to actually write it out. So this is what it means; 20 Lost Minutes, 7 U-Turns, and 1 Illegal Turn (in the wrong direction down a one-way street) This was our first hour in Jackson, courtesy of Mr. James Benjamin Guest XII. We were forced to drive around for 20 minutes because he was lost. We made a total of 7 u-turns and he managed to drive down a one way street going the wrong way. Someone should get Ben a GPS system or something. But I digress.

We saw four speakers on Saturday; Ward Schaefer, Torsheta Bowens, Lincoln Dall, and Jerry Mitchell. This post is really supposed to be dedicated to one of them but I've decided to take matters into my own hands and write a little bit about each of them. They all made the trip to Jackson worth missing some of the MTC volleyball championship/farewell bbq so I'm going to let each of them shine.

WARD SCHAEFER: How do you teach in a classroom without proper walls? What do you do when you cannot get adequate support from your district or administrators? These are some of the things Ward had to deal with while teaching his first year. Despite all the obstacles, he managed to survive the year at one of the toughest schools employing MTC teachers. Even after going through all of this (including a school change after his first year), Ward stayed in Mississippi. He wants to use the Jackson Free Press to address issues facing the state and work to make effective changes to state legislation. Looking at Ward, I think back to the conversation we had at Baskin Robbins/in the car/in our livingroom. I don't think it matters where the teachers come from. Look at Ward, Dave, Father Dall, Ben, and many more I'm sure. They may not be in public education anymore but they have stayed and make significant improvements in this state. I commend them all for working to make a better Mississippi even though it is not their original home.

TORSHETA BOWENS: If you are a teen mother, your life is over. Give up all your dreams and aspirations because you can never make anything of your life. Torsheta rose above this common view of teenage pregnancy prevalent in MS. Not only did she graduate high school but she went on to college and participated in one of the most competitive teaching programs in the country. Torsheta is an inspiration. It further exemplifies my belief that we cannot write these kids off as screw ups or damaged goods. Yes, people are victims of their circumstances but that doesn't mean that they cannot rise above them. They just need a good head on their shoulders or a push in the right direction.

LINCLON DALL: Father Lincoln Dall is probably one of the most interesting people I have ever met. Listening to his life journey was almost unreal. I wonder how someone can do so much in a lifetime and be effective at everything they do. Father Dall's story of his prison ministry touched us all. He even brought one of us to tears as he tried to fight back the tears himself. His story further exemplified my point about how we treat our prisoners. Once they are behind those walls, they are forgotten. No one bothers to see if they are properly fed, cared for, or that due process is ensured. I applaud Father Dall for listening when no one else would. He probably helped to strengthen that man's spirit.

JERRY MITCHELL: I must admit that after taling to Mr. Mitchell I wanted to go home and watch the Medgar Evers movie so I can see if I can spot his 3 pens :-) Jerry was probably my favorite speaker of the day. I actually prefer when speakers just come with stories rather than philosophical thoughts of education and life in general. He kept it real with us and I really appreciated that. I can't wait until his movie comes out. And Mr. Mitchell, if you read this by some chance, I want advanced tickets of the movie and all that good stuff :-)

ISTJ (Intelligent, Sneaky, Trustworthy, Juvenile) ;-)

So we had to take this personality test; Myers-Briggs Personality Test (MBPT). After answering about 50 questions, I've been classified as an ISTJ, which really stands for "introverted, sensing, thinking, judging". We have been told to reflect on our outcomes. Honestly, I don't think these tests tell you anything. It's like reading your horoscope; sometimes you feel like they've got you on the money but other times they are so far from the truth that you just have to laugh to yourself.

ISTJs are commonly thought of as inspectors. "They are quiet and reserved individuals who are interested in security and peaceful living. They have a strongly-felt internal sense of duty, which lends them a serious air and the motivation to follow through on tasks. Organized and methodical in their approach, they can generally succeed at any task which they undertake.

ISTJs are very loyal, faithful, and dependable. They place great importance on honesty and integrity. They are "good citizens" who can be depended on to do the right thing for their families and communities. While they generally take things very seriously, they also usually have an offbeat sense of humor and can be a lot of fun - especially at family or work-related gatherings."

What does all this mean to me? Nothing. Yes, I feel that some points of the ISTJ profile fit me but I'm sure other personality types can identify with some of these points as well. In all honesty, I just think this test was created by two men who have nothing to do. Despite my cynicism toward this test, it did nail one important personality trait of mine. It accurately characterized me as an introvert. I remember telling Ben as I lay in agony in the hospital bed :-) that I have never initiated a conversation. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a tiny bit. But I would say about 99.1% of all my relationships (whether friends, acquaintances, etc) were initiated by the other person. I cannot figure out why I am like this. If someone speaks to me, I most certainly engage them in conversation but if it were left up to me, I would probably smile a friendly smile at them and keep going about my own business. This is something that I need to work on. I need to be more proactive with regards to meeting new people rather than reactive.

And I also agree that I have an awesome sense of humor and can be really fun to be around when you get to know me! So maybe this test isn't completely uselss. :-)

The Sky is the Limit?

As my freewrite, I want to talk about my abilities. I am not particularly good at anything. I can't sing, can't dance, not an athlete or a nobel prize quality writer and most definitely not a poet. I'm just me and I'm okay with that. I don't have to be a world-class anything.

People always say, "the sky is the limit! You can do/be whatever you want!" Yes, these are great words of encouragement but when you reach a certain age and have explored so many different fields, hobbies, and extracurriculars, you begin to know your limits. Face it, you cannot do everything! And people need to learn to accept that. I accept my limits and that there are certain things I cannot do. This post may seem a bit out of line to some people but I feel like I should be able to write about whatever I want in a freewrite.

MTC staff, administrators, team teachers, and second years constantly tell us that MTC teachers are not going to change the world and will not change Mississippi overnight. So they drill into first year teachers that they need to realize this and know thier limits. There it goes again! "Know you're limits!" "You cannot be these children's knights in shining armor," they tell them. "Don't get mad if you don't see change," they say. So in this grand attempt to save their teachers from spiraling into depression, they make sure that they know their limits from the beginning.

With all that said, I think it is unreasonable to require me to write a poem, when I cannot. To me, it's like making someone swim across a pool when they clearly can't swim (Gerald Penny, Amherst College Class of 1977). Yes, I'm being a little drastic when I make that comparison but all the same, poetry is a unique form of expression like art or music and everyone is not good at it. The Sky is the Limit when you are young. They sky is the limit when you're finding yourself. Once you've become who youe are, there's a plate glass ceiling.

Misery

About the title: So Ben is forcing us to write a poem as one of our blog posts. Cruel? Yes, very. Especially to those who cannot write poetry. No, it is not true that everyone has a poet inside them. The words that come from a person's mind and flow onto a page do not always make sense. They are not always beautifully or cleverly articulated. Let's face it; some people write trash. With that said, here is the poem I an being forced to write. The title describes how I felt that day.

Misery

One Saturday morning,
rolled out my bed.
Couldn't stop the pounding,
coming from my head.
Should have stayed at home,
but went out instead.

It's just female nature.
I know I'll be okay.
So on to Indianola,
for a catfish lunch that day.
Couldn't stand the smell,
had to get away.
So I snuck off to a corner,
to keep the nausea at bay.

All that didn't work,
still thought that I would die.
My life flashed before my eyes,
and I tried not to cry.
Misery is the best word
to describe that moment.
Looked at my life and realized I didn't own it.


Misery Part II

pain.
misery.
dehydration.
life.
lies!
death.
end.


Happy now Ben? You forced me to produce this mess.

Mine

Ben gave us a book titled "Letters from Mississippi." It had letters, poems, reports, and pictures. I like the idea of the book (reports from civil rights volunteers and poetry of the 1964 Freedom Summer) but unfortunately some of the letters are really boring. However, there is one poem that stuck out to me titled "Mine" by 17 year old Alice Jackson of Jackson, MS. I'll copy the poem at the end if you would like to read it but I want you to read my thoughts on it first.

From history lessons and stories told by older relatives, I've always known how segregation worked in the south but hearing it from this young woman touched me. As I read the poem and she described what she would like to see her home look like, I realized how fortunate my generation is. Yes we also deal with the legacy of slavery (racism in many different forms) but we have never been denied access to public venues simply based on the color of our skin nor do we face the level of blatant day to day racism that our grandparents met.

I do not like the term "African-American" (I would prefer to just be called black considering my father is from Trinidad and my Mom is from Mississippi. "West Indian-African-Native-American" is not the best classification) but I digress. As I read the last two lines of her poem, it got me thinking. Did we even have the term "African-American" back when she was growing up? We were Negroes, not Americans. We were niggers, not people. I still would prefer to be classified as black American but I have a new appreciation of "African-American."

So as I sit here reflecting on her poem, I realize how lucky I am. I don't have to fight as hard as she did to enjoy the rights that the Constitution gave me. I can take pride in knowing that my classification has the word "American" in it. Our next step should be getting rid of the need for hyphens (ex. African-, Irish-, Italian-American) and make us all simply Americans.

MINE
I want to walk the streets of a town,
Turn into any restaurant and sit down,
And be served the food of my choice,
And not be met by a hostile voice.
I want to live in the best hotel for a week,
Or go for a swim at a public beach.
I want to go to the best University
and not be met with violence or uncertainty.
I want the things my ancestors
thought we'd never have.
They are mine as a Negro, an American;
I shall have them or be dead.
- -Alice Jackson

Can I get a freebie?

About the title:
So we've been given the liberty to free write for this post and while titling it I thought of a freebie. It's like you're walking down the street and see a group of girls (or guys, though very rarely) jumping double dutch and you want a turn, you say "Can I get a freebie." If you have been following my blogs from the beginning, you'll find that I have random titles for most of them (unless I'm really lazy, then I'll title it something boring and generic).

Inspired by one of my fellow interns, I want to talk about our dinner party last Wednesday. So one of the first years made dinner one night and we volunteered to make dinner another night and different people jumped on the dinner rotation. Wednesday Shanika used her brilliant artistic talent to make a sign that pointed our guests to either side of our apartments. The final menu was corn on the cob, barbecue chicken, biscuits, pasta salad, plantains, and mashed potatoes. (mmmmmmmm!) And Buck brought brownies for dessert :-)

A lot of people managed to make it out to our party; first years, second years, staff, program directors. It was actually great to see that we can all get along and talk to one another in a social setting without feeling a power hierarchy. Ben asked us if we think the ways in which we all interact with each other affects our job performance, not the interns but the teachers. In the program, third and fourth year teachers (maybe even higher) are staff hired to evaluate the first and second years. But with us living in such close quarters and interacting so much (whether through volleyball, dinners, outings, etc) a potential problem arises. Can the staff accurately evaluate the teachers or will they slack off and "be nice" because they are friends with them?

To answer Ben's question, I don't believe that our close-knit environment necessarily breeds inadequate evaluations. Members of the staff are still professionals and know when it is time to work. If anything, I think they would be more invested in doing a thorough evaluation because they want to see their friends improve and become the best teachers they can be. They also have a better understanding of how to best talk to their "mentee".

The main point I am trying to make in this post is that we are a very close-knit community of MTCers and I don't think that breaking us up or encouraging certain people not to interact with certain others would be more detrimental than anything. When the president of our college asked first year teachers why they chose MTC over other programs like Teach for America, many of them said it is because they feel like MTC had a stronger support system. Many of these teachers can't make it through their first summer without the help of the veterans. So no Ben, I don't think that allowing staff to interact with teachers is a bad idea. I actually think you made a really good decision to allow all of us to be together.

And it continues. . . .

We have been asked to talk about our experiences so far, which is basically another update. I admit that I couldn't really find things I wanted to talk about in my last update. The beauty of the campus hasn't changed much, neither has the weather or our work schedule. So I figure this time I will talk about the actual program (my responsibilities) and the people in the program.

So most of the time the interns just do what Ben tells us to do. We do typical office things (photocopying, making spreadsheets, handling the concerns of the first years) and help run the summer school. First and second years always ask us exactly what we do and we can never really tell them so we just say, "Whatever Ben tells us to do; wash his car, do his laundry, press his shirts." :-) Yes, we can just joke like that, which brings me to what I really want to talk about.

Before interning with the Teacher Corps I had never hung out with people different from myself. I mean I have a lot of non-black friends but they all can identify with me; raised in the city, like hip hop culture, not the richest people, or has experienced/experiences the minority struggle (I wish I had a better phrase for that but it hasn't come to me yet). My last sentence may have been a bit confusing so I'll be blunt, before coming to Mississippi, I cannot count how many white friends I had because I don't have any. It's not that I am racist or don't like white people, I just never thought we could connect because we have had completely different experiences and I mean how can we be friends and carry out normal conversations if half the time you don't know what I'm saying (and vice versa).

I still can't count how many white friends I have. But I'm proud to say that now it's because I have so many. If I don't learn/carry anything else away from Teacher Corps this summer, I can safely say that I have grown in the two weeks that I have been here. I have learned that people are people and we may have different experiences but that shouldn't stop us from speaking to one another. I remember just the other day I was schooling a second year about the ins and outs of black hair. It was actually really funny. And they teach me the southern lingo (which I then proceed to butcher. yea, I'm bad at "foreign" slang)

Teacher Corps has been very beneficial to me. Now I'm confident that I can go back to Amherst and connect with more of my peers since I no longer hold this idea that I cannot be friends with whites.

Update!

So I can't count how long I've been in Mississippi (well I can but I really don't want to). So far, I am having tons of fun. I actually don't think you are supposed to have this much fun at a job. All the people are great and extremely nice. As far as Mississippi goes, everything is great; the weather (as you can imagine, it's never cold), the scenery. Tomorrow we start summer school and I'm very excited about that. I enjoy the speakers that are set up for us but I think would enjoy working in the summer school more (we'll see if that opinion changes once I actually go to the summer school :-) ). The worst thing about the internship is is being away from my family though. Yes I live away at college, but I'm an hour away and can go home when I please. Down here, I definitely can't do that. But hopefully this internship is all worth it (seems like it might be so far!)

The Biography of Asia Millette by Germain McConnell

When Dr. McConnell opened up to us and told us his life story, it was almost as if he were telling my story; one sibling (multiple from father), strong single mother, absent father yet strong paternal grandmother presence. He really nailed my life. I just want to say that stories like his further prove my point that single black mothers can successfully raise children by themselves. But it also reminds me that you can do anything if you have a good support system; whether it's your family (like in Dr. McConnell's case) or an outside source (like programs such as Leadership Enterprise for a Diverse America [LEDA], Prep for Prep, or Big Brother, Bis Sister).

As far as a strong support system, I wish I got more support from my family. My mother is a down-for-whatever mom that supports me in everything I do. Whether it was kickboxing, tennis, dance, step, cheerleading, bellydancing, whatever, she was there. She even would have bought me the shoes if I wanted to take up riverdancing. But the rest of my family (not all but the vast majority) are just haters. It's like crabs in a barrel, they cant do well for themselves so they want to pull me back or just be very jealous rather than supportive. Despite the ill wishes coming from every direction (my family, administrators at my school, my peers), I know I'm going to overcome everything and be successful. And I wont forget the people that stood beside me when I needed them (mainly my mom).

Back to having a strong mom. (I am trying to organize my thoughts but my thoughts are scattered). Dr. McConnell shared with us that his mom didn't finish high school but possessed great common sense. My mom is like that in many ways but different in others. She did graduate high school but she knew that my grandmother couldn't afford to send her to college (there were 9 of them) so she went to the military to continue her education. She's always preached to my brother and I that if she had the opportunity to go to college, she would have but she knows the importance of education and found any means possible to obtain it. So no my mom doesn't have a college degree but she's one of the most intelligent people I know. She's wise and her life experience surpasses anything that any professor could have taught her in a classroom. I'm trying not to tear up as I write this but my mom inspires me so much that it is hard for me not to get emotional when I'm talking about her.

I have to say that Dr. McConnell was one of my favorite speakers. He kept it real with us and even though the talk was supposed to be centered around him and his experiences, he asked us questions about ourselves that went above and beyond the "state your name, hometown, grade level, and major" questions that we are used to being asked. Two of us fought back the tears as we explained to him what we are passionate about. He even drew tears out of one of us. It didn't stop there; he said he wants to talk to us some more and figure out our own stories, what makes us tick. He's another person here that I feel I can talk to. Just this morning I went into his office and we were just talking about how our weekends went.

I guess in the end I want to get across the idea that I can identify with Dr. McConnell's story and because of that, he was one of my favorite speakers.

Ken

Ken Estling is a Teacher Corps teacher that came and spoke to us about the history of education. When we first walked into the room, he handed us a packet. The directions at the top instructed us to sit quietly and read the article until we came to the word "STOP." After we started reading, we were then supposed to turn the paper over and wait for everyone else to finish reading. I haven't had a "lesson"/instructions like this since I was in the 8th grade. The purpose of the demonstration was to show how obedient students are. They simply do what they are told, don't ask questions, don't challenge authority (for the most part).

But I have issues with Ken's views. It seems as if he's annoyed (for lack of a better word) that the kids don't ask questions. But I have to say, if a teacher gave me a textbook and taught from it, I would not think to question the teacher or the textbook either. It is only during a college bound program the summer before my senior year that I even began having intellectual conversations with my peers and teachers that encouraged us to challenge things and ask questions. Even our facilitators who were Harvard grad students and Princeton professors commented that they did not have those types of "question-and-discuss" classroom conversations until they got to college. So I think it's unfair for Ken to assume that these kids even know that there is something wrong with the textbook or that things aren't adding up. As a teacher, you should just tell them and encourage them to ask questions, not assume that they know that they can. Like he said in his talk, many students are amazed that he said the textbook was wrong. From my experiences in public school, it is very easy to accept what you are taught without questioning it (unless of course your teacher is a complete moron and anybody can see that he/she doesn't know what he/she is talking about).

Towards the end of our conversation Ken asked what we thought the second paragrapgh of the Declaration of Independence does;

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."

I think this quote is used to legitimate social institutions. We have to maintain the idea that all men are equal, have the same rights, and the same opportunities to succeed. If you fail, it's by your own faults and not the fault of anyone else. In this way, those who fall short of success blame themselves and do not question who runs the nation because we all have the same opportunities to achieve, therefore we all had the opportunity to get these high importance jobs.

Twinkle Twinkle, Dr. Winkle

About the title: There is absolutely no reason for that title, I just thought it was cute and clever :-)

Where to start? So we found out that our speaker Dr. Winkle acutally applied for a position at Amherst and was competing against the infamous Sarat, talk about a small world. Come to think of it, Ole Miss is like an Amherst... (couldn't come up with anything clever to call it, I guess I used all my wit on the title) But I'm pretty sure we can have a reunion here and at least 30 people will show up. But I digress.

I honestly wish I had something to say about the content of Dr. Winkle's talk but I don't. :-( However, I do have a lot to say about his demeanor. From what I've seen, Dr. Winkle is the sweetest professor we've met at Ole Miss. He doesn't shout or get loud and despite this calm way about him, you can still feel the intensity of the passion in his voice when he spoke about the Civil Rights cases.

Before the talk, countless people told us that Dr. Winkle is their favorite professor and they love him. I can see why. He spoke to us about the cases surrounding "separate but equal." He pointed to things none of us had ever considered and explained them so simply and with such great detail that I couldn't take my eyes and ears off him (it sounds really weird but he's just that good). I don't even go to Ole Miss but I feel like I'd be welcome to just go to his office hours and Jones with him if I wanted to. (Jones means talk casually for all those people a little up there in age *cough cough, that means you Ben*)

I don't know what was going on all those years ago but Amherst College missed a good one.

Baby Geniuses

When I think of early childhood education, I think of 4 and 5 year olds sitting n a classroom learning their ABCs and 123s. But education begins way before a child even knows how to speak. Early childhood education begins when a child is as young as 7months old. (Not any formulaic number, just one I chose). Every word he hears and the tones of the words have an impact on him.

Mr. Claibourne Barksdale spoke with us this week about the importance of early childhood education. Mississippi is the only state in the South (and one of only a handful of states period) that does not have a state sanctioned Pre-kindergarten system. The daycares that they do have are often dark and hot so that the children are tired and more easily manageable. However, pre-schools are supposed to teach children, not babysit them, keeping them quiet until their parents come and get them. Teach them? You may ask "how/what am I going to teach a 7month-old baby?" Now Im not talking about teaching them calculus or Shakespeare. I mean talk to the kids in full sentences, engage them, make them comfortable enough to want to talk back to you in whatever gibberish or baby language they have created.

Mr. Barksdale's talk made me re-evaluate how I treat my own young cousins, nieces, and nephews. I often play with them but sometimes I don't want to be bothered so I stick a pacifier in their mouths, hoping they'd just be quiet.

I wish I had a critical question to ask Mr. Barksdale but I don't. I only have one comment; The children are our future. Yes, I know it sounds cliche and we hear it almost everyday but it is the truth. They are the ones who will be running the country and taking care of us in our old age. We need to remember to treat them as people (like actually interacting with them) instead of assuming that a bottle and a toy will bring them the ultimate joy.

While in Memphis. . .

So Saturday we took a field trip to Memphis, TN; visited the civil rights museum and rock and blues museum, ate some barbeque too (beef briskett was banging, though the side dishes were horrendous).

Who would have thought, 41 years after Martin Luther King Jr.'s death we would have a black president (I know "African American" may be more PC but I have issues with the term so I say black). During the Civil Rights Movement, black organizations rallied, protested, striked, marched, and boycotted for various causes such as desegregation, workers' rights, the right to vote, and other important liberties denied to blacks and other people of color. Walking through the gallery of the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis reminded me of the struggles those before me endured so that I may have these rights. In the display about voting, there was a wheel and dozens of sentences that determined your voting eligibility. This wheel represented the slim chances blacks had of being allowed to register to vote. When the wheel finally stopped after I gave it a spin, it said that I needed to try again next month because there weren't enough workers present to handle my registration. Upon seeing this, along with the other documents and pictures pertaining to black voting rights, I couldn't help but think about this past election of 2008.

Our predecessors fought tirelessly so we could have the right to vote and when we finally got it, few people exercised that right. There was a big campaign from the Democrats and Obama supporters to get out and register people to vote. I know of at least three people from my school who were so dedicated to the cause that they took a semester off to continue work to register people to vote and get them to the polls. Why must we fight the same fight that our predecessors fought 40 plus years ago? They did this so that we wouldn't have to yet here we find ourselves, 50yrs later doing the same work that SNCC, SCLC, NAACP, and similar groups did. A record amount of young people voted in this past election which is an amazing thing. I just wish we would appreciate the things that we take for granted. You sit on your couch and don't want to go to the polls because you're tired or you know the lines will be long, or whatever lame excuse you manage to come up with; meanwhile people lost thier lives to make it possible for you to stand on that line.

We should not be fighting the same fight that was fought 50 years ago.

Life in the Delta

The Delta has been called America's Ethiopia. Going there I expected to see shacks, shanties, and children with swollen bellies. What I found was land, land, and more land; flat and treeless. It's like when you watch a movie and a person comes to a crossroads with nothing else around for miles. We've encountered many of those during our drive through the Delta. Mr. Reggie Barnes gave insight on what it was like to live and teach there. Though he described many aspects of life in the Delta, the activity that stuck with me was the sex. Yes, the sex. Mr. Barnes explained the incest, rape (statutory and violent), and frequent teen pregnancy that occurs in this area of the state. He provided the following scenario;

When you see a little girl in your classroom putting her head down instead of working, what do you assume? She's sick? Tired? Maybe just lazy? What if I told you this twelve year old was up all night unsuccessfully fighting her 24yr old mother's 18yr old boyfriend off of her? (I have fabricated these ages but they are by no means exaggerated). As a teacher, what do you do? Personally, if I had proof I'd report the abuse to the proper authorities; my principal, local police, the superintendent, whoever I can get my hands on.

Mr. Barnes said scenarios such as these happen all the time and as a teacher, you must not be too disappointed if nothing can be done to help this little girl. With that said, he told us that teachers should not try to be knights in shining armor. I interpret it as, teachers cannot save the world, so they should stick to the classroom. He went on to say that we have 7hrs a day with these kids and should use that time to try and make an impact. What I cannot seem to gather is how teachers are expected to sit back and watch helplessly while these children are being neglected and abused. I understand that we cannot be knights in shining armor but how are teachers supposed to make a difference in 7hrs a day?

Mr. Barnes, I admire your accomplishments and respect your opinions but I have to disagree. The objective of the Mississippi Teacher Corps is "to provide dedicated, talented teachers for Mississippi school districts where an inadequate supply of teachers exists." A teacher cannot be truly dedicated if she looks the other way when things are happening to her kids. She cannot be dedicated if she doesn't be all that she can be (funny, thats the army slogan). She must go the extra mile to ensure that all of her students are learning and being engaged and keeping up with their peers and developing not only educationally but socially. She must make sure she can create an environment where the kids can feel comfortable and safe, escaping the hard life that might await them when the school bell rings at the end of the day. In other words, she must be these kids' knight in shining armor.

1day, 3hours, and 6minutes

So I've been here 1 day, 3 hours, and 6 minutes. In that time I've gone to Walmart, ate at two restaurants, taken an insane amount of pictures (courtesy of superhero Ben Guest), and had the opportunity to hear two amazing speakers; Tucker Carrington and Dr. Andy Mullins.

The Ole Miss campus is gorgeous and, even armed with a campus map, I am confident that I will get lost countless times before I actually figure out how to navigate the school. It is defintely a new experience for me to be here; not because I've never been to MS, but more because I didn't expect such a beautiful campus. I am ashamed to say I pictured run down apartments and dorms and academic buidlings in desperate need of repair. I didn't hold this view because I have a biased view of Mississippi, but because my family is from southern MS and that is what I'm used to seeing when coming to the state.

Looking at our calender and what Ben has in store for us, I expect an amazing summer and I'm glad to be apart of the program. As for my experience so far, it's too soon to make any real judgements about our duties or expectations. All I can say is that our program director is awesome and I can't wait to go on field trips with him and my fellow interns!

Mississippi Innocence Project

Today Tucker Carrington came and spoke to us about the Innocence Project. Even though he only spoke for about an hour, it was a life-changing hour. I've known I wanted to be a lawyer since the 7th grade but I haven't quite figured out what I want to do. I admire the work that Tucker does and find him a truly inspiring person. I mean, who cares about the rights of a bunch of lowlife people who have committed some of the most heinous crimes in this country? But Tucker has reminded me that we are all innocent until proven guilty and should be treated as such. Kennedy Brewer and Levon Brooks were convicted of brutal rapes and murders. Since it already seemed like they were guilty, they were denied proper due process (convicted based on a bogus expert testimony).

From sitting in the presentation listening to Tucker speak, I know I want to be involved in something similar to the Innocence Project (if not to exonerate innocent people then to draw attention to the issue of unequal protection under the law and the failure of equal due process). We desperately need equality in this country, especially in the state of Mississippi as national problems are magnified here; equality in education, job opportunities, and especially under the law.

I left the presentation room with just one question: What can college students such as myself, do to help alert the nation to the collective failure of government officials to provide equal due process to ALL its citizens?