the misplaced yankee

experience...of a lifetime.

i gave the following assignment to my boy.  if you want to read a little bit more about him, you can go to my previous blog post about him.  my boy, s-a, has remained throughout my two years as literally my own child.  i asked him to explain in an essay/letter format what he's seen me go through in the past two years and how he's seen my change and grow.  the following was his response.  i've changed some simple grammar and usage errors, but i tried to keep the same feelings and expressions that he showed in his writing.

i've known ms. cooke for almost two years.  but it feels much longer than that, to be honest.  we know a lot about each other.  she's really close with my family.  my teachers always go to her if they have problems with me, and she's the one i depend on to help me apply to college and get jobs.  i need ms. cooke in my life, and it's weird for me to think what it was like before i knew her.

ms. cooke didn't like me at first, and i didn't like her either.  she was real boring.  she always said the same things - "sit down in your seat, open up your notebook, date the top, follow the directions, and be done in five minutes.  i'll walk around and check it."  man, it got so boring to sit there and hear the same thing.  and there were so many dumb kids in the class, she had to change how she wanted to teach.  she would seem frustrated because she was trying to teach what she was supposed to teach, but they didn't understand it.  and then people would be noisy, and she would just be real mean to them, sometimes embarrass them.  

she was boring, the class was boring, so i slept.  first time, she stuck a pencil in my mouth.  i fell asleep again, she stuck a wet penny in my ear.  the class didn't really laugh and i felt stupid.  i did it one more day, and before i even got to the gym for football practice, coach was yelling at me in the hallway about sleeping.  i still don't even know how she did that.  the boys said she got over to the gym before i got there and told him that i was being disrespectful and a hassle in class.  the next block i got to class, my desk was missing.  she pointed to the back, and that's where i was for the rest of the year - standing between her desk and the filing cabinet.

that spot wasn't too bad, though.  i would finish my work early and she graded it and then let me look on her computer for colleges or she would give me other work or help me with my other classes.  my grades definitely went up.  when we got our report cards, i had two - one to give her, one to give my momma.  before i could get home, she called my momma to tell her i hadn't done my work in french class.  that was a rough night at home.  i realized that i couldn't get away with anything then.

ms. cooke helped my family out when my house got broken into.  she and some people got dinner together for us, made sure someone came to fix the windows and locks, and she got me and my momma some clothes.

she helped me take the ACT a year early.  momma couldn't take me, so she called my momma and asked if she would like for her to take me to the test.  momma cried on the phone.  ms. cooke didn't understand why it mattered to my momma and me so much, because she didn't get it.  she didn't get that people didn't every really pay attention to me.

throughout the summer, we kept talking.  i didn't have a way to get to football practice, so she got a coach to come and get me.  she helped me find some summer work.  i didn't see her at all during the summer, and it was sad.  it was like missing your family.

when we got back the second year, she was different.  she had a bad summer and she seemed older.  it wasn't like a smart older sister, it was a mom.  she didn't let me get away with stuff.  it meant a lot to me.  she was really looking out for me.  more kids had realized what she was doing for me and some other students she had and they started to spend more time with her.  i used to go in her room every morning, but then soon there were like 10 people in the room.  and they all wanted advice, or just to talk to her, or just be around her.  everyone really loved her and respected her.  it was pretty cool.

but after everything, i still knew that she was my mom, and she'd go crazy on me if she needed to.  she found out that i had been riding around at night with some boys.  she talked to my momma, who was getting sick.  my momma told her that she could beat me, because she wanted to, but couldn't.  ms. cooke didn't hit me, but she got my coach to work me out so bad i was getting sick.  she sat me down and talked to me, walked through my options for the next couple years, and let me understand what i was doing to my future.

i tried to explain to her a lot what she meant to me, but i know she doesn't understand it.  she's only been here for two years, and i know she's staying, but i don't know what i'll do after that.  if she leaves, i hope we still talk.  if we don't, i think it's okay.  i know that i'll be really different because of how she helped me grow up.  i still got a lot to do, but i'll keep her in my mind for it.  she means a lot to me.

and that, ladies and gentlemen, is my justification for doing this.  i love my boy.  and there are so many like him.  but he is right, he will always be the one that means the most to me, regardless of who comes after him.

ducklings...

to those of you preparing for this exciting chapter of your life:

please don't think you are prepared for this...because you are not.

you can't imagine the stress you will have to handle between juggling classwork for the program, keeping up communication with family and friends (who more than likely are not in mississippi), preparing and utilizing instruction, creating and strengthening new friendships, growing up, and learning to be a "professional" in your school.  but it will be worth it.  every time you feel stressed or overwhelmed, you have this network that you patch between home and teacher corps and work.  it starts to work and make sense.  you find routines, simple things that make you relax.

you can't fathom the stress of getting to know - really know - yourself.  even if you find yourself in a school with five other teacher members, you will still find yourself learning about you.  what books you like to read (or that you don't like to read), what coffee drink you need to get you going (or that you'll drink tea from a coffee mug just to confuse your students), what tv shows you like (or that you don't need a tv), what type of music you like to listen to (or that you prefer the value of silence).  there are things that will come to light when you're going through all trials and tribulations you will face.

you can't understand the students that you will have in your classroom.  you might understand poverty, you might understand the "urban" or "rural" mindset, but you can not understand where your students are coming from.  you will have to find ways to connect your understanding of the world with their understanding of...the neighborhood.  you will learn about your students, about their frames of reference, and how to bring them to a worldly perspective of issues.  you will learn to grow them.

there are so many things that you are not prepared to deal with at this moment. when i was packing, i was wondering about the weather, the humidity.  i was wondering where i might find anyone who knew how to play lacrosse or if there would be a pool anywhere around me.  that's what i was worried about dealing with, and issues to which i needed to adjust myself.

after two years in the mississippi teacher corps and my two years teaching at lanier high school in jackson, mississippi, i can say that i am fine with the fact i wasn't "prepared."  because, after everything else, i grew.  i grew in incredible and immeasurable ways (well, if you don't count the inches i've gained...damn those sweet potato fries) throughout this experience.  and you will, too.

my grandfather always used this idea - i'm not sure if he heard it or adapted it from someone else, but i'm going to use it.  the teacher corps is asking you, for the next two years to be a rubber band.  there are times where you will feel stretched to your limit, that you can't possibly do anything else.  but you can.  you are made to stretch, to move, to hold things together, to adapt.  and you are a necessary piece in a puzzle at this point.  you will not break.  you will stretch.  and you will go back to normal.  but whenever that experience comes up again, you know how to stretch.  you know you can do it, that you will emerge on the other side one whole, useful, stretchy piece of office equipment.

book club.

as this is all coming to a close, i have a fear.  and it's a very strange one.

who am i going to exchange books with now that my two-person book club will be broken by hundreds of miles?

i've been an avid reader since i've started to read.  when i say avid, i mean i'll read ANYTHING i find.

when i was in high school and college, reading was never an issue.  i took classes that required a lot of reading, and i had teachers who were always glad to suggest or assign other readings.  i had friends who were as "nerdy" as me, and they were glad to indulge in my love for books.  in college, it was the same.  i could literally chose courses that would have readings that interested me.  once i had declared my choice of major - english - there was literally no end to the literature on which i could place my hands.

once i graduated from college, i left my "automatic" intellectual community.  i knew that i was intelligent - or at least, close to being intelligent.  i liked the fact that i had a community that surrounded me that valued the ongoing search for intellectual stimulation. 

i realized, when i moved to mississippi, that i was in danger of having to actually create or search out that community.  and i realized that i was very very scared.  i wanted literature and discussion and arguments and conversations so badly, it honestly made me hunger for that community.  so...i found it.  i looked for it, found it, and shaped it into what i wanted - people with similar and vastly different religious, political, and social opinions.  people that i knew would think like myself and could point me further in the direction i was going, and also people who would disagree with everything i would say or believe.  and i liked that.

but now, at the end of two years, a large part of the community i made is leaving, moving, going away.  i still have those at my work, but they have other obligations, and sometimes get a little caught up with their own lives.  but since i don't really have my own life, i'm left with bits and pieces of a sort of "book club", and a new desire to form a new intellectual community. 

so, the idea of the day, one which will hopefully go much further than just today:  a cooking/book club.  i love to eat, and i like to cook almost as much.  i like people.  i like books.  i like to talk.  this is, for me, a kind of insurance policy, mental health...a hope to keep my sanity. 

one fateful day...

as my stint in the mississippi teacher corps is swiftly coming to a close, i look back on the time that i've spent here.  i think about the "memories"  that i've made, and i can't help but smile.  and giggle...like a schoolgirl.

one of the first memories i have of mississippi teacher corps is the campus tour, led by the godfather.  throughout the tour, i recognized what would become not a best friend, but literally another half.  catching glances and giggles throughout the tour, we naturally fell into step with one another, and have been that way for the past two years.

throughout the next couple weeks, we began to form the dude crew - what would be my source of strength and sanity for the next two years.  a gathering of completely different people meshed into one cohesive, functional group.  through humor, intellectual discussions, road trips, and cookouts, we managed to grow as individuals and professionals.

when we got this assignment, to write about memories from MTC, i really tried to think about what i could use for my "memorable moment."  but there are too many things.  and some things are really just too difficult to explain.  but i suppose i'll try.

imagine sitting in a class that's in full swing - 15 minutes into a discussion - and in stumbles, in a flurry of tousled hair and torn umbros and black socks and the free ole miss drawstring backpack, a peruvian with a portion of his finger missing.  sitting next to my friend, we began trying to discover what had happened to the poor peruvian.  through a pretty awesome (and quiet) game of charades, we discovered that the gentleman in question had accidentally sliced the tip of his finger while chopping vegetables before class.  once he began to unwrap the wound, my friend began to get a little queasy.  she started to get a little short of breath, and, while class was going on, had to put her head between her legs to ease the nausea.

trying to correctly pronounce names on the first day of school became a task.  part of that task was spotlighted when a member of the dude crew told this story.  "looking at the name, la-a, i wondered how you would say it.  'la'ia?'  'it's ladasha, the dash don't be silent.'"

trying to capture, on film, the most amazing mullet i've EVER seen.  also that night, paying $20 for a dinner at a casino when i don't gamble, eating at least 5 pounds of ice cream when i'm lactose intolerant, and watching two young "men" attempt to put their entire plate of food under the ever-flowing chocolate fountain.

unexpected conversations and unexpected friends when you most need it.  how else could i have found churches, re-assembled bookcases, downed excellent pizza on a sunday morning, discovered fantastic sushi, painted my bedroom lime green, or co-created the captain america cake.

whannawhammock.

throughout my two years in the mississippi teacher corps, i've learned so much - about myself, about others, and about the educational system.  some friends that i've made will be friends for life, some i'll never talk to again, some people i will be glad no never have to see.  the biggest memory for me is the fact that this experience has helped shape who i am.  i'm don't think i'll ever get done growing, but through this, i've learned it's okay to "turtle."  it's okay to eat nothing but cereal, animal crackers, and candy.  it's vital that you research and evaluate what you're doing - not just professionally, but in general in life.  i've learned that you never stop learning, and the most important thing to do is recognize that growth comes from every place and person imaginable.

so...when i look back at my time in the mississippi teacher corps, i look back with a smile, and a giggle...well, technically, lots of giggles.  but i also look back with awe.

to everyone who contributed to a rockin' two years...thank you.  i really appreciate it :)

can you teach to teach?

though i think arne duncan's speech on "teacher colleges" was pretty well-crafted, i don't know if i truly still understand the concept of a teacher's college.  before i get into explaining why perhaps the most important thing could be to fund these institutions, i think i need to see if i actually believe in what they are aimed at doing.

i think a part of my mis-understanding of the idea of a "teacher college" comes from my belief that leaders are born, not made.  without going into much depth, i would say that i firmly believe that people - even to go so far as to say most people - are born leaders.  whether they encounter an injustice, an all-important issue, or they desire for a leadership role depends on what happens to them.  they will either fulfill their role or they will not.  i think they are very few leaders who are able to take on their position - any position - without some bumps and falls in the beginning.  i don't think there are any leadership books, programs, or training institutions that can prepare leaders to be perfect, effective and on point from the word "go."

in the same manner, i find it difficult to believe that a college can do that.  granted, i believe that programs and symposiums and presentations and discussions can be lifesavers.  ann's paper-folding class?  i rocked those ideas with my rambunctious, still-not-understood-by-me children for half a term.  our conversations about what was going wrong in our classrooms, our different approaches, and our views on poverty and achievement kept my sanity.  the bond that has been formed between our cohort as "professionals" (i use that word mostly for others) has given me a great forum for establishing effective classroom literacy, management, and teaching methods.

all that said, i think most of the people who are drawn to a program such as the mississippi teacher corps are set apart from other individuals from the starting gate.  therefore, looking at our program and trying to imagine what a teacher college might look like is somewhat puzzling to me.  but, if these colleges, institutions, and programs of study are anything like the experience i have had as a little duckling teacher, i can say nothing more but that they MUST continue to be funded, and funded to the fullest extent.

though one could argue that after all the teachers have decided to not continue, there are no more programs to train new teachers, and students have become accustomed to learning from webcasts and internet presentations, they are simply receiving information.  and that is not what education is about.  though we are in the business of getting children the knowledge they need to make it in the "real world," we also give them much more.  the teacher that changed your life?  it wasn't because they made you memorize the geography of south africa.  it wasn't because you could understand the functions of the forearm, or you understand the historical significance of the bay of pigs.  it was something that touched you, beyond the information parted.

as george savile pointed out,

Education is what remains when we have forgotten all that we have been taught.

i could beg nothing more than than individuals be given the full benefit to be conduits of that process for years to come.

could we please have this instead of the ed research class?

the conversation with rita bender was pretty...sweet, to say the least.  i talk A LOT, most of the time unnecessarily, during our meetings and classes.  but with this, i really didn't want to.  i wanted to sit back and take it in.

there were a lot of misunderstood feelings, i feel.  maybe that wasn't the case.  as a poor soul from the north, i have this overwhelming curiosity to see how the south has dealt with (or hasn't dealt with) the seemingly still-ongoing results of two races that have been in conflict for such a long time.

it's not that i think there is racism in the south and not in the north.  it's not that i think that the south doesn't know how to deal with different races.  it's not that i think that the north wasn't affected by slavery or the civil rights movement.

i guess...i've just been surrounded by a lot of different races and cultures my entire life.  in my hometown, there is a large population of central and south americans, eastern europeans, and asians.  my students always want to know if my high school was "like this"...meaning, was it 100% white.  i try to explain to them that no, it wasn't, there were a lot of different people, and that it's not really 100% anything around me.

then i saw the movie "crash" and i thought, that's like where i'm from.  there's present racism, in all types of forms.  it may be subtle, it may never be recognized, it may be outright...but it's between a lot of different groups.  there's no more tension between whites and blacks than there exists between panamanians and dominicans.

when i came here, i think that's the first thing that really caught my attention.  there is a distinct pressure, at least from my personal experience (that's all i have to offer), between whites and blacks.  a lot of my students have really never been around white people for an extended period of time.  when i go out with teachers, it draws some stares.  i've had a couple friends come over to walk around the neighborhood and even had one of my (white) neighbor-men ask if everything was okay.  i didn't understand until he walked away and my friend nudged me and said, "he was worried because you were walking around with a black man."  it's always said with a giggle or a little smile.  i'll be addressed as "white girl" with a smile or called the "light-skinned ms. cooke" with a wink, but there's something behind that.

the conversation with mrs. bender really was something i wanted to listen to.  i want and need to understand all of this.  the history, the progression (or lack thereof) to where we are today.  i feel that the topics we began to open up, the heated debate and discussion we had, the feelings that were laid out on the table...i want to go back to that.

please please please let's do this again.

i'm going to jackson...i'm gonna mess around...look out, jackson-town...

Finding information about the city of Jackson that is accurate can be difficult.  Depending on the topic, the city might hide the information pretty deep in the Jackson website, or it is buried somewhere inside a 50-something page PDF document.  Other statistics seem to disagree with each other, depending on the source.  There are numerous individuals who would love to provide their own statistics or opinions on specific situations - politics, education, crime rate.  Sorting through information to be able to find the most accurate and up-to-date information can be difficult, but there are interesting and useful things gleaned in the process.  The following information is an attempt to examine and assess the community of Jackson, Mississippi in the fall of 2009.

1.  Defining the Community

The city of Jackson is in an extremely effective location for trade and economic growth.  As the capital of Jackson, there are many goods produced and services offered.  City-data.com notes that the "diversity of businesses and industry and its position as the state capital help insulate the metropolitan area from the economic downturns experienced by other cities."  There are sixteen banks in the city, four of which have their headquarters in Jackson (Consumer National Bank, Trustmark National Bank, First American Bank and First Commercial Bank).  In the tri-county area of Hinds, Madison, and Rankin counties (Jackson has land in all three counties), agriculture is a $180 million business.  Cattle is the main good, although cotton, grains, poultry, and timber are also vital to the agricultural portion of the city's economy.  There are 500 manufacturers present throughout the city.  The automobile industry is a promising new sector for growth, as the Nissan Motor Company opened its major plant in neighboring Canton, Mississippi and created over 3,300 new jobs.  The community also produces fabricated metals, electrical and electronic equipment, food products, apparel, wood products, furniture, transportation products, portable electric tools, and aircraft parts.  

2.  Geography

The city of Jackson encompasses approximately 109 square miles, about 2 square miles of those being water and the rest being land.  The city of Jackson is located about 294 feet above sea level.  It is equidistant (for the most part) from New Orleans (to the south), Memphis (to the north), Atlanta (to the east), and Dallas (to the west).  This distance to nearby major cities for trade is aided immensely by the transportation systems available to Jackson.  There are two airports, Jackson-Evers International Airport and Hawkins Field.  Though closed to passenger traffic, Hawkins Field still handles an impressive amount of air traffic.  Two major train lines, Canadian National and Kansas City Southern, run through the city.  The railroad system runs through the city and is fully functional and highly used.  The closest port is the Port of Vicksburg, located on the Mississippi River on the border between Louisiana and Mississippi, 45 miles west of Jackson.  The city is located on the Pearl River and also has access to the Ross Barnett Reservoir.  The city itself sits on top of a volcano, the peak of which is located 2,900 feet below the feet of the Mississippi Coliseum.

3.  Basic Demographics

Though there are different numbers provided by different sources, a 2006 count puts Jackson at a population of 177,977.  Throughout the 1990's, the city experienced a 5% decline in population.  In the years of 2000-2005, the city has been believed to have declined in population by 3%.  The racial breakdown of the city remains about the same, regardless of any increase or decrease in population.  A little over two-thirds of the city is African-American, making up about 71% of the population, and the white population representing with 28%, and the last 1% being the percent of Asian individuals.  This is, I believe, always the makeup for the city limits of Jackson, Mississippi.  The surrounding "suburbs" - Brandon, Byram, Clinton, Flowood, Ridgeland, Madison, Richland - would not follow this same racial breakdown.  According to the 2000 census, there were 67,841 households in Jackson.  39% of those households had at least one child under the age of 18 years.  Only 35% of the households represented married couples, whereas over 25% of the households were single-parent households, held together by a female.  The city has a median income of a little over $30,000, which is less than half the national average.  The city also boasts a fairly high crime rate, with 979 violent crimes per people.

4.  Economic Elements

Simply driving through downtown Jackson can give you a picture of the economic situation of the city, but after some research, I'm not so sure if it is an accurate picture.  Though the unemployment rate of the city (10.4%) is higher than the national average (6.9%), there are a lot of other factors that lead me to believe the overall picture is not as bad as it might seem.  According to job tracking trends in the city, "the number of Jackson, Mississippi jobs has increased by 63% since January 2008 (simplyhired.com)."  There are pieces of data that can raise an eyebrow of concern - over 60% of the households in the city earn less than $50,000 a year, though the national average income for a household is $60,000.  One should remember, however, that real estate and cost of living in Jackson is among the lowest in the nation.  A lowered household income in Jackson compared with the rest of the nation would not necessarily mean a lowered quality of life.  

Also, 67% of the population has less than an associate's degree to claim as their highest level of education.  Again, though this statistic could seem troubling, it is important to remember the type of job opportunities that Jackson has to offer.  The top employers are the State of Mississippi (32,000), The United States Government (5,500), Jackson Public Schools District (4,500), Nissan Motor Company (4,000), and Baptist Health Systems (2,700).  Many of these jobs offer opportunities to people of all different educational levels.  Also, the average commute is 19 minutes, and, as the city of Jackson is not extremely large and is easily traveled, it stands to speculate that those individuals who occupy jobs that require higher levels of education could (and very likely do) live outside the city limits and reside in the suburbs.  There are several publicly-traded companies that are headquartered in Jackson, being: Cal-Maine Foods, Inc.; EastGroup Properties, Inc.; Parkway Properties, Inc., and Trustmark Corporation.  

There are also new incentives being offered to attract new companies, and to encourage existing companies to step up and reinvent their organization.  For new businesses, the city offers lowered taxes, high quality labor, training programs, and tax credits for companies who create new jobs and provide basic skills for training and/or childcare.  For existing companies, The City of Jackson Storefront Improvement Program offers grants for exterior structural improvements in designated areas of the city.  There is encouragement for new businesses to locate in designated areas of the city, and there is a push for revitalizing the entire "downtown" section of the city.

5.  Physical Infrastructure

The city of Jackson is serviced by two airports - The Jackson-Evers International Airport deals with both commercial and industrial air traffic, whereas Hawkins Field only deals with industrial air traffic.  Three major interstates run through the city - 55, 20, and 220.  The major U.S. Highways of 49, 51, and 80 also run through Jackson and help to make the city easily traveled.  The State Highways of 18 and 25 (Lakeland Drive) make travel to the suburbs quick and easy.  Other major veins through the city - State, Capitol, Northside, and Fortification Streets, Terry Road, and Woodrow Wilson/Clinton Boulevard - make travel easy.  JATRAN is the form of public transportation, but its usefulness could be questioned.  It only runs Monday-Saturday on 13 routes from 5:00am-7:00pm.  There is no evening travel for safety reasons, and no travel on Sunday for...well, religious reasons.  The fare is $2.00 each way.  Being from a major city, I just want to quickly state something.  13 routes in a city the size of Jackson is not enough to be useful.  Also, perhaps because it is not used much, the rate is incredibly high for a city the size of Jackson.  As much as I've noticed, the public transportation system is not used much.  There are taxis, but they are all companies or privately owned, as there is no city taxi system.  Jackson is a hub for both Greyhound and Amtrak services.  Jackson also has a railroad system for trade which is highly trafficked, mainly by Canadian National and Kansas City Southern Railways.

6.  Cultural and Recreational Resources

Though Jackson is a comparatively small city, there are many cultural and recreational opportunities and resources.  Ballet Mississippi performs throughout the world, and every Christmas performs The Nutcracker at Thalia Mara Hall.  They host the Ballet Competition every fourth year, rotating with Moscow, Helsinki, and various towns in Bulgaria.  There is the Celtic Heritage Society of Mississippi, which hosts the Celtic Festival late every summer (early September this year).  The campus of Jackson State University has a botanical garden, which is used for academic and recreational purposes.  The Jackson Zoo can be considered small when compared with other major zoos, but it is a major hotspot for fundraisers, school functions, and community programs.  The Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum is the home for many local proms, business meetings, and tours.  There is a recreation of an old village in the Delta, and the amount of history contained in the museum and on the lands is a great source of information for the culture of Mississippi.  The Mississippi Museum of Art has a great standard collection of photographs telling the story of Mississippi, including award-winning photographs from Eudora Welty.  The MMA also is home to different traveling installations, including a recent collection of work from world-renowned artist Raoul Duffy.  The MMA is free of charge and is a center of culture of students, citizens, and visitors alike.  The Mynelle Gardens, located in south Jackson are a center for weddings, anniversary parties, and church functions.  New Stage Theatre is home to productions - both independent and "traditional" - and is well-visited throughout the year.  The Russell C. Davis Planetarium is a staple of school students and is becoming a popular location for the young adult population of the city.  There are numerous community organizations, functions, and fundraisers throughout the city which keep citizens involved.  

 

7.  The Power Structure

Jackson uses the Mayor-Council government style with the Mayor being elected at large and then seven Council members being elected from the seven Wards of Jackson.  The city is headed by the mayor, currently Harvey Johnson, Jr.  There is also a Central Administrative Officer, who serves as a link between the Mayor's office and all other offices and departments; a City Attorney, who is in charge of city litigations; a City Clerk; a seven-member Council; Civil Service Commission; Historic Preservation Commission; Jackson Housing Authority, and dozens of other organizations, commissions, and committees.  In regards to who holds real power and who makes things happen, I think it depends on where you are.  For the area of my school, it's all in the hands of Councilman Stokes and the Police Department.  Also, the School Board controls most of what concerns me, as my daily life pretty much is confined to the school building.  Each members seem to focus on a specific issue - whether it's the Library System Administration Board scraping funds together for 13 months to renovate the Eudora Welty Library after a damaging fire, the Jackson Zoological Park petitioning for money for another outdoor habitat for the orangoutangs, or the Jackson Redevelopment Authority Board of Commissioners listening to bids for the Hotel King Edward, each committee has power in its own right.  Behind this report, there is a nifty flowchart, provided by the Mayor's Office for the City of Jackson, to help better understand the roles of individuals in the city.

8.  Role of Governmental Agencies

As mentioned above, each governmental agency is given a lot of autonomy for their specific area.  The School Board handles most of the issues regarding JPS, the Police and Fire Departments handle their issues, the Housing Authority and Redevelopment Committee deal with specific issues.  All of these committees and agencies report, at the end of the day, and through a round-about pattern, back to the Mayor's Office.  Funds that are needed, events that will be held, permits that need approval all must go through the Mayor's Office.  This is also where the CAO comes in hand.  A lot of the work that needs to go to the Mayor is handled and organized by the CAO, making the job of the Mayor a task that one can handle.  In the city, I really do feel that citizens are encouraged to show up, speak out, and act on issues that concern them.  I think a lot of issues might not be solved overnight in this manner, but they're definitely dealt with and not just pushed under a rug.

9.  History

Jackson has a history that is similar to that of most Southern cities, moments of glory and moments of...well, shame.  To be as brief as possible, the city was originally part of the Choctaw Nation and in 1830, the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek removed the Native Americans from most of the land, and the city became the permanent seat of government for the state of Mississippi.  The city was first referred to as LeFleur's Bluff because it had been founded by Louis LeFleur, and it was founded along Natchez Trace.  In a report to the Mississippi General Assembly in 1821, surveyors had reported that Jackson had "beautiful and healthy surroundings, good water, abundant timber, navigable waters, and proximity to the trading route Natchez Trace."  Rail systems developed the city after the Civil War.  During World War II, Hawkins Airfield was used as a training base for all the Dutch military crews (after 1941).  

When the Civil Rights Movement began to gather steam, Jackson saw a lot of action.  On June 12, 1963, Medgar Evers was murdered by Byron de la Beckwith, which increased the already intense activity in the city.  Massive, public movements for Civil Rights and voter registration followed the murder and became extremely effective in putting Jackson on the map of Civi Rights.  Civil Rights issues ensued until June of 1966 when James Meredith organized a march from Memphis to Jackson and (after being hit by a sniper's bullet during the march) delivered a speech to a crowd of 15,000 regarding the implementation of Civil Rights legislation.  May 15, 1970, police killed two and wounded twelve during a protest regarding the Vietnam War.  The incident made national news.  

In 1997, Harvey Johnson, Jr. became the city's first African-American mayor.  He was followed in 2005 by Frank Melton.  The somewhat comical years of Melton's reign witnessed martial law, wearing arms on school and church property, a marked increase in both unemployment and violent crime, questionable antics, and (my personal favorite), stopping a school bus to give children hugs.  In 2009, Melton passed away after election results, and Harvey Johnson, Jr. was re-elected to the position of mayor.

10.  Community Barriers

In summary of most of the information gathered so far, the serious problems that face the community are poverty, unemployment, crime, and level of education of the population.  Many of the individuals in the community do not finish high school, do not finish on time, and if they do finish, they do not go on to college.  In my specific school, the graduating class last year started out their freshman year with a little over 250 students.  They graduated only around 150, and those were pretty good odds, considering the area and the odds they are facing.  A 10.4% unemployment rate that seems to be increasing, a population that is continuously decreasing, and a median income that is half of  the national average are not good things to have on your side.  The crime rate will likely take a nosedive with the new administration, but even then, it is nowhere close to the national average, and would still be considered a dangerous city.

11.  Values

Values of Jackson would include Christianity, education, and progression.  Everywhere you go, there are churches, church groups, church festivals, church reunions, and preachers.  Christianity, regardless of the depth of belief or practice, seems to be a binding force and a bonding place for most citizens in Jackson.  Jackson Public Schools and Jackson State University create a foothold for education to take a prominent place in everyone's life.  Someone has a friend, neighbor, neice, nephew, grandchild, or child in JPS, and most individuals become involved in the JPS family.  A lot of JSU alumni tend to stay in the area and stay involved in the educational field, giving weight to the education in Jackson.  A new value that seems to have taken hold is that of progression.  Whether it's rejuvenating downtown or renovating an old museum, there seems to be an air of recognition that Jackson has fallen behind the times and must catch up.  There is a willingness to go forward, as long as there is still an appreciation for the way things were, since people tend to view the way "things were" as the way they "should be."

12.  Uniqueness

There are many unique things about the city of Jackson, but there is one thing that always catches my attention: the crime rate.  As of 2007, Jackson had more than double the national average for the United States.  After looking at car theft, arson, rape, robbery, and other violent crimes, Jackson's crime rate was calculated at 703.5, whereas the national average is 320.9.  In 2007, Jackson was ranked as the 23rd most dangerous city, but in the closing months of Frank Melton's tenure, the city saw a spike in crime, and (unofficially) rose to the 14th most dangerous city in the United States.  Malcolm McMillian was, at one time, holding the offices as both the Sheriff and the Police Chief of Jackson.  However, in summer 2009, Tyrone Lewis stepped in as Chief of Police for JPD and McMillian retained his position.  There has been a concerted effort on all parts to reduce crime in Jackson, so one could that effort to show in new statistics.

Also, two other interesting facts about Jackson: the city is ranked 10th in the nation in concentration of African-American same-sex couples, and it is located on top of a volcano, making it the only capital or major city in the United States to boast that physical feature.

13.  Schools, Colleges, and/or Universities

If not saturated with anything else, Jackson is definitely soaked to the brim with education.  Given the largest public education system in the state, an equally impressive selection of private school opportunities, and an awesome array of higher-education choices, Jackson can hold its own in the education realm.  Jackson Public Schools is comprised of 38 elementary schools, 10 middle, and 8 high schools.  There are also alternative schools, career placement and development programs and schools, adult education, and environmental education locations.

In regards to private school opportunities, Jackson 32 different schools, ranging from Pre-K to 12th grade, affiliated with religions ranging from Roman Catholic to Church of God in Christ, co-ed and single-sex school.  There are many different private schools in the city, and they offer a quality alternative to the public school system.  The Mississippi School for the Blind and The Mississippi School for the Deaf are also located in Jackson.

Comparing the two school systems is very interesting.  According to the Mississippi Department of Education for the 2006-2007 school year, the public school system is made up of the following racial groups: African-American (94.8%), White (4.4%), and Asian (0.2%).  Interestingly enough, private schools are made up of basically the same racial groups, just in a completely different ratio.  African-American students make up only 25.5% of the private school population, Whites bring in a whopping 73.2% of the population, American Indians 0.6% of the private school population, Asian 0.4% of the private school population, and Hispanic students make up 0.3% of the private school population.  

Also interesting is the number of children in Pre-K programs in public and private schools.  In Jackson Public Schools, there are about 520 children in Pre-K, but around 2,750 children in the kindergarten classrooms.  Private schools in Jackson, however, see around 950 children in the Pre-K programs, and then about 700 children in the kindergartens.  Finally, perhaps most interesting (or most upsetting), are the comparison of high school students.  Public schools had (according to the 2006-2007 Mississippi Department of Education information) 2,900 students in grade 9, but only about 1,500 (half) of the students travel through to the 12th grade.  In the private schools, however, there are about 360 that enter the 9th grade, and almost all of those (and some additional ones, as well, as the number was somewhere around 380) will graduate the 12th grade.

Once a student makes it through the gauntlet of a Jackson education, they have plenty of opportunities presented to them to stay in Jackson for their higher education.  Jackson State University was founded in 1877 and is a public, Historically Black College or University (HBCU).  Most graduates are focused in education or business studies.  Reformed Theological Seminary was founded in 1963 and has different campuses throughout the South, with the Jackson campus being smaller (about 450 students) and focused more on Master's programs.  Millsaps College was founded in 1892, is a private and religiously-affiliated institution (Methodist).  Belhaven College was founded in 1883, and is a Presbyterian-affiliated college, preparing students for different leadership roles in their adult lives.  The University of Mississippi Medical Center was founded in 1955, and is the stepping ground for medical students.

i didn't know blindfolds were illegal here...

hazing has always been an issue in my life.  in high school, every athletic team that i can think of got in trouble at least once during my four years for hazing issues.  the marching band got in trouble for hazing.  the dance team got in trouble for hazing.  different school organizations were faced with disciplinary actions when it was discovered that they were engaging in "questionable" activities aimed at new members.

throughout college, greek life was always dealing with hazing issues.  every house had different issues, whether it was drinking, scavenger hunts, auctions, wake-a-thons (they didn't sleep for 5 days), ultimate fighting, beauty contests...the list goes on.

but at school?  i feel like it's a little ridiculous.  though i know it's nearly impossible to stop outside of school activities, this really seems like it's gotten out of hand.  it also seems pretty clear that staff and faculty members would have know about these issues.

when our students are throwing different parties and they make flyers, every teacher sees them.  if there's a "slut list" going around the school, teachers would almost certainly have known about it.

i feel that it is the responsibility of the teachers and administrators, to some extent to deal with this issue.  at this point, however, it seems like it is a deeply-rooted tradition that girls WANT to be a part of, which is somewhat frightening.  i think it is important to talk with the parents and let them know the behavior and how it is not going to be tolerated at school.

i don't believe it is the job of the faculty and staff to stop the children from behaving in a specific way OUTSIDE of school, but it should not be tolerated once it enters those doors.

i think, somewhere along the line, that there was tolerance of this behavior, and now you have the adverse effects of that tolerance.

it needs to be dealt with, and an end needs to come to the behavior. 

reach for the stars...

though i initially agreed with this blog (http://garyrubinstein.teachfor.us/2009/08/30/high-expectations-not-so-fast/), when i linked to the post he referenced, i rethought my stance.

while i do definitely agree that you can't put too much pressure on your students by having unreasonably high expectations of them, i wonder what are "unreasonably high expectations?"  

gary rubinstein says that "when you make things too complicated, students don't rise to your 'high expectations,' they lose confidence in themselves and, more importantly, they lose confidence in the ability of their teacher.  once they decide that their teacher is not competent enough to make 'appropriate level' lessons, they stop listening, start talking, and make it impossible to teach."

this is where i stopped for a minute.  though i think there are valid points raised in warning teachers not to teach "over" student's head, i think a lot things are being crossed here, as far as opinions and positions are concerned.  i think there is a difference, and quite a sizable one, between teaching "over" students and having high expectations.  as a ninth-grade teacher, it is teaching over a student's head to talk about slant and internal rhyme when i'm first introducing it as a stylistic device.  they don't need that information for where they are, and it wouldn't make sense for me to impart that knowledge on them at that time.  but it is an expectation of mine - unreasonable or not - that those same students would be able to pick up rhyme schemes in poetry ranging from anne bradstreet to emily dickinson to paul laurence dunbar; that they would be able to construct their own rhyme schemes, and that they can fully master the stylistic device that is rhyme - on a ninth-grade level.

the blog post that rubinstein links in his personal blog (http://theprojectionist.teachfor.us/2009/07/26/long-term-planning/) is, from the outside, not something i would identify as full of "unreasonable" expectations.   perhaps the time frames for such works would be a little underestimated, but i really disagree with the points that rubinstein makes.  i think it is important to expose children to literature of all time periods and cultures.  though i have a student body that is 100% african-american, i have them read everything from j.k. rowling to tupac to ruby payne to john f. kennedy to malcolm x to maya angelou to darwin to toni morrison to stephen king.

by having expectations for children that "fit" their "circumstances" only put them more at a disadvantage.  i do agree that you can over-extend children and burn them out.  

but there is NOTHING that a child "can't" do , given the appropriate exposure, guidance, and attention.  

i get really upset with my kids sometimes because they don't hit the bar that i set, but at the end of the day, i set the bar higher than anything they've had before.  and they're reaching for it.  and they keep reaching.  and even if they don't hit it?  they're stretching more than they ever have, they're growing as people and as students.

and, not to be rude, but how how can one single person say that they know what is unreasonable for a child to achieve?  that seems a little presumptuous, doesn't it? 

here i go again on my own...

easily, the hardest things about second year is living up to and living down things you did in the past.  as i write this, we are still dealing with the repercussions of a pretty solid fight.  there are a lot of fights next to my room and kopanke's because there is a big gap there with only females (it's actually 8 different rooms in a row with only females) and traditionally, females aren't going to break up fights.  last year i got into a jump to pull a kid out and, though nothing happened, in the weeks after that, there were a couple different altercations and i somehow got involved.  last week two of my girls got into it in the lunch room and i had to physically restrain one while she was trying to punch the other one, and my softball girls were literally scrambling over seats to fight last thursday until i "love tapped" two of them.  it's been assumed that i will get into the fight, or try to physically prevent it.  i feel okay with that assumption, as i'm pretty comfortable in my hoss-ness.  but today the fight was pretty intense and while i got in it as fast as i could, i definitely didn't get "in" it.  after the fight when the cops were there to arrest the kids, we were talking about it and i was asked by two of my assistant principals, a security guard, and two other female teachers, "why didn't you get in there?" uhhhhhh sorry, didn't know i was getting an added bonus to get my face punched in.  plus i was in a shift dress and i looked good.  wasn't about to mess that dress up.

i also have to live up to specific things.  i mentioned the cursing earlier, but that's something that was a big deal.  i didn't curse, and i wouldn't put up with it.  and i know you can pull the "i'm the teacher so i can do whatever i want to do" but i don't wear that too well.  so now if i curse to get a point across or to express my anger, i feel like it lost some of its effectiveness.  last year i stayed after a lot to help with state testing and ACT prep, and didn't get paid for it.  i was really supportive of sporting evens and organizational activities, and not that i don't want to keep that up, but i also would like my personal life to remain in tact.  i just feel like there are expectations of me that i never know if i'm fulfilling or not.  the one thing i'd really hate is if someone was like, "you're not as hard as they said" or "i thought you were going to be a lot more strict."  

sometimes i also find it hard to be all the way immersed in the material.  you only want to go over "to kill a mockingbird" so many times.  i don't want to keep trying to express malcolm x's awakening in "hair" to a bunch of students who don't get it.  once you come up with a creative lesson for prepositions...it's not as fun the when you're in the 700th minute of it.  it's not burnout, because i still want to be there, nd it's not that i don't want or need to teach the material.  but i don't want to throw away the effective methods that i had last year just to fulfill my desire for excitement.  i want something new and fresh, but a lot of those things work, and the students don't understand i've already taught that 8 or 9 times when i get to them.  i wish there was a cure for that.  sometimes it feels like "the mondays" every block of the week.

another hard thing about second year is the emotions, i think.  i don't get shocked when there's a wicked fight or a see a young girl get pregnant.  there's not much anger when i see students fail to live up to their potential.  in a way, i'm worried that i've come to be okay with the status quo.  i don't want to be neutral when a kid puts his head down all through class.  i don't want to be okay with a 60% average as a passing grade.  though i feel like i'm pretty culturally responsive, i don't want to be accepting of those things.  they are not okay with me.

a hard part of second year is that i think i've lost  a little of the conservative, outspoken, backwoods city girl.  and i don't like that.