“What economy? I’m dead serious. What economy?”
Ashley Richmond, 17 Years Old.
Annual Income in Hollandale:
6%=$75,000+
4%=$50,000-$75,000
17%=$35,000-$50,000
10%=$25,000-$35,000
20%=$15,000-$25,000
16%=$10,000-$15,000
25%=$0-$10,000
At the center of town is a huge, rusting, metal factory, the remnants of a cottonseed oil plant. The history of trade and economics in Hollandale is the same throughout the Mississippi Delta: cotton. All aspects of the cotton industry, from the fieldwork to the gin to the huge, cottonseed oil plant provided work. The train tracks run alongside the plant. In 1983 the plant was closed and, soon after, the trains stopped running through Hollandale.
In the 1980’s and 1990’s cotton production became much more mechanized in the region. “One tractor equals 150 men,” said Mr. Sanders. At this point the catfish processing plant became the main industry in town. The plant closed in 2002, laying off 200 people or almost a tenth of the town’s population. The biggest employer is now the school district.
“Hollandale is in a desperate situation. A city should set the majority of its revenue from two places: sales tax and property tax,” said Mr. Larry Burford, the mayor of Hollandale from 2001 to 2005. “Because of the loss of industry and the proximity of Greenville we have very little sales tax. Because most of our homeowners are elderly they receive an exemption from the property tax. We have no money. We can’t repair the roads or the sewers. With the price of gas rising and the price of health insurance sky-rocketing we won’t be able to pay the police officers.”
“The city is living month to month,” said Mr. Sanders.
Downtown is now completely boarded up with the exception of Jane’s (the white café) and a storefront church, The Powerhouse Apostolic Deliverance Church or, as the people in town call it, “The Powerhouse.”
“Wal-Mart put the final nail in the coffin,” said Mr. Sanders. A Super Wal-Mart opened in Greenville, 28 miles away, in 2002. “The last few shops that were hanging on were gone after that. When churches start moving into your downtown district that’s the end.”
The decline of the cotton industry and the closing of the cottonseed oil and catfish plants, has choked off most of the available revenue. This, in turn, has lead to some stark numbers...
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Saturday, May 06, 2006
Hollandale, Part Three:
In the past few years some middle-class blacks have moved across the tracks, living alongside middle-class white families. The wealthy white families, however, live on the other side of the creek. There are only two bridges in the town and these bridges (and the creek itself) set apart the wealthier white community from the rest of the town.
But the centerpiece of the Delta is the Mississippi River. Really, it is the centerpiece of the United States of America. The Great River created, among other things, rock and roll, American Literature, and, of course, the Civil War.
Millions of Africans were brought over to pick the cotton (with millions more dying on the way), bringing customs, music, and culture from West Africa. Jazz, the blues, and juke joints all have their roots in West Africa. The word “juke” means “wicked” in many West African dialects. Elvis Presley, as a young, impressionable man would drive over to the Delta from his hometown of Tupelo, MS and take in the music at these juke joints. This was the spark of rock and roll.
Growing up on the river Mark Twain based many of his stories around its waters. The river is the central narrative of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the novel that, according to Earnest Hemingway, “all American literature came from.”
Slavery is the lasting impact though. Slavery, the Civil War, and our tortured history of race in this country all originated with the river. Walk through Hollandale and look at the faces. You are looking at the great grandchildren of slaves and slave owners.
“Emory R. Simmons, a former slave, started the first black school in Hollandale in 1890,” said Mr. Howard Sanders, the retired Superintendent of the Hollandale School District.
The cotton fields in the Delta hold our history in the soil. Rock and roll, American literature, and the Civil War. It all started right here...
But the centerpiece of the Delta is the Mississippi River. Really, it is the centerpiece of the United States of America. The Great River created, among other things, rock and roll, American Literature, and, of course, the Civil War.
Millions of Africans were brought over to pick the cotton (with millions more dying on the way), bringing customs, music, and culture from West Africa. Jazz, the blues, and juke joints all have their roots in West Africa. The word “juke” means “wicked” in many West African dialects. Elvis Presley, as a young, impressionable man would drive over to the Delta from his hometown of Tupelo, MS and take in the music at these juke joints. This was the spark of rock and roll.
Growing up on the river Mark Twain based many of his stories around its waters. The river is the central narrative of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the novel that, according to Earnest Hemingway, “all American literature came from.”
Slavery is the lasting impact though. Slavery, the Civil War, and our tortured history of race in this country all originated with the river. Walk through Hollandale and look at the faces. You are looking at the great grandchildren of slaves and slave owners.
“Emory R. Simmons, a former slave, started the first black school in Hollandale in 1890,” said Mr. Howard Sanders, the retired Superintendent of the Hollandale School District.
The cotton fields in the Delta hold our history in the soil. Rock and roll, American literature, and the Civil War. It all started right here...
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Hollandale, Part Two:
“With each spring thaw for thousands of years the Mississippi River carried off the rich topsoil of the Midwest. Then, just south of Memphis, the river predictably bulged out over its banks, hurling water and purloined silt onto a low-lying alluvial basin nearly 200 miles long and up to 70 miles across at its widest point…. Centuries of annual inundation and departure thus deposited a thick, rock-free, and fecund soil upon the Yazoo-Mississippi Delta – conditions fit for a king. King Cotton, that is.” John Wilis, Forgotten Time
The landscape of Hollandale, like most of the Mississippi Delta, is as flat as an uncluttered desktop. But the land itself is as fertile as any in the world, a gift of Mississippi River.
The source of the Mississippi River is Lake Itasca in Minnesota. It is the longest river in the United States, about 2,320 miles, stretching from Lake Itasca to New Orleans, LA and then emptying in the Gulf of Mexico. A drop of water in Lake Itasca takes about 90 days to reach the Gulf.
The river has drained about 41% of the United States over the past 15,000 years. The endless flooding and changing of the river deposited an enormous amount of sediment throughout the Delta. Stand in the Mississippi Delta and you are standing on the remains of the Rocky Mountains. This alluvium deposit created the most fertile land in the world, perfect for growing the labor-intensive cash crop of cotton.
The Mississippi River is located 12 miles to the West of Hollandale, but a tributary, Deer Creek, runs alongside, and sometimes through, the town. Because of the fertile land and of its proximity to Deer Creek, Hollandale, historically, had access to good resources and trade. As cotton production became more mechanized and as the country shifted from rivers and trains to trucks and planes as the primary means of transportation, these benefits faded.
The train tracks are, perhaps, the most important geographical feature of Hollandale because they literally divide the town. For most of the town’s existence blacks have lived on one side of the tracks and whites on the other. “Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.” runs through the black section of town and then becomes “Bee Bee Street” on the other side of the tracks. On one side of the tracks there is a black café, Marie’s. On the other side, a white café, Jane’s.
“They are what separates us,” said Ashley Richmond, a 17 year old black female, referring to the tracks...
The landscape of Hollandale, like most of the Mississippi Delta, is as flat as an uncluttered desktop. But the land itself is as fertile as any in the world, a gift of Mississippi River.
The source of the Mississippi River is Lake Itasca in Minnesota. It is the longest river in the United States, about 2,320 miles, stretching from Lake Itasca to New Orleans, LA and then emptying in the Gulf of Mexico. A drop of water in Lake Itasca takes about 90 days to reach the Gulf.
The river has drained about 41% of the United States over the past 15,000 years. The endless flooding and changing of the river deposited an enormous amount of sediment throughout the Delta. Stand in the Mississippi Delta and you are standing on the remains of the Rocky Mountains. This alluvium deposit created the most fertile land in the world, perfect for growing the labor-intensive cash crop of cotton.
The Mississippi River is located 12 miles to the West of Hollandale, but a tributary, Deer Creek, runs alongside, and sometimes through, the town. Because of the fertile land and of its proximity to Deer Creek, Hollandale, historically, had access to good resources and trade. As cotton production became more mechanized and as the country shifted from rivers and trains to trucks and planes as the primary means of transportation, these benefits faded.
The train tracks are, perhaps, the most important geographical feature of Hollandale because they literally divide the town. For most of the town’s existence blacks have lived on one side of the tracks and whites on the other. “Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.” runs through the black section of town and then becomes “Bee Bee Street” on the other side of the tracks. On one side of the tracks there is a black café, Marie’s. On the other side, a white café, Jane’s.
“They are what separates us,” said Ashley Richmond, a 17 year old black female, referring to the tracks...
Sunday, April 30, 2006
Hollandale, Part One:
Children in Poverty:
United States: 14%
Mississippi: 31%
Washington County: 39%
Hollandale: 54%
“How can a country like this allow it? Maybe they just don’t know.” Robert Kennedy, during his visit to the Mississippi Delta.
There are four ways to enter the town of Hollandale, MS. The first is through Old Highway 61, which bisects the town from North to South. The second entrance is from Highway 12, which is 12 miles exactly from the Mississippi River to the Western side of town. As you enter Hollandale from 12 the scenery is something like this: cotton field, cotton field, cotton field, Simmons High School, cotton field, town. The main entrances, though, are from Highway 61 proper. There are two; one on the North side of town and one on the South side of town, a distance of about one mile. As you come in from either Highway 61 entrance a large brown sign with fancy writing greets you. It states: "Welcome to Hollandale. A Town Preparing for the Future Today." It is a great motto, always making me think, for some reason, of The Jetsons. The reality, of course, is a bit different...
United States: 14%
Mississippi: 31%
Washington County: 39%
Hollandale: 54%
“How can a country like this allow it? Maybe they just don’t know.” Robert Kennedy, during his visit to the Mississippi Delta.
There are four ways to enter the town of Hollandale, MS. The first is through Old Highway 61, which bisects the town from North to South. The second entrance is from Highway 12, which is 12 miles exactly from the Mississippi River to the Western side of town. As you enter Hollandale from 12 the scenery is something like this: cotton field, cotton field, cotton field, Simmons High School, cotton field, town. The main entrances, though, are from Highway 61 proper. There are two; one on the North side of town and one on the South side of town, a distance of about one mile. As you come in from either Highway 61 entrance a large brown sign with fancy writing greets you. It states: "Welcome to Hollandale. A Town Preparing for the Future Today." It is a great motto, always making me think, for some reason, of The Jetsons. The reality, of course, is a bit different...
Hollandale, Intro:
I've been working on a survey of Hollandale, the little Delta town where I lived and taught while in the Teacher Corps. Having been in the Peace Corps, and by virtue of having successful, globetrotting parents and grandparents, I've been exceptionally lucky to have lived and traveled all over the world. And yet, of all the wonderful places I've been, it is this little, dying, Delta town that keeps pulling me back. As Hemingway said of Paris, "it is the place I love above all else." Maybe this will help explain it...
Monday, April 17, 2006
Recruiting
We have 23 slots filled and six people we are waiting to hear from. Here is a copy of the email I recently sent to the six:
Hi Everyone,
This email is going to the six people who are still making their final decision regarding the Mississippi Teacher Corps (23 have already signed up). Some of you are considering Teach For America, some are looking at other teaching programs, and some are considering a completely different career. As all of you will contact me in the next week with your decision I thought I would send out one last pitch for Teacher Corps.
The best example of the rewards (and challenges) of Teacher Corps can be found in an article written by Carey Applegate, who finished the program in 2004. Her article, titled "Carpe Diem" was published in the English Journal and you can access it here. Most importantly Carey writes about the kids, and the incredible need these kids have for dedicated, caring adults in their lives. To quote Carey:
"My students--ranging in age from fifteen to twenty--have an average reading level of sixth grade. Approximately one-fourth of the girls in Delta high schools are pregnant or have had a child or children. The physical and sexual abuse rates in the Delta are quietly astronomical. Most of the students work one or two jobs outside of school to earn extra money. Many live in the old "shanty towns," the shacks on the black side of town. Indianola, like many Delta towns, remains divided into black and white..."
Powerful (and true) writing. One of the reasons that you were selected to Teacher Corps is that many of you have experience teaching, working with kids, or counseling people who have been abused. You will be able to draw on these skills and experiences to help these kids who have been all but forgotten about by the rest of the country...
I have a few other thoughts and then I promise I will leave you alone to make what I'm sure is a difficult decision. For those of you trying to decide between Teacher Corps and TFA (or another teaching program) please consider the following:
The attrition rate for Teacher Corps during the summer training is 0%. The attrition rate for Teacher Corps during the school year is 0%. This indicates to me two things. One, we are bringing in outstanding individuals who are committed to working with children in poverty. Children who, because of the circumstances they were born into, receive a vastly inferior education. Two, the training and support we provide is second to none. Because we only take a maximum of 30 people each year everyone gets significant instruction, support, and feedback.
The attrition rate for Teacher Corps after the first school year is 3%. The past two years we have had one person leave after the first year of teaching. Again, this indicates to me that we are providing outstanding (and continuous) training and support. Furthermore, on our internal evaluations, 100% of our participants are satisfied with the Teacher Corps upon completion of the program.
The four most important questions to ask any teacher-training program are: 1. What is the attrition rate during the initial training? 2. What is the attrition rate during the school year? 3. What is the attrition rate after the first year of teaching? 4. What is the satisfaction level of participants in your program? Whether you chose Teacher Corps or another program I encourage you to ask these questions beforehand as they will give you insight into how well or how poorly the teachers are trained and supported.
For those of you considering a different career altogether all I can say is this: Teacher Corps will almost certainly be the most difficult two years of your professional life and Teacher Corps will almost certainly be the the most rewarding two years of your professional life. Teaching is an all-encompassing job for little pay. While we offer a lot of benefits with our program (a masters degree, summer housing, a $1,000 stipend, certification, etc.) the motivation and reward with our program is the kids.
So that is my pitch. I expect I will hear from all of you over the next week as you make your decision. As always, please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. Have a great weekend, a great week, and thanks for your time.
Hi Everyone,
This email is going to the six people who are still making their final decision regarding the Mississippi Teacher Corps (23 have already signed up). Some of you are considering Teach For America, some are looking at other teaching programs, and some are considering a completely different career. As all of you will contact me in the next week with your decision I thought I would send out one last pitch for Teacher Corps.
The best example of the rewards (and challenges) of Teacher Corps can be found in an article written by Carey Applegate, who finished the program in 2004. Her article, titled "Carpe Diem" was published in the English Journal and you can access it here. Most importantly Carey writes about the kids, and the incredible need these kids have for dedicated, caring adults in their lives. To quote Carey:
"My students--ranging in age from fifteen to twenty--have an average reading level of sixth grade. Approximately one-fourth of the girls in Delta high schools are pregnant or have had a child or children. The physical and sexual abuse rates in the Delta are quietly astronomical. Most of the students work one or two jobs outside of school to earn extra money. Many live in the old "shanty towns," the shacks on the black side of town. Indianola, like many Delta towns, remains divided into black and white..."
Powerful (and true) writing. One of the reasons that you were selected to Teacher Corps is that many of you have experience teaching, working with kids, or counseling people who have been abused. You will be able to draw on these skills and experiences to help these kids who have been all but forgotten about by the rest of the country...
I have a few other thoughts and then I promise I will leave you alone to make what I'm sure is a difficult decision. For those of you trying to decide between Teacher Corps and TFA (or another teaching program) please consider the following:
The attrition rate for Teacher Corps during the summer training is 0%. The attrition rate for Teacher Corps during the school year is 0%. This indicates to me two things. One, we are bringing in outstanding individuals who are committed to working with children in poverty. Children who, because of the circumstances they were born into, receive a vastly inferior education. Two, the training and support we provide is second to none. Because we only take a maximum of 30 people each year everyone gets significant instruction, support, and feedback.
The attrition rate for Teacher Corps after the first school year is 3%. The past two years we have had one person leave after the first year of teaching. Again, this indicates to me that we are providing outstanding (and continuous) training and support. Furthermore, on our internal evaluations, 100% of our participants are satisfied with the Teacher Corps upon completion of the program.
The four most important questions to ask any teacher-training program are: 1. What is the attrition rate during the initial training? 2. What is the attrition rate during the school year? 3. What is the attrition rate after the first year of teaching? 4. What is the satisfaction level of participants in your program? Whether you chose Teacher Corps or another program I encourage you to ask these questions beforehand as they will give you insight into how well or how poorly the teachers are trained and supported.
For those of you considering a different career altogether all I can say is this: Teacher Corps will almost certainly be the most difficult two years of your professional life and Teacher Corps will almost certainly be the the most rewarding two years of your professional life. Teaching is an all-encompassing job for little pay. While we offer a lot of benefits with our program (a masters degree, summer housing, a $1,000 stipend, certification, etc.) the motivation and reward with our program is the kids.
So that is my pitch. I expect I will hear from all of you over the next week as you make your decision. As always, please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. Have a great weekend, a great week, and thanks for your time.
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Ten Things to Know About Mississippi
Note: This is primarily about Hollandale, the town where I lived and taught, but it is certainly applicable to most Delta towns in Mississippi.
1) You can get great food at the gas station.
2) The sunsets are beautiful.
3) On your birthday people will pin a dollar to your shirt or sweater.
4) There is a white cafe and a black cafe.
5) Everyone younger will address you as "sir" or "ma'am."
6) Sweet tea is so sweet your gums tingle from the sugar.
7) Music is everywhere.
8) Not only can you get fried green tomatoes, you can get fried pickles.
9) Train tracks divide the town between white and black.
10) Everybody hugs.
1) You can get great food at the gas station.
2) The sunsets are beautiful.
3) On your birthday people will pin a dollar to your shirt or sweater.
4) There is a white cafe and a black cafe.
5) Everyone younger will address you as "sir" or "ma'am."
6) Sweet tea is so sweet your gums tingle from the sugar.
7) Music is everywhere.
8) Not only can you get fried green tomatoes, you can get fried pickles.
9) Train tracks divide the town between white and black.
10) Everybody hugs.
Five Mississippi Phrases
1) "Gimme some sugar." Give me a kiss.
2) "White folks section." Where the white people live.
3) "Bust the shot clock." Score more than 100 points.
4) "Tennies." Sneakers.
5) "You better shut up talking to me." No explanation needed.
2) "White folks section." Where the white people live.
3) "Bust the shot clock." Score more than 100 points.
4) "Tennies." Sneakers.
5) "You better shut up talking to me." No explanation needed.
Monday, January 09, 2006
Attrition
One of the first things Mississippi Teacher Corps alumni ask when they call is, "Did anyone quit yet?"
There is a morbid curiosity about this. Who couldn't take it? Who cracked under the pressure?
The first-years had class this past Saturday. Everyone was there. Everyone looked good. This is the first MTC group, ever, that has a zero percent attrition rate. Not one person has left: not during the summer training, not during the first few weeks of school, and not after the long December holiday. Those are the weak points, the times when, if someone is going to leave, they leave. So, unless something unusual happens, this class should finish the school year with a zero percent attrition rate. That is quite an achievement, and a testament to their dedication, their character, their competence, and their support of each other.
It may seem odd, congratulating people for doing their job, but teaching in a critical-needs school district is a job like no other (all MTC alumni say "Amen." See, you didn't know this was a participatory blog, did you?). Most critical-needs districts lose between 25% and 50% of their first-year teachers during the school year. Since I've been here the class with the lowest attrition rate has been the fabled Class of 2000 (my class, and remember, o faithful reader, that we designate classes by the year they begin, not by the year they finish). My class "lost" two people during the first month of the initial summer training. That was it. We started with 25 and finished with 23.
The Class of 2004 (the second-years) have done pretty well. They lost two during the initial summer training and then one more after the first year. Not bad.
But the Class of 2005 has the chance to beat everyone. The first class to finish with no losses. I think we'll know this summer. If anyone is going to leave it will be this summer.
Here are the attrition rates of the past seven classes. I note with some pride that the two classes I've recruited, 2004 and 2005 (as well as the class I was a part of, 2000), are among the lowest:
1998: 9% did not finish
1999: 10%
2000: 8%
2001: 58% (what we call at MTC "The Bad Year")
2002: 21%
2003: 33%
2004: 11%
2005: 0%
"Did not finish" encompasses a whole range of options, from quit teaching to failed the Praxis to failed a class.
So why did the attrition rate rise so dramatically in 2001? I don't know.
Why did it drop so dramatically in 2004? I think I know.
This was the first class I had the pleasure of recruiting. The first thing I did was spread the word (as much as I possibly could on a $3,000 budget) about the program nationally. Thus, we actually doubled the number of applications, from 60 in 2003 to 120 in 2004. Furthermore, we greatly expanded our pool of applicants from mostly southerners to people from all over the country. This gave us a much more competitive pool, and thus, a more consistent participant. We more than doubled that number, to 270, for 2005. And the projections for 2006 are somewhere between 300 and 400 (we are at 182 at the moment, with the last deadline not until April). It is my feeling that as the program becomes more and more competitive the teachers become better and better.
Wait a minute, you say. I was in the Class of 2001 and I take offense to that. I'm an great teacher.
Yes, you are correct. We have had excellent teachers in all years. But I think in the last two years we have had more consistent excellence from top to bottom.
Now, there are a host of other reasons as well: better and more realistic training, an emphasis on group camaraderie, stronger classroom management training and support. But, in my opinion (and I could be wrong) the most important aspect is the competitiveness of the program. The more competitive the program the stronger it will be.
Does this mean that we turn away a lot of potentially good teachers? Yes (as one of our alumni told me at Reunion, "I don't think I could get into the program now").
Does it mean we bring in strong participants who have a chance to be excellent teachers? Also yes.
One of the first-years, Anderson Heston, gave the program a great compliment a few weeks ago. He said, "I feel like I'm a part of something that is on the way up, that keeps getting better and better."
Amen.
There is a morbid curiosity about this. Who couldn't take it? Who cracked under the pressure?
The first-years had class this past Saturday. Everyone was there. Everyone looked good. This is the first MTC group, ever, that has a zero percent attrition rate. Not one person has left: not during the summer training, not during the first few weeks of school, and not after the long December holiday. Those are the weak points, the times when, if someone is going to leave, they leave. So, unless something unusual happens, this class should finish the school year with a zero percent attrition rate. That is quite an achievement, and a testament to their dedication, their character, their competence, and their support of each other.
It may seem odd, congratulating people for doing their job, but teaching in a critical-needs school district is a job like no other (all MTC alumni say "Amen." See, you didn't know this was a participatory blog, did you?). Most critical-needs districts lose between 25% and 50% of their first-year teachers during the school year. Since I've been here the class with the lowest attrition rate has been the fabled Class of 2000 (my class, and remember, o faithful reader, that we designate classes by the year they begin, not by the year they finish). My class "lost" two people during the first month of the initial summer training. That was it. We started with 25 and finished with 23.
The Class of 2004 (the second-years) have done pretty well. They lost two during the initial summer training and then one more after the first year. Not bad.
But the Class of 2005 has the chance to beat everyone. The first class to finish with no losses. I think we'll know this summer. If anyone is going to leave it will be this summer.
Here are the attrition rates of the past seven classes. I note with some pride that the two classes I've recruited, 2004 and 2005 (as well as the class I was a part of, 2000), are among the lowest:
1998: 9% did not finish
1999: 10%
2000: 8%
2001: 58% (what we call at MTC "The Bad Year")
2002: 21%
2003: 33%
2004: 11%
2005: 0%
"Did not finish" encompasses a whole range of options, from quit teaching to failed the Praxis to failed a class.
So why did the attrition rate rise so dramatically in 2001? I don't know.
Why did it drop so dramatically in 2004? I think I know.
This was the first class I had the pleasure of recruiting. The first thing I did was spread the word (as much as I possibly could on a $3,000 budget) about the program nationally. Thus, we actually doubled the number of applications, from 60 in 2003 to 120 in 2004. Furthermore, we greatly expanded our pool of applicants from mostly southerners to people from all over the country. This gave us a much more competitive pool, and thus, a more consistent participant. We more than doubled that number, to 270, for 2005. And the projections for 2006 are somewhere between 300 and 400 (we are at 182 at the moment, with the last deadline not until April). It is my feeling that as the program becomes more and more competitive the teachers become better and better.
Wait a minute, you say. I was in the Class of 2001 and I take offense to that. I'm an great teacher.
Yes, you are correct. We have had excellent teachers in all years. But I think in the last two years we have had more consistent excellence from top to bottom.
Now, there are a host of other reasons as well: better and more realistic training, an emphasis on group camaraderie, stronger classroom management training and support. But, in my opinion (and I could be wrong) the most important aspect is the competitiveness of the program. The more competitive the program the stronger it will be.
Does this mean that we turn away a lot of potentially good teachers? Yes (as one of our alumni told me at Reunion, "I don't think I could get into the program now").
Does it mean we bring in strong participants who have a chance to be excellent teachers? Also yes.
One of the first-years, Anderson Heston, gave the program a great compliment a few weeks ago. He said, "I feel like I'm a part of something that is on the way up, that keeps getting better and better."
Amen.
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Civil Rights II
In his new book, "The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America," Jonathan Kozol writes about his decision to become a teacher. Here is the first paragraph:
"I began to work among schoolchildren more than 40 years ago, in 1964, when I became a fourth grade teacher in the public schools of Boston, Massachusetts. I had never intended to become a teacher. I had attended Harvard College, where I studied English literature, then spent some years in France and England before coming back to Cambridge, where I planned to study for a graduate degree. In June of that year, three young activists for civil rights, the first contingent of a group of several hundred who had volunteered to venture into Mississippi to run summer freedom schools and organize adults to register to vote, disappeared in a rural area outside Philadelphia. The bodies were later discovered, buried in mud beneath a dam beside a cattle pond. As we ultimately learned, they had been killed by law enforcement officers and members of the Ku Klux Klan."
"I began to work among schoolchildren more than 40 years ago, in 1964, when I became a fourth grade teacher in the public schools of Boston, Massachusetts. I had never intended to become a teacher. I had attended Harvard College, where I studied English literature, then spent some years in France and England before coming back to Cambridge, where I planned to study for a graduate degree. In June of that year, three young activists for civil rights, the first contingent of a group of several hundred who had volunteered to venture into Mississippi to run summer freedom schools and organize adults to register to vote, disappeared in a rural area outside Philadelphia. The bodies were later discovered, buried in mud beneath a dam beside a cattle pond. As we ultimately learned, they had been killed by law enforcement officers and members of the Ku Klux Klan."
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