SAT

Is it a good idea for testing companies to run schools?

ACT

Average ACT Score (out of 36):
United States: 21.2
Mississippi: 18.8

I wrote about "college fever" in a recent post. The average ACT scores for the country and for Mississippi were released today.

For those of you teaching seniors they need to register for the Sept. 16 ACT. The registration deadline is August 18th.

You can also read our MTC Wiki "Applying to College" article.

Oral Communications, 2001-2002

Changes

I was emailing with Amy Woodman, an alum of Teacher Corps who also taught at Simmons High School (the photo above is of the cotton fields next to Simmons). She asked me who was still there among the teachers and administration (she finished in 2000). Here is the reply I sent:

Mrs. Wilson (Social Studies) is still there.

Mr. Willis is still there.

Mr. Liddell is still there.

Everyone else is new.

College

For most high school seniors college fever is in the air. Time is running a cover story on college admissions this week. Newsweek did an article last week.

However, for most students in the Delta, college is simply an abstract idea (or as Anderson's students might put it, "abskract.")

Most students don't understand the college application process.

Unfortunately, a lot of counselors at the Delta schools where we work don't understand the college application process either.

I can't tell you the number of college seniors I taught who hadn't taken the ACT. With that in mind we are working on a "How to Apply to College" entry on the Teacher Corps Wiki. Please go online and help us fill it in.

In addition to having a lot of students who hadn't started the application process I also had, every year, several students who could go anywhere in the country and be successful. All of them ended up staying in-state, but here is a list of outstanding colleges that are below the radar.

And, I've heard good things about Berea College, the first inter-racial school in the south. And here's the kicker: every student gets a full scholarship...

One more resource: most schools accept the Common Application now.

Depleted Uranium

The U.S. Army has been using Depleted Uranium as tank armor, among other things. Depleted Uranium is only 60% as radioactive as Natural Uranium. What does this do to our soldiers who work with those tanks? Wired has the article.

Here is the opening quote:

"It takes at least 10 minutes and a large glass of orange juice to wash down all the pills -- morphine, methadone, a muscle relaxant, an antidepressant, a stool softener. Viagra for sexual dysfunction. Valium for his nerves.

Four hours later, Herbert Reed will swallow another 15 mg of morphine to cut the pain clenching every part of his body. He will do it twice more before the day is done.

Since he left a bombed-out train depot in Iraq, his gums bleed. There is more blood in his urine, and still more in his stool. Bright light hurts his eyes. A tumor has been removed from his thyroid. Rashes erupt everywhere, itching so badly they seem to live inside his skin. Migraines cleave his skull. His joints ache, grating like door hinges in need of oil."

Majora Carter

Great speech by Majora Carter, a black woman from the south Bronx.

She grew up across from a crack house. She's also the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, better known as the "Genius Grant."

Her speech is about the intersection of race, economics, and the environment, something that our teachers see everyday. Kids with asthma, communities lacking public parks, waterways (including the great Mississippi) that are little more than dumpsters...

Thanks to Guy Kawasaki for posting this.

Maps

One of the things we are working on here at Mississippi Teacher Corps central is a series of maps that show MTC placements as well as other interesting locations.

Here is a sneak preview...

The Best of the Best

Here is a short film detailing why the Mississippi Teacher Corps is the best alternate-route program in the country. This short film was created from a presentation I put together earlier this month. Both the film and the presentation include some great stats on the Holly Springs Summer School.

Music courtesy of Branford Marsalis.

You can also look at the presentation as a pdf document here.

Last summer, at the first Teacher Corps Reunion, we set a five-year goal of becoming the best teacher-training program (alternate or traditional) in the country. So far, I think we are on our way to achieving that goal...

Jake and Dave

Nice article in today's Jackson Free-Press about two of our second years, Jake Roth and Dave Molina.

Check out more articles about the Mississippi Teacher Corps here.