Reggie Barnes

Mr. Barnes' discussion of education in the Delta and desegregation during the Civil Rights Movement easily could have been divided into multiple lecture series. One of the things that I found most interesting about Mr. Barnes' talk was the effect that poverty has on one's education. I've always known that the quality of public education is largely dependent on the economy of the society in which a school is located. However it was also really interesting to hear Mr. Barnes' real life stories about the effects that poverty has on a child's ability to perform in school. I thought that Mr. Barnes' discussion of the manner in which society in the Delta has become "backward" as a result of poverty was extremely informative. Mr. Barnes said that in the Delta sex has become a means of recreation because of the lack of public facilities and structured activities for kids. In this way, Mr. Barnes brought attention to the relationship between poverty and destructive social behavior such as promiscuous and often unprotected sex. The saddest thing about Mr. Barnes' stories was the pattern of cyclic behavior embedded in them and the extent to which all of Delta society has been corrupted by property, even authority figures such as teachers and coaches. Mr. Barnes' discussion of the underlying effects of poverty on education and the behavior of students within and outside of school reminded me of Tucker's discussion about education for lawyers. In the same way that all lawyers should be aware of the patterns of crime as a result of poverty along with the injustices of the legal system. Teachers should also be aware of the side effects of poverty and the injustices within the educational system. Mr. Barnes' knowledge of the Delta area and the extreme poverty in his school district is what allowed him to be successful as a superintendent and teachers need the same insight in order to properly educate their students.

Another point that I took from Mr. Barnes' talk was the effect that racism and desegregation had on him when he was in high school. I found it interesting that someone from a relatively well-off family with pretty good grades could turn into a bully because of the conditions which he was forced to endure. Mr. Barnes' experience in high school demonstrates the flaws in desegregation which includes the inability of school's to properly deal with and stop the racism whites had towards blacks entering formally all-white schools. It also shows how racism and hatred can turn even the most promising students into "high-risk" students along with demonstrating the stress that inequality puts on students. Now in the Delta, poverty has replaced racism, putting seemingly insurmountable stress on the students there who can barely survive their home-life better yet complete school. Just as racism and hate overwhelmed Mr. Barnes for a period in his life, poverty overwhelms poor black children in the Delta and school becomes inconsequential to them, However, unlike Mr. Barnes, many of these children never escape the hold that poverty has on them.

Mr. Barnes' discussion definitely emphasized the fact that education is the only way to confront poverty and the destructive social behavior that is rampant in the Delta, but I also still wonder how effective any one school system can be amidst such widespread poverty and all of its effects. Education is key in the Delta, but so are economic relief, social work and counseling which are necessary to change the social conditions there and better the Delta itself rather than solely produce individuals who overcome but also outgrow and leave the place they once called home.