Goodbye Oxford

This summer has definitely been an eye-opening experience. I learned so much about the history of Mississippi and the United States while also learning more about the Mississippi Teacher Corp and education, poverty, and race in the state. But the best part of this summer, by far, was getting to know so many great people all of whom are providing a great service to Mississippi. This summer would not have been the same without the many people that I grew to love over such a short period of time and I'm really grateful for the friendships I've made here.

At this point I'd like to copy Shanika and give a shout out to some of the people who made this summer what it was. If i forget you, or you weren't mentioned, no worries, I love you nonetheless!

Second-Years

Patrick aka P-money: You're pretty much my favorite person ever!
Abe aka Coach: Racial reconciliation is a must!
Tomas: Mmm sweatshops. We should've been friends at Amherst.
Parks: Thanks for just being yourself and having fun with us all summer.
Justin Sealand: Thanks for trying to teach me sports that black people don't really play.
Basile: One word: MAGNANIMOUS
Mike Warner: Thanks for seeing us through the tornado...although we did lose you for a sec.
Kopanke: I really like Canada now!
Ryan: Stay cool, man.

First-years

The Amherst Crew (Dan, Sara, Conor, Annah, Carson, Justin): You all rock my socks!
Stacy Filoco: You're pretty much the flyest thing I've ever seen.
Jeral Self: Best co-social chair MTC has ever seen.
Christine Breaux: I like your lingerie.
Thomas: I both fear and admire your ultimate frisbee abilities.
Junior: You're one of the nicest people ever.
Trevor: You're one of the funniest people ever.
Jillian: Have fun in Vegas, girl!

And to the dozen or so engaged couples: Best of luck!

Some other notables include...

The INCREDIBLE Sweeney family: summer school was one of the highlights of my experience here because of all of you.

Buck Cooper and family: Thanks for helping us out with out projects!

And a special shout out to Mullins, McConnell, and Ms. Carol!

And last but not least...James Benjamin Guest VII: It's been a wacky summer and I know we all made fun of you a lot. Let's face it, you asked for it. But it was all out of love. And even though you're one of the most annoying bosses ever, you're still a pretty cool person and I'm almost glad I met you.

Oxford, this is Kelly. I'm signing off.

Ben's Angels aka the Fab 4 aka "The Interns"

As my summer winds down, I thought I'd take some time to talk about my 3 fellow interns and some qualities that I admire in each of them. Actually...Ben's making us blog about this because he's corny. lol. But I'll do it anyway because i guess I love them and what not...

Asia aka ROOMIE!: Despite the fact that she's the youngest intern EVER (lol), Asia is definitely the mother of the interns. Whenever you need someone to kill one of the larger bugs in your room or give you a disapproving look Asia is always there. I've really enjoyed having her as a roommate and getting to know her better this summer, even if she does give me backwards glances sometimes for generally being a weird person. And whenever you need someone to say what's on everyone's mind, but they refuse to say, Asia is right there to say it. Asia keeps it real, and that's one of the many things i love about her.

Tahina: Although we've had some disputes this summer one thing that I've always really admire about Tahina is her passion. No matter what she's doing, whether it's working on her project or talking about Haiti and her future goals, Tahina always puts a hundred percent of her efforts and emotions into her endeavors. Although this quality caused some conflict at times, l I think its one of her best qualities and one that makes her who she is. I admire her ability to throw herself into a project without hesitancy and to give it her all without fear. Overall, she's a pretty cool chick.

Shanika: Shanika is definitely the jokester of the bunch. Whenever you need a good laugh count on Shanika to make light of both serious and silly occurrences in the intern world. Shanika and I probably have the most similar sense of humors, so it's been really great having her around this summer to make fun of all the ridiculousness that occurs in Mississippi and the in the life of an MTC intern. Not unlike Asia, her humor is often really blunt, which only adds to her comedic timing. Definitely glad she was along for the ride this summer.

But I can't leave without saying some words about myself...

Kelly: Kelly is definitely the prettiest of all the interns. If I could tell her anything it would be how much I ...SIKE. Ha. That was a joke. This post isn't about me. It's about the 3 lovely ladies that I've worked with all summer long and who I've grown to love and appreciate. I am so glad I've gotten to know them all better before my last year at Amherst, and I look forward to spending time with all of them in the fall


Intern Love
-Kelly

#1?

Last Thursday, Dr. Boyd came to talk to us about education, poverty and race in Mississippi. One of the most interesting things that Dr. Boyd showed was the list of statistics comparing median household income, % poverty and NAEP reading scores by state. Not surprisingly, Mississippi ranked last or second to last for every category, but I was also interested in where my own homestate (Massachusetts) ranked on the list. I was surprised to find that Massachusetts was #1 for both the NAEP Scale Score and for NAEP Proficient and Advanced Scores. These results weren't completely shocking, but they were deceptive in that they failed to show the educational disparities which do exist in Massachusetts. As someone who actually lives in the city of Boston, I can safely say that Boston Public standards are not always up to par (they only made a hit TV show cleverly named Boston Public which details the grittiness of Boston public education). The stats may accurately depict the statewide scoring, but the difference between what kids learn in Boston Public Schools and Belmont or Wellesley Public is as clear as night and day. From what I've learned here in MS, I have now doubt that Boston public is still miles ahead of public schools in Mississippi and other parts of the nation where education is a serious problem; nonetheless, the disparities that exist in MS in terms of education are the same ones that exist in Boston. Although Massachusetts is predominately white, many parts of Boston are predominately black and minority communities, not surprisingly many of these areas are also low-income areas. The intersection of poverty, race and education which is paramount throughout Mississippi is also apparent in these ares of Boston where black students experience the lowest quality of education in the state.

Overall Dr. Boyd's statistics and presentation on race, education, and poverty in Mississippi taught me something which many of our speakers have conveyed this summer, which is that the problems in Mississippi are problems people face everywhere. Even though Massachusetts ranks #7 for median household income and #10 for %poverty compared to Mississippi's #50 ranking for both categories, it's clear that race, poverty, and education interact similarly throughout the nation.

2-1 !

At 11:50 PM On Tuesday, July 7 I was sitting in Two Stick Trivia, awaiting my 21st birthday. If I had been in my hometown of Boston, I would've been "legal" for 50 minutes already, able to buy my own drinks from Midnight until the 2 or 3 am close of most bars in Boston; but in Oxford, things are different. For one, bars rarely stay open after 12 AM on weekdays, let alone sell drinks. They also don't card, so the thrill of buying my own drink was surpassed by the fact that I had bought my own in drinks in the bar the previous week as well. So, you might ask, what made last night special?

Well I'll tell you. As I sat in the bar, answering random facts and watching my birthday cake shot (which I had to take at 11:50 PM because not only do they stop serving after midnight but they also clear all drinks by 12) I realized that this birthday was special for a number of reasons. And not just because I can now freely enter any drinking establishment of my choice anywhere in the world. Although I had dreaded the idea of having my 21st birthday in Mississippi of all places, I realized that my experience here has overall been a pretty good one, and I appreciate a lot of the people I've met here so far. When I turned 21, everyone around me, with the exception of my best friend Ameerah C. Phillips, was someone whom I met within the last 6 weeks. Many of them I had just met that night, or within the last several days. Despite this fact I was surrounded by people who had become fast friends, and were thoroughly invested in making sure that I had the best time possible on my birthday. They even brought cupcakes into the bar!
At summer school on the morning of my birthday Principal Joe Sweeney made me cupcakes Vice Principal Connor Sweeney gave me a crown. One of the highlights of my new found adulthood was sitting in summer school with a burger king crown on my head, surrounded by a puzzle of the USA reading and coloring with a 3 year old boy. Sounds kinda crazy/lame but I had fun, which is exactly what birthdays are all about.

Later that night, I had a more traditional 21st birthday celebration complete with bar hopping, bean bag tossing, vampire-themed dance parties and late night fountain trips. I had a great birthday, mostly because of the great people that I've met here in Mississippi, and I'm happy to have spent my birthday here surrounded by some of the coolest people I've met in my 21 years of life.

Successes and Failures of Coach Schewel

Abe's blog about his successes and failures during his first year teaching offered the good and bad of teaching in Mississippi. In his blog about failure during the year, Abe talked about Odis, a student who he thought he could have done more for. Abe described Odis as a student whose appetite for learning dwindled as the year progressed. When Abe first met Odis during his fall semester Odis had a confrontation with another student, which caused Abe to intervene; however, Abe's handling of the situation earned Odis' trust, and he worked hard in the class from that point forward. But 4 weeks into the semester Odis learned that he had been in the wrong class and transferred out of Abe's class to attend the correct class. In the spring, Odis returned to Abe's class but his attitude towards learning was not the same. Sometime between Abe's encounters with him in the fall and the beginning of spring semester, Odis had given up on succeeding in school. Although Abe still tried to reach out to him, offering him extra help after school and rides home, Odis never took up Abe's offer and eventually stopped going to school. In the end, Abe described Odis' "spirit and attitude" towards school as "broken".

Although Abe described his relationship with Odis as a failure, I'm not sure how he could've done more for him. Odis' story is unfortunate and disheartening, but it seems like Abe took the time to figure out what was happening in his life and attempt to get him back on the right track. Maybe Abe felt like he could've done more, but overall one person can only do so much (especially when they have a hundred other students) and the bad circumstances in Odis' life undoubtedly outweighed any good that Abe tried to do. Ben has discussed with us on numerous occasion the heartache that a teacher feels when they see a student with potential who succumbs to the (excuse my french, but...) fucked up conditions that they have to deal with outside of school. I think Abe's "failure" story, is simply another one of the difficulties faced by Teacher Corps teachers during their 2-year experience. Overall, I don't really see this story as a failure. Not because everyone goes through it, but because I really do feel like Abe tried to do what was right for the student. Sometimes its just not enough.

In other news...

Abe's success blog, showed how good classroom management can result in a better classroom experience for the teachers and students. Abe said that his classroom management skills improved greatly between first and second semesters, thus leading to a more effective teaching style during his second semester. Abe found that being more strict from the beginning of the semester, establishing a routine to his classroom, and having well thought-out lesson plans helped him teach more effectively while also giving him more free time and allowing the students to learn more. One of the things that he found helpful during his second semester was having a set structure for the beginning of class which every student knew that they had to adhere to everyday. the more structured classroom setting led to, in Abe's words, "a more peaceful learning environment" second semester. In addition, many of Abe's students reported that his class was the one they had learned the most in all year.

I think Abe's success story points out the importance of having a highly structured classroom. Although, I've previously condemned the imposition of obedience within schools, I think Abe's success story points out the ways in which order is a necessary part of learning especially for kids in Mississippi. Structure, when not oppressive, is calming and allows students to feel safe or at least in control of their own actions in the classroom,. I think this structure becomes even more important in Mississippi where many of the kids are "high-risk" or come from relatively chaotic neighborhoods and homes. If school is just as chaotic as home life than kids aren't going to be willing or able to learn. But by making school a safe, structured space, Abe was able to have a good second semester and become a better teacher. One year down, one (or more) to go.