Take the Plunge

Dec 10, 2008 at 6:31 PM
14 comments

Someone should only join MTC if they're:

1) A hard-working individual

2) Not content with just having a quality classroom but also invested in having a good school system--and working to get there

3) Black

As Ben once told me prior to my acceptance of admission into MTC in the fall of '06, teaching in Mississippi is undoubtedly the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. By far. Bar none. There are so many downsides to name that they don't warrant naming (just peruse through the blogs of other MTCers along with this, my own blog). However, if you are a diligent, hard-working individual you can have some success (however you measure it) as a teacher in the critical needs districts in this state. Frustration in this line of work is almost a constant. It comes from colleagues (sadly, many of who are locals who have "given up" on the public school in which they teach...including other MTCers), administrators (see previous parentheses), students (many who have no idea how to get from point A [their Mississippi town] to point B [their career]), parents (many who began raising kids before they were old enough to legally consume alcohol and thus are growing up WITH their kid and act more as a friend than parent), etc. It's very sad to watch but even sadder to feel like you're an active participant in. Work hard to combat this.

As I've said previously on this blog, I do not think that MTC teachers should simply focus on their classroom and neglect the fray of superintendent/ school board/ systemic issues. That's where some of the change needs to happen--from the top down. It could take much longer to go from the bottom up and build a massive movement of students (and parents?) to demand more accountability, rigor, and accommodations. Social change often is sparked by individuals from outside of a particular community and education in Mississippi very well might be the same. People fear change though this is what's necessary in order for our students' lives to truly have the chance to change. I'm not fighting for my students' right to attend an elite school and get a job helping exploit others (while simultaneously being exploited themselves). I simply want them to be able to evaluate the world before them and make intelligent, concerted choices to bring about the changes that they would like to see in place.

Black people are the best motivators of others Blacks. Few MTCers will argue that the root cause of so many of our problems and frustrations in the classroom is our students' lack of motivation. Sometimes this root cause is mistakenly identified as poverty though, as someone who has lived in poverty, I (along with locals such as Oprah Winfrey, B.B. King, Brandy, Rick Ross, Morgan Freeman, or Deuce McCallister to name but a few) can attest to the amazing things that can be done when one is motivated to change their circumstances and not stay beholden to racial and socioeconomic self-images related through myriad sources. I strongly feel that non-Blacks have something to offer our 95-100% (except for Marshall county...and maybe Murrah) Black students as well with regards to inter-racial understanding though I think that it is crucially important that Black students see Black role models in their class room and community. MTC could provide Mississippi with such.

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As you know, I'm interested in 3. I've thought a lot, and have had a lot of discussions with folks (as Torsheta can attest), about this over the years. Couple of questions (and I hope other MTCers will throw their two cents in as well):

1) In what ways can a black teacher motivate black students that a non-black teacher can't?

2) How should this (or should it?) translate into recruitment for MTC?

1) Their presence alone is a motivator. Telling a Black kid that they can do something is one thing but bringing in a Black person who has done xyz (been to Europe? Gone to Harvard? No criminal record?) is totally different. What's more, it's more likely that a Black MTCer will have had similar life experiences to their students socioeconomically and racially. Not a definite, just more likely. Students see themselves in their teachers just as teachers see themselves in their students, at times. Feeling like you can do something because an older teacher in your school did it can be quite motivating.

2) Recruit at Black colleges. AGRESSIVELY. That's where the majority of Black college students attain degrees from. Not Harvard (8% Black) or Williams (10% Black) or Vanderbilt (8% Black). Quality MTCers have come from these places but myself, Rob, and Amani are few and far between in the Black communities at our schools, I'm sure. Stop going for name recognition from participants' colleges. There's no reason that MTC should not have a quality relationship with Howard, Morehouse, Hampton, Tuskeegee, Tougaloo, Spelman, and other elite Black colleges' student governments, community service organizations, student employment offices, or what have you (along with not so elite Black colleges). Quality, capable candidates do no necessarily come from top-tier schools.

I agree that MTC should focus less on "elite" schools and name recognition and should branch out in their recruitment. I have always thought that more regional recruitment may lend itself to more teachers staying in Mississippi. It is much less shocking for people from bordering states who come here it seems. I do get a little concerned with too much afro-centrism. Our kids grow up in such homogenous environments that MTCers provide role models and a different point of view regardless of race. It is a blessing that this generation of kids is not as focused on race as preceding generations were. I think that we should recruit quality applicants regardless of race and stick to merits and not quotas as all races can benefit these kids.

Gramsci said that to get a true revolution we would need organic intellectuals.
I may spin your third point into a blog post over the next couple of days.
I don't know how it is in the delta/humphries county, but in JPS, and especially at Jim Hill, its possible to get talented 10%ers to come back during that transitionary period after they finish undergraduate. Not just better than average folk; i'm cream of the crop, mad respectable negroes.

Aaron, "too much afro-centrism" is very different from having more Black teachers. You don't necessarily have to be "afro-centric" if you're Black--nor do you have to "afro-centric" if you're in a majority-Black program (as my revamped Teacher Corps would be). Even more basely: what do you mean by "afro-centric?"

This generation of kids is not as focused on race as prior generations for a lot of reasons (media, rise of other post-civil rights movement movements [women's lib, queer rights, etc.], and more) though this doesn't mean that race is still not an important determining factor in young peoples' lives. Race's correlation to poverty and a whole host of other realities (life expectancies, average income, residential status, etc.) is still too significant to overlook.

And Rob, I would love for the Talented Tenth to pop off but (can I assume that you and I are both members? I don't think Du Bois is rolling over in his Accra grave at the notion) convincing a lot of the other sorry, Black mofos at Harvard and Williams that their affiliation to their race is one that warrants their attention and service and that history will negatively judge their complacency as a Black generation willows away.

http://freelikedriftwood.vox.com/library/post/damn-chimaobi-just-stole-on-like-40-mtcers.html

I don't often get involved in these debates, but this one gives me a chance to toss out an idea I've been rolling around in my head.

So, what do you think:

I can't help but believe that part of MTC's ultimate purpose is to plant a seed in its participants' heads that will germinate twenty or thirty years down the road when they're in positions of considerably more power. Spoken another way, MTC hopes to educate not only Mississippi's students, but its own participants. Now, we can obviously assent that we have "learned things" through MTC, but our education goes beyond a school of hard knocks or an early cynicism (or early grave). What we have seen during our two years in Mississippi will inform decisions we will make and opinions we will hold throughout the rest of our lives. If the Delta suffers from America's ignorance of its plight, is MTC not doing well by drawing attention to it? Should we not be recruiting those who will be able, later in their lives, to lend us support or to clamor on our behalf?

Such is my argument for MTC's recruitment of (...err) white people from elite schools.

Of course, this introduces a whole host of problems, but why can't MTC recruit for two purposes:

1. teachers whose primary contribution will be to Mississippi's educational infrastructure (either to provide that needed example or to stay in the profession in MS)

2. teachers whose primary contribution will come later on, in political circles

As regards the second group, I acknowledge Chimaobi's injunction to "think globally, act locally," but at some point the ruling class needs to become aware of its part-in-parcel oppression (damn you, Chimaobi. I hate talking in Marxist terms). Isn't MTC as good a training ground as any? And has MTC failed if someone returns to his neighborhood to effect the change that he realized was needed after participating in MTC? Isn't that your plan, Chimaobi?

Waiting on White people (most of who are from outside of Mississippi) from elite schools to help out poor Black kids in Mississippi ten or twenty or thirty years down the line is not the answer. I think that genuine and sustained change in a community needs to come from a change in the local culture as dictated by its residents. Not outsiders. Not the government. The ever-elusive "people."

I concur that our experiences in Mississippi will last a lifetime but I also have trouble believing that most MTCers will rise to bureaucratic positions where they can bring about top-down, systemic change. And again, I don't think the change we hope to see will come from outsiders and their policy/monetary decisions. We can look at the failed Abbott districts situation in New Jersey for evidence of that (*in a nutshell, the 33 or so poorest school districts in New Jersey have each received hundreds of millions of dollars in extra funding annually for the past 15 or 20 years in order to bring their per-pupil expenditure up to par with more affluent, suburban districts...this policy was brought about by literally dozens of New Jersey Supreme Court cases, legislation from the state legislature, and myriad initiatives and, of course, bill signings from the governor...thus, each branch of the government in New Jersey has been involved in this issue and I would assume that they all had good intentions, possibly inspired by a once dormant seed that germinated when they entered positions of power in the state...the impact?: the 33 "Abbott districts"--including my own one in Trenton--are still the 33 lowest-performing school districts in the state of New Jersey's otherwise stellar public educational system).

Oppression isn't a Marxist term. Neither should "bourgeoisie" or "proletariat." I think people relate to that very easily when they actively feel like they're a member of one or the other group or they see things like conflict theory played out every day or they recognize the inherent injustice in their labor's exploitation. This isn't just archaic German political economy theory for many (funny how just about EVERY major economics department in universities throughout this nation only teach capitalism...is that the only economic system every theorized? Or practiced? Or even worthy of genuine historical note?). It's quite real and current.

With regards to your question about MTC being "as good a training ground as any" I cannot concur. I think programs like MTC, TFA, and other screw themselves and the schools and participants they work with by burning out teachers. Putting the greenest professionals in the roughest, most rigorous, draining, and demanding environment in a profession is a great way to get them to leave said profession (investment bankers and corporate lawyers can relate). Screening process, perhaps, yes. Still, not the best idea for keeping people in a profession with decreasing popularity (debatable?) by far.

I currently feel that MTC is currently failing to meet each of the its three objectives (http://www.olemiss.edu/programs/mtc/Recruiting/description.html)...in part because participants do leave and return to their home communities in most situations. Yes, I plan to do so. However, I did not need MTC to let me know that the change was needed at home and elsewhere. Others may and that's cool. Whatever gets the movement moving.

The Mississippi Teacher Corps does an acceptable job of making its participants aware of the poverty and hardship faced by (mostly black) students in Mississippi. When I refer to MTC as "as good a training ground as any," I refer to its ability to expose poverty to people who wouldn't otherwise see it. I am not referring to MTC's ability to train professional teachers (and you're right--in this respect, it's not doing a great job).

I stand by my belief that MTC is admirably fighting the nation's ignorance of the Delta's situation. You may well know more about political upheavals than I do, but I've yet to see "the people" revolt when unaided by folks with some education and some money. MTC members may not become influential politicians themselves, but I cannot see how Mississippi is ill-served by having a wide-crossection of America's social and ethnic groups aware of this state's position.

Now, don't mistake yourself into believing that I am defending the status-quo. If MTC wants to consciously take on the moulding of pseudo-ambassadors, it needs to do a better job counteracting the thousand facile prejudices that MTC members develop during their tenures here. Worse than having no one knowledgable about the Delta are people whose knowledge is diseased and distorted.

In my original post I stated that MTC had two goals: to train ambassadors and to develop lifelong teachers. The Delta's position can only be changed through effective application of both. Of course Chimaobi is right when he says that the Delta can't wait in elite white folks to save it, but that's no reason to disdain their help. You don't cut off your hand because you have a wound that only time will heal: if anything, your hand can supply superficial remedies until the wound heals of its own accord.

****Upon rereading this post, I realize that more than inculcating elite white folks from the Northeast, MTC needs to inculcate elite white folks from Mississippi. A revision of my dual MTC goal would read: 1. keep Mississippi blacks in education 2. reintroduce Mississippi whites to public education.

What is the point of awareness--whether about the Delta or about Darfur or about global warming--if it doesn't bring about a change in one's actions? That's what I worry about while MTCers are here or after they leave. This brand of complacency.

The people of Belzoni or Hollandale do have some money and some education. Perhaps not as much as grads from our respective colleges but they have enough to know that their predicament is anything but ideal. All that separates them from revolution is fear and fragmentation. Fear of the government and not being successful in that which they aspire to do and fragmentation amongst themselves that needs to be eliminated in order to bring about organized action.

I agree that no information is worse than false information but I don't agree that the Delta will only change through the effective application of ambassadors and the development of lifelong teachers (the equivalent of foreign intervention...a la Iraq style with regime change in the school systems, foreign occupation, and all). Culture must change and that can only be done through locals over a number of years (definitely more than two, in my opinion).

The help of Whites, while cool and all, is not ideal. Self-sufficiency in the Delta is needed. "Aid" and philanthropy only leads to this which I criticized before. As with the government bailout of Wall St. or the auto industry, things should be done right--not (necessarily) quickly. In order for Blacks in the Delta and elsewhere to feel purged from all that hundreds of years of chattel slavery, Jim Crow, deep poverty, and farcical educational systems have done I feel that they must solve their problems without outside help.

Chimaobi, I completely and totally agree with everything you've said. I also believe that what you have said must be done (and what I've agreed with) is entirely outside the scope of the MTC. MTC can only tangentially effect the problems facing the Delta; it would be absurd for us to put those problems on our backs when you yourself say (rightly) that these issues can only be faced by "locals over a number of years."

MTC can develop ambassadors and lifelong teachers. We cannot change the culture, and should we be trying to? If you're asking MTC to play the role of prime instigator, are you not close to having an "outside agitator" in this whole affiair? MTC is not a local, is it?

I completely agree that more positive black male role models are needed in the Delta; I agree that MTC should do a better job of cultivating them. But MTC's primary role should not be to develop of black male role models. There are plenty of others (Oprah, Boys and Girls Clubs, Civic Clubs, Rotary Clubs, Lions Clubs, Masons, the churches--for chrissake) who can do the job organically (and better). We, as an outside organization, must do something different. As I said before, I think we should occupy that central position, where we can both enter into a conversation with the local community AND with the larger world.

You have previously argued that MTC should have stronger ties with the likes of Howard and Spelman. I agree completely. But you also said that the Delta must become self-sufficient. Here's my central question:

Can "black people" as a race fix the Delta, or can it only be fixed by black people from the Delta (the "locals")?

I see a logical error in your argument: if the Delta must become self-sufficient, what business does the MTC have recruiting from the likes of Howard University (which incidentally has a first-rate Classics program)?

My counterargument is as follows:
If only local blacks should be responsible for the Delta's rebirth, why not local whites too? The Delta is not a wholly black creation, and if white folks are partially responsible for the areas retrogradation, should they not also take part in its renaissance?

I understand that the black community must change from within, but the Delta (and Mississippi) is made up of more than the black community. Frankly, I find this talk of what the black community "must" do a little claustrophobic. Isn't the MTC doing something commendable by putting white folks in the middle of black districts? Aren't we, if nothing else, fighting inertia in the black community? And isn't that intertia one of the very things you want to see overcome, Chimaobi?

I hear what you're saying, Austin.

To clarify, I guess I think that maybe if you get local Blacks who have the exposure to alternative environments, people, and educational systems (at places like Howard and Spelman more so than Delta State or Valley) then that would be ideal. Still, perhaps the "elite Black colleges" things doesn't work well in my argument.

I don't think Whites should be involved because, on some real and significant level, Whites aren't the problem anymore. Blacks are doing things to themselves and other Blacks that keep them down. Very frustrating but true.

Good to see everyone's comments. Good discussion. More questions:

1) Should a person's race be a factor when reviewing applications? If so, in what ways?

2) Should a person's race be a factor in placement?

[I am not sure where to put this post, here or here, so I decided on the original post. Plus I don't like RB all that much. Also, I realized I missed the boat by a good two weeks, but I took a "reading vox hiatus."]

I have a question about who MTC should be recruiting. RB and CA have both mentioned teachers at their schools who are from Mississippi and would have made great MTC candidates. The first of MTC's objectives is to "provide dedicated, talented teachers for Mississippi [...] where an inadequate supply of teachers exists." Perhaps this objective needs to be changed, but without it, teachers like myself (or the two mentioned above, for that matter) would not be living Mississippi providing students who desperately need it with (dare I say) quality education. I, too, have teachers at my school who are much more ogranic and local than I am who could have benefitted from a free Master's program. But these folks are and were already here; MTC was not necessary to recruit them like it was for myself, RB, CA, AF, and AR-S (along with most of current and past MTCers). Can we agree there is a need (that these districts do not generally fill themselves either by want or ability) for more teachers in Mississippi than exist or are being created here? If we can, then who will fill the void when MTC stops recruiting teachers who otherwise would not arrive in Mississippi? Could it be possible that the best candidates for MTC and the best candidates for Mississippi are not necessarily the same people?

Take the Plunge

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