Mirabiliae’s Neighborhood

This reminds me of the "We are the Fighting Irish" ads they play during ND football games.  Danielle Hall, Notre Dame and MTC alum, is featured in this recruitment/information video about the Mississippi Teacher Corps:

Even in my second year, 'successful' is not an adjective that I would use to describe my teaching practice. 'Effective' is the more contextually appropriate word, but neither can this be absolutely claimed. Teaching continues to be trying, strengthening, humbling, often rewarding, but 'successful' is something that it is not.   For this reason, I look for the measurable gains in my individual students reading and writing ability in order to glimpse even the smallest semblance of success.  

In the interest of privacy, I'll call my student Mariah.  I received Mariah as a 15 year old 7th grade student who been absent for over a month of school the previous year during which time she was reported as a 'missing child'  for having allegedly ran off with an older man.  While, I am always of the belief that it is best to dismiss a student's past behavior history and receive them with new hope and new expectations it is more often than not that the student isn't far removed from their past which moreover informs the present, the student standing right there in front of you today.  When Mariah would verbally and  physically ( attempt to grab my hair) without any reservation or thought as to what might be the consequences, I realized that she had been shoved face to face with the crudeness of life and in comparsion, I was of no consequence whatsoever.

Although I consistently documented her behavior, administered her consequences, contacted her mother, and followed every other established protocol for following this behavior- I will not pretend to be at all responsible for her eventual turn-around.  Rarely, does a student wake up one day, have an epiphany, and commit to changing their ways. This , however, is exactly how it seemed to happen to Mariah.  It was the week of her birthday that I remember this sudden change in disposition, work habits, social interaction, ect.  Perhaps, the sobering anticipation of her turning 16 inspired this change, but whatever it was, the moment that I noticed even her most subtle effort to comply and respect, I acknowledged it, thank her, and indirectly prompted her to reflect on the difference between her current and former behavior.  The day of Mariah's birthday, I handed her a birthday/ thank you card that specifically acknowledged what I had noticed, what I had always believed she was capable of, and my conviction of how she would continue to succeed in the future.  Mariah received this not with the timid embarrassment of most students who are  acknowledged for doing the 'right thing', but with glowing pride.   From that day forward, she continued to be a model student and channel her aggression, defensiveness, and hurt into the stimulus for emotion-filled, poignant free-writing. It gets even better...

Mariah loves to write, and she loves being complimented on her writing even more. This was not mere flattery, however, as I reserved my praise for those pieces that were truly exemplary.  There was one poem, in particular, that was truly captivating and I truly believed that if entered in a contest or literary magazine, would be published. Jade was ecstatic at even the possibility of entering the contest and agreed to continue working with me to get it ready for publishing.  The next few afternoons that we spent together, exchanging both verbal and written words, serve as one of the highlights of this past year, and moreover my lifetime.  This in and of itself would have been a success, but it gets better... I mailed in her poem that Friday and three weeks later we were informed that Mariah received an honorble mention and a spot in the next issue!  It didn't matter that she didn't 'win,'  receive any monetary award, or even place.  The mere mention of her name and presentation of her poem in a magazine was enought to leave Mariah with an unabated glow that painted her face for the next three weeks.  This in and of itself was infinitely rewarding so that when Mariah's guardian-(aunt) came to personally thank me- it was no longer conceivable as to how I should be thanked, becuase truly, this was my privilege for which I have the utmost gratitude.

  Sir Ken Robinson defines creativity as “the process of having original ideas that create value”. He reiterates that it is a process and not a random act of inspiration, and that it needs to prove its worth. He points out that creativity is not the opposite to formality – instead a mixture of discipline and space to innovate are required. Robinson contends that “creativity is as important as literacy and should be treated as such.” Our schools are currently designed, like he said, in a hierarchy, in which specific skills, namely math and languages, are valued over others.
 Sir Robinson mentioned a couple reasons why having this hierarchy is ridiculous:

• The purpose of education shouldn't be to get into college.

• Believe in high standards does not mean education has to be standardized.

• We don't need to reform education -- we need to transform it.

• Creativity is a part of not apart from intelligence.

• We don't grow in to creativity, we get educated out of it.                                                                                                                                                                                                         One of the reasons why an academic hierarchy is ultimately futile is because people cannot accurately assign value to skills that may or may not be valuable in 30, 20, or even 10 years. If we cannot accurately assess what skills children will need for the future- how can we place a value or emphasis on any particular skill now?                                         Sir Robinson further ridiculed the stress we place on children to be right and not make mistakes. Children, and people in general, need to be willing to make mistakes in order to create an innovation. In fact, some of the most well-known products (penicillin, coca-cola, etc) are the results of what was initially a 'mistake.' This all-out rejection of mistakes stifles creativity, perhaps, more than any one factor in our schools and in society.                                                                                                                                                                          
  

By finding new ways to praise children’s efforts and ideas, and less ways to assess them on their mistakes, we will embrace the initiative to rethink the fundamental ways we educate children in the context of their endlessly, vast capabilities.

          There are several points in Arne's Duncan's speech of which I dissent, however the overarching purpose: a plead to realize the urgency through which educational reformation must take place, is immediately and timelessly relevant.

“By almost any standard,” Duncan told a Columbia University audience of students, teachers, and faculty, “many if not most of the nation’s 1,450 schools, colleges and departments of education are doing a mediocre job of preparing teachers for the realities of the 21st century classroom.” While this statement is unequivocally true, Duncan's failure to state what specific component is 'mediocre' renders the potential effectiveness of the statement itself-at best mediocre.  The abstractness of this earlier, 'mediocrity' claim is indicative of the circumlocutory speech that merely calls for, rather than offers a solution. Duncan does, however, reference what he considers 'pristine' models of schools of education. The shared characteristic that contributes to each of these programs' effectiveness is the central emphasis of a practicum or field experience.

To this end, I consider myself blessed to be a part of an equally propitious program- Mississippi Teacher Corps. Being able to immediately introduce the practical components of 'Advanced Methods in English' to my seventh grade class only two days after receiving instruction, both actualizes coursework and prevents instruction from becoming at all theoretical. Taking this course in preparation, rather than in conjunction with teaching would not have rendered the same lucrative advantage.

In especially the 21^st century, teacher roles and responsibilities are ever-more demanding. At a time when teachers are required to not only instruct, but moreover be TST coordinators, committee coordinators, parent-teacher coordinators, behavior incentive activity coordinators, academic and behavior interventionists, as well as psychologists and/or (at times) social workers, not to mention literacy and exceptional education specialists - preparation today needs to require students to teach while receiving training. Preparation should include training in how to differentiate instruction and how to provide advisory services to students. The best training in this type of individualized education is not conceptual, but rather requires the teacher to regularly implement and actualize differentiated instructional practices with each of their students.

Critics of teacher preparation programs say that current teacher-training programs are too heavily steeped in theory and not useful in the classroom. They say that those who teach in schools of education are clueless about how to reach children with dyslexia, attention deficit disorder, Asperger’s syndrome or other learning challenges. To this end, Duncan understands that the only way to evaluate a teacher-training program is to look at how the teachers perform once in the classroom; the only way to do that is to measure how the students are doing.

With so much scrutiny aimed at measuring student performance from kindergarten to high school, many education schools never get around to asking the high-stakes questions about how well teachers are doing in their profession, where they received their training, how much they learned, and what can be improved. Until we start scrutinizing this part of the process, and look at who is teaching the teachers, we’ll never empower students to reach their academic potential and create a workforce that is globally competitive.

though i think arne duncan's speech on "teacher colleges" was pretty well-crafted, i don't know if i truly still understand the concept of a teacher's college.  before i get into explaining why perhaps the most important thing could be to fund these institutions, i think i need to see if i actually believe in what they are aimed at doing.

No, it doesn’t have to. No matter how constrained a teacher is, I’ve determined that school does not have to be a creativity killer. To apply some ancient, wise words (2 Corinthians 4:8-9): “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; … struck down, but not destroyed.” In other words, NCLB and the obsessive, accountability-driven administrative directives it begets cannot single-handedly kill creativity in the classroom. Sure, state tests “stigmatize failure,” as Ken Robinson states. Teachers, though, do not have to stigmatize failure.

Take a measure as simple as rewarding students for non-academic feats, for instance. Awarding Student of the Month to the most spirit-lifting comedian in the classroom validates him as much as a good grade. Teacher-initiated rewards address and negate Robinson’s contention that school only the intellectual successes at school are the winners. He contends that “the whole purpose of public education …is to produce university professors. … We shouldn’t hold them up as the highest form of achievement…they live in their heads.” Nay! The purpose of school is to make something productive out of young peoples minds and hours. Sure, there are ugly class wars circling around how those minds and hours are spent. But ideally, school is for producing more productive (emotionally, spiritually, vocationally --- not merely intellectually) members of society. School is where students have training wheels for how to function as adults. It’s a mini-society. I think Robinson would be a huge fan to Rousseau’s anti-social, child-centered vision of education. Unfortunately, as pastoral and sweet as this vision is, it falls short of what humans were created for: to serve and better each other.

No, schools do not “squander” the innate creativity in children wholesale, as Robinson overconfidently asserts. Schools are the environment in which time is set aside for creativity to be required. Without the structure of school, creativity wilts. Robinson is right to point out the paradoxical nature of creativity, such as that we do not mature into creativity, but rather we outgrow it, but he misses this important paradox about it: creativity needs structure just like fire needs oxygen. Without the push and the constraint to fuel creativity, or the probing questions of the teacher, or the small encouraging remarks along the way to the final creative product, a child’s creativity will be stifled. Also, in a school functioning properly, in which reading aloud and extolling reading should be a daily activity, the imagination will find no lack.

As to Robinson’s allusion to Picasso’s quote that we grow out of creativity, neither do I fully agree with this. Older children (teens) can use colors, tweak words, arrange sounds, plan projects and papers and speak more eloquently and purposefully than their younger counterparts. Who has the authority to say that creativity with more direction and eruditeness is somehow weaker than the innocent creativity that streams from a little mind? Classifying creativity in an hierarchy (eerily akin to what NCLB test standards do—classify schools and student achievement) and judging creativity as “the production of something both original and useful” (paraphrase) is rather utilitarian itself. Robinson defines creativity to uptightly, I’m afraid. 

"The idea is that students will rise to whatever your expectations are, no matter how high they are."

 This sentiment, ruminated by TFA alumni, Gary Rubinstein and endlessly quoted as an 'one-size fits all'  amelioration of student failure- is just that- an 'idea.'  This in itself, speaks to its overt fallibility.
Gary Rubinstein argues  “....when you make things too complicated, students don't rise to your 'high expectations,' they lose confidence in themselves and, more importantly, they lose confidence in the ability of their teacher.  Once they decide that their teacher is not competent enough to make 'appropriate level' lessons, they stop listening, start talking, and make it impossible to teach."

The preceding statement simultaneously identifies the cause  as being a teacher 's poor pedagogical awareness and the effect as being poor student performance. Here, the cliché, “it takes one to no one,” shamefully holds true for me.  I have been that teacher.
 As such, however, I have come to distinguish between “mak[ing] things too complicated”  and raising your expectations - they are not one in the same. Neither are 'expectations' synonymous with 'standards.'  The incisive directive with which Ben Guest so purposefully equipped us, “Release yourself of all expectations,” is timeless and true.
While expectations are tailored to the individual and often perpetuated into lofty ideals, standards should have uniformity and are (intended to be) aligned with a state, national, or otherwise accountability factor.
To this end, 'Freedom Writers,' the very movie that Rubinstein (incorrectly) cites as promoting an 'unrealistic expectations sentiment,'  actually evidences the case for realistic standards, not high expectations. 
Although unrealistic in the movie's  'feel good' ending, the teacher, Ms. Erin Gruwell (Hilary Swank) in no way, blithely upholds expectations (that are invalidated even as she attempts to teach internal rhyme using Tupak Shakur.)  Rather, she actively reflects and re-evaluates until she achieves a psycho-social, pedagogical, and otherwise awareness of her students.
It is only now, in the context of an acquired awareness of our  students' reality, may we, like Ms. Gruwell, allow this awareness to inform what must be consistently realistic expectations and relevant standards.

the conversation with rita bender was pretty...sweet, to say the least.  i talk A LOT, most of the time unnecessarily, during our meetings and classes.  but with this, i really didn't want to.  i wanted to sit back and take it in.

Finding information about the city of Jackson that is accurate can be difficult.  Depending on the topic, the city might hide the information pretty deep in the Jackson website, or it is buried somewhere inside a 50-something page PDF document.  Other statistics seem to disagree with each other, depending on the source.  There are numerous individuals who would love to provide their own statistics or opinions on specific situations - politics, education, crime rate.  Sorting through information to be able to find the most accurate and up-to-date information can be difficult, but there are interesting and useful things gleaned in the process.  The following information is an attempt to examine and assess the community of Jackson, Mississippi in the fall of 2009.

1.  Defining the Community

The city of Jackson is in an extremely effective location for trade and economic growth.  As the capital of Jackson, there are many goods produced and services offered.  City-data.com notes that the "diversity of businesses and industry and its position as the state capital help insulate the metropolitan area from the economic downturns experienced by other cities."  There are sixteen banks in the city, four of which have their headquarters in Jackson (Consumer National Bank, Trustmark National Bank, First American Bank and First Commercial Bank).  In the tri-county area of Hinds, Madison, and Rankin counties (Jackson has land in all three counties), agriculture is a $180 million business.  Cattle is the main good, although cotton, grains, poultry, and timber are also vital to the agricultural portion of the city's economy.  There are 500 manufacturers present throughout the city.  The automobile industry is a promising new sector for growth, as the Nissan Motor Company opened its major plant in neighboring Canton, Mississippi and created over 3,300 new jobs.  The community also produces fabricated metals, electrical and electronic equipment, food products, apparel, wood products, furniture, transportation products, portable electric tools, and aircraft parts.  

2.  Geography

The city of Jackson encompasses approximately 109 square miles, about 2 square miles of those being water and the rest being land.  The city of Jackson is located about 294 feet above sea level.  It is equidistant (for the most part) from New Orleans (to the south), Memphis (to the north), Atlanta (to the east), and Dallas (to the west).  This distance to nearby major cities for trade is aided immensely by the transportation systems available to Jackson.  There are two airports, Jackson-Evers International Airport and Hawkins Field.  Though closed to passenger traffic, Hawkins Field still handles an impressive amount of air traffic.  Two major train lines, Canadian National and Kansas City Southern, run through the city.  The railroad system runs through the city and is fully functional and highly used.  The closest port is the Port of Vicksburg, located on the Mississippi River on the border between Louisiana and Mississippi, 45 miles west of Jackson.  The city is located on the Pearl River and also has access to the Ross Barnett Reservoir.  The city itself sits on top of a volcano, the peak of which is located 2,900 feet below the feet of the Mississippi Coliseum.

3.  Basic Demographics

Though there are different numbers provided by different sources, a 2006 count puts Jackson at a population of 177,977.  Throughout the 1990's, the city experienced a 5% decline in population.  In the years of 2000-2005, the city has been believed to have declined in population by 3%.  The racial breakdown of the city remains about the same, regardless of any increase or decrease in population.  A little over two-thirds of the city is African-American, making up about 71% of the population, and the white population representing with 28%, and the last 1% being the percent of Asian individuals.  This is, I believe, always the makeup for the city limits of Jackson, Mississippi.  The surrounding "suburbs" - Brandon, Byram, Clinton, Flowood, Ridgeland, Madison, Richland - would not follow this same racial breakdown.  According to the 2000 census, there were 67,841 households in Jackson.  39% of those households had at least one child under the age of 18 years.  Only 35% of the households represented married couples, whereas over 25% of the households were single-parent households, held together by a female.  The city has a median income of a little over $30,000, which is less than half the national average.  The city also boasts a fairly high crime rate, with 979 violent crimes per people.

4.  Economic Elements

Simply driving through downtown Jackson can give you a picture of the economic situation of the city, but after some research, I'm not so sure if it is an accurate picture.  Though the unemployment rate of the city (10.4%) is higher than the national average (6.9%), there are a lot of other factors that lead me to believe the overall picture is not as bad as it might seem.  According to job tracking trends in the city, "the number of Jackson, Mississippi jobs has increased by 63% since January 2008 (simplyhired.com)."  There are pieces of data that can raise an eyebrow of concern - over 60% of the households in the city earn less than $50,000 a year, though the national average income for a household is $60,000.  One should remember, however, that real estate and cost of living in Jackson is among the lowest in the nation.  A lowered household income in Jackson compared with the rest of the nation would not necessarily mean a lowered quality of life.  

Also, 67% of the population has less than an associate's degree to claim as their highest level of education.  Again, though this statistic could seem troubling, it is important to remember the type of job opportunities that Jackson has to offer.  The top employers are the State of Mississippi (32,000), The United States Government (5,500), Jackson Public Schools District (4,500), Nissan Motor Company (4,000), and Baptist Health Systems (2,700).  Many of these jobs offer opportunities to people of all different educational levels.  Also, the average commute is 19 minutes, and, as the city of Jackson is not extremely large and is easily traveled, it stands to speculate that those individuals who occupy jobs that require higher levels of education could (and very likely do) live outside the city limits and reside in the suburbs.  There are several publicly-traded companies that are headquartered in Jackson, being: Cal-Maine Foods, Inc.; EastGroup Properties, Inc.; Parkway Properties, Inc., and Trustmark Corporation.  

There are also new incentives being offered to attract new companies, and to encourage existing companies to step up and reinvent their organization.  For new businesses, the city offers lowered taxes, high quality labor, training programs, and tax credits for companies who create new jobs and provide basic skills for training and/or childcare.  For existing companies, The City of Jackson Storefront Improvement Program offers grants for exterior structural improvements in designated areas of the city.  There is encouragement for new businesses to locate in designated areas of the city, and there is a push for revitalizing the entire "downtown" section of the city.

5.  Physical Infrastructure

The city of Jackson is serviced by two airports - The Jackson-Evers International Airport deals with both commercial and industrial air traffic, whereas Hawkins Field only deals with industrial air traffic.  Three major interstates run through the city - 55, 20, and 220.  The major U.S. Highways of 49, 51, and 80 also run through Jackson and help to make the city easily traveled.  The State Highways of 18 and 25 (Lakeland Drive) make travel to the suburbs quick and easy.  Other major veins through the city - State, Capitol, Northside, and Fortification Streets, Terry Road, and Woodrow Wilson/Clinton Boulevard - make travel easy.  JATRAN is the form of public transportation, but its usefulness could be questioned.  It only runs Monday-Saturday on 13 routes from 5:00am-7:00pm.  There is no evening travel for safety reasons, and no travel on Sunday for...well, religious reasons.  The fare is $2.00 each way.  Being from a major city, I just want to quickly state something.  13 routes in a city the size of Jackson is not enough to be useful.  Also, perhaps because it is not used much, the rate is incredibly high for a city the size of Jackson.  As much as I've noticed, the public transportation system is not used much.  There are taxis, but they are all companies or privately owned, as there is no city taxi system.  Jackson is a hub for both Greyhound and Amtrak services.  Jackson also has a railroad system for trade which is highly trafficked, mainly by Canadian National and Kansas City Southern Railways.

6.  Cultural and Recreational Resources

Though Jackson is a comparatively small city, there are many cultural and recreational opportunities and resources.  Ballet Mississippi performs throughout the world, and every Christmas performs The Nutcracker at Thalia Mara Hall.  They host the Ballet Competition every fourth year, rotating with Moscow, Helsinki, and various towns in Bulgaria.  There is the Celtic Heritage Society of Mississippi, which hosts the Celtic Festival late every summer (early September this year).  The campus of Jackson State University has a botanical garden, which is used for academic and recreational purposes.  The Jackson Zoo can be considered small when compared with other major zoos, but it is a major hotspot for fundraisers, school functions, and community programs.  The Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum is the home for many local proms, business meetings, and tours.  There is a recreation of an old village in the Delta, and the amount of history contained in the museum and on the lands is a great source of information for the culture of Mississippi.  The Mississippi Museum of Art has a great standard collection of photographs telling the story of Mississippi, including award-winning photographs from Eudora Welty.  The MMA also is home to different traveling installations, including a recent collection of work from world-renowned artist Raoul Duffy.  The MMA is free of charge and is a center of culture of students, citizens, and visitors alike.  The Mynelle Gardens, located in south Jackson are a center for weddings, anniversary parties, and church functions.  New Stage Theatre is home to productions - both independent and "traditional" - and is well-visited throughout the year.  The Russell C. Davis Planetarium is a staple of school students and is becoming a popular location for the young adult population of the city.  There are numerous community organizations, functions, and fundraisers throughout the city which keep citizens involved.  

7.  The Power Structure

Jackson uses the Mayor-Council government style with the Mayor being elected at large and then seven Council members being elected from the seven Wards of Jackson.  The city is headed by the mayor, currently Harvey Johnson, Jr.  There is also a Central Administrative Officer, who serves as a link between the Mayor's office and all other offices and departments; a City Attorney, who is in charge of city litigations; a City Clerk; a seven-member Council; Civil Service Commission; Historic Preservation Commission; Jackson Housing Authority, and dozens of other organizations, commissions, and committees.  In regards to who holds real power and who makes things happen, I think it depends on where you are.  For the area of my school, it's all in the hands of Councilman Stokes and the Police Department.  Also, the School Board controls most of what concerns me, as my daily life pretty much is confined to the school building.  Each members seem to focus on a specific issue - whether it's the Library System Administration Board scraping funds together for 13 months to renovate the Eudora Welty Library after a damaging fire, the Jackson Zoological Park petitioning for money for another outdoor habitat for the orangoutangs, or the Jackson Redevelopment Authority Board of Commissioners listening to bids for the Hotel King Edward, each committee has power in its own right.  Behind this report, there is a nifty flowchart, provided by the Mayor's Office for the City of Jackson, to help better understand the roles of individuals in the city.

8.  Role of Governmental Agencies

As mentioned above, each governmental agency is given a lot of autonomy for their specific area.  The School Board handles most of the issues regarding JPS, the Police and Fire Departments handle their issues, the Housing Authority and Redevelopment Committee deal with specific issues.  All of these committees and agencies report, at the end of the day, and through a round-about pattern, back to the Mayor's Office.  Funds that are needed, events that will be held, permits that need approval all must go through the Mayor's Office.  This is also where the CAO comes in hand.  A lot of the work that needs to go to the Mayor is handled and organized by the CAO, making the job of the Mayor a task that one can handle.  In the city, I really do feel that citizens are encouraged to show up, speak out, and act on issues that concern them.  I think a lot of issues might not be solved overnight in this manner, but they're definitely dealt with and not just pushed under a rug.

9.  History

Jackson has a history that is similar to that of most Southern cities, moments of glory and moments of...well, shame.  To be as brief as possible, the city was originally part of the Choctaw Nation and in 1830, the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek removed the Native Americans from most of the land, and the city became the permanent seat of government for the state of Mississippi.  The city was first referred to as LeFleur's Bluff because it had been founded by Louis LeFleur, and it was founded along Natchez Trace.  In a report to the Mississippi General Assembly in 1821, surveyors had reported that Jackson had "beautiful and healthy surroundings, good water, abundant timber, navigable waters, and proximity to the trading route Natchez Trace."  Rail systems developed the city after the Civil War.  During World War II, Hawkins Airfield was used as a training base for all the Dutch military crews (after 1941).  

When the Civil Rights Movement began to gather steam, Jackson saw a lot of action.  On June 12, 1963, Medgar Evers was murdered by Byron de la Beckwith, which increased the already intense activity in the city.  Massive, public movements for Civil Rights and voter registration followed the murder and became extremely effective in putting Jackson on the map of Civi Rights.  Civil Rights issues ensued until June of 1966 when James Meredith organized a march from Memphis to Jackson and (after being hit by a sniper's bullet during the march) delivered a speech to a crowd of 15,000 regarding the implementation of Civil Rights legislation.  May 15, 1970, police killed two and wounded twelve during a protest regarding the Vietnam War.  The incident made national news.  

In 1997, Harvey Johnson, Jr. became the city's first African-American mayor.  He was followed in 2005 by Frank Melton.  The somewhat comical years of Melton's reign witnessed martial law, wearing arms on school and church property, a marked increase in both unemployment and violent crime, questionable antics, and (my personal favorite), stopping a school bus to give children hugs.  In 2009, Melton passed away after election results, and Harvey Johnson, Jr. was re-elected to the position of mayor.

10.  Community Barriers

In summary of most of the information gathered so far, the serious problems that face the community are poverty, unemployment, crime, and level of education of the population.  Many of the individuals in the community do not finish high school, do not finish on time, and if they do finish, they do not go on to college.  In my specific school, the graduating class last year started out their freshman year with a little over 250 students.  They graduated only around 150, and those were pretty good odds, considering the area and the odds they are facing.  A 10.4% unemployment rate that seems to be increasing, a population that is continuously decreasing, and a median income that is half of  the national average are not good things to have on your side.  The crime rate will likely take a nosedive with the new administration, but even then, it is nowhere close to the national average, and would still be considered a dangerous city.

11.  Values

Values of Jackson would include Christianity, education, and progression.  Everywhere you go, there are churches, church groups, church festivals, church reunions, and preachers.  Christianity, regardless of the depth of belief or practice, seems to be a binding force and a bonding place for most citizens in Jackson.  Jackson Public Schools and Jackson State University create a foothold for education to take a prominent place in everyone's life.  Someone has a friend, neighbor, neice, nephew, grandchild, or child in JPS, and most individuals become involved in the JPS family.  A lot of JSU alumni tend to stay in the area and stay involved in the educational field, giving weight to the education in Jackson.  A new value that seems to have taken hold is that of progression.  Whether it's rejuvenating downtown or renovating an old museum, there seems to be an air of recognition that Jackson has fallen behind the times and must catch up.  There is a willingness to go forward, as long as there is still an appreciation for the way things were, since people tend to view the way "things were" as the way they "should be."

12.  Uniqueness

There are many unique things about the city of Jackson, but there is one thing that always catches my attention: the crime rate.  As of 2007, Jackson had more than double the national average for the United States.  After looking at car theft, arson, rape, robbery, and other violent crimes, Jackson's crime rate was calculated at 703.5, whereas the national average is 320.9.  In 2007, Jackson was ranked as the 23rd most dangerous city, but in the closing months of Frank Melton's tenure, the city saw a spike in crime, and (unofficially) rose to the 14th most dangerous city in the United States.  Malcolm McMillian was, at one time, holding the offices as both the Sheriff and the Police Chief of Jackson.  However, in summer 2009, Tyrone Lewis stepped in as Chief of Police for JPD and McMillian retained his position.  There has been a concerted effort on all parts to reduce crime in Jackson, so one could that effort to show in new statistics.

Also, two other interesting facts about Jackson: the city is ranked 10th in the nation in concentration of African-American same-sex couples, and it is located on top of a volcano, making it the only capital or major city in the United States to boast that physical feature.

13.  Schools, Colleges, and/or Universities

If not saturated with anything else, Jackson is definitely soaked to the brim with education.  Given the largest public education system in the state, an equally impressive selection of private school opportunities, and an awesome array of higher-education choices, Jackson can hold its own in the education realm.  Jackson Public Schools is comprised of 38 elementary schools, 10 middle, and 8 high schools.  There are also alternative schools, career placement and development programs and schools, adult education, and environmental education locations.

In regards to private school opportunities, Jackson 32 different schools, ranging from Pre-K to 12th grade, affiliated with religions ranging from Roman Catholic to Church of God in Christ, co-ed and single-sex school.  There are many different private schools in the city, and they offer a quality alternative to the public school system.  The Mississippi School for the Blind and The Mississippi School for the Deaf are also located in Jackson.

Comparing the two school systems is very interesting.  According to the Mississippi Department of Education for the 2006-2007 school year, the public school system is made up of the following racial groups: African-American (94.8%), White (4.4%), and Asian (0.2%).  Interestingly enough, private schools are made up of basically the same racial groups, just in a completely different ratio.  African-American students make up only 25.5% of the private school population, Whites bring in a whopping 73.2% of the population, American Indians 0.6% of the private school population, Asian 0.4% of the private school population, and Hispanic students make up 0.3% of the private school population.  

Also interesting is the number of children in Pre-K programs in public and private schools.  In Jackson Public Schools, there are about 520 children in Pre-K, but around 2,750 children in the kindergarten classrooms.  Private schools in Jackson, however, see around 950 children in the Pre-K programs, and then about 700 children in the kindergartens.  Finally, perhaps most interesting (or most upsetting), are the comparison of high school students.  Public schools had (according to the 2006-2007 Mississippi Department of Education information) 2,900 students in grade 9, but only about 1,500 (half) of the students travel through to the 12th grade.  In the private schools, however, there are about 360 that enter the 9th grade, and almost all of those (and some additional ones, as well, as the number was somewhere around 380) will graduate the 12th grade.

Once a student makes it through the gauntlet of a Jackson education, they have plenty of opportunities presented to them to stay in Jackson for their higher education.  Jackson State University was founded in 1877 and is a public, Historically Black College or University (HBCU).  Most graduates are focused in education or business studies.  Reformed Theological Seminary was founded in 1963 and has different campuses throughout the South, with the Jackson campus being smaller (about 450 students) and focused more on Master's programs.  Millsaps College was founded in 1892, is a private and religiously-affiliated institution (Methodist).  Belhaven College was founded in 1883, and is a Presbyterian-affiliated college, preparing students for different leadership roles in their adult lives.  The University of Mississippi Medical Center was founded in 1955, and is the stepping ground for medical students.