1 post tagged “first days”

After a long, back-straining drive down from New England, I've finally made it to Oxford and to the beginning of MTC's summer training. The first few days of any endeavor for me are always tinged with nervous excitement, and this new chapter was no exception. What will the other first and second years be like? How will we plan for the summer school teaching? Will I survive the readjustment to Southern humidity? After only a few days, I already begin to sense the camaraderie and common purpose that bind us all together, despite our individual personalities and varied backgrounds.

These first few days have been a flurry of introductions- both to Mississippi and to one another, ice-breakers, and, dare I say, displays of physical prowess on the part of the first years. Moments of levity (arm-wrestling!) were tempered by honest assessments of Mississippi's past and her characteristic attitudes toward change. Certainly, I never thought I would singlehandedly influence the culture of education in this state, but I now realize that even moving in the direction of openness and accountability will be harder than I thought. I am reminded of the phrase a family member from Alabama always used to say: "Thank God for Mississippi" - meaning that at least one state in the union occupied a lower spot on the ladder than Alabama did. James Meredith, forced integration, the rise and fall of segregation academies, white flight: Dr. Mullins impressed upon us that things do change in Mississippi, but they will change at their own pace. As trite as a Faulkner quote is in Mississippi, "The past is not dead, it's not even past."

I am thrilled to be here and excited about teaching English II and III this summer at the summer school. The second years I've met are encouraging and helpful, and I am so glad they are here for us to pick their brains. Oxford is a lovely, picturesque town; the heat and humidity are much more tolerable than summers in Tallahassee, and I have a new, long list of books to read and places to go. I am happy.