I was curious about what Delta autumn was
all about after reading some of the second year's blogs where they had
mentioned the book. Most said that they had wished they would have read
the text earlier and it would have saved them some grief. So I was
determined to begin reading it right away and I am glad that I did. I
felt that for me the two most important sections were the history of
Delta education and the second chapter on getting ready for the first
week of school. It is very interesting and saddening to realize that
the problems that the Delta is facing in terms of education stems from
years of injustice, but also fairly recent developments such as the
"white flight" due to forced busing. I found it to be particularly
interesting when Dr. Mullins pointed out that the districts without a
major private school or "segregation academy", where the white kids
stayed in the districts, have some of the best schools today, such as
Lee county, The schools that stayed integrated and the communities
(both black and white) that stayed invested in public education have
produced some of the strongest districts and best performing schools.
Many places such as Holly Springs, where I am teaching, created private
schools like Marshall Academy and the white population didn't have a
vested interest in the survival of the school district. Thus Holly
Springs has been a under-funded perpetual level two district that will
probably be taken over by the state. Delta Autumn does a good job of summarizing the events that have led to the state of public education in the Delta.
The second most helpful chapter to me was the one of surviving
that dreaded first week of school. Everything from a checklist of
places to familiarize yourself with to the supplies a teacher should
purchase for the first week was very helpful and may help to alleviate
some stress from what will surely be a chaotic period. I would not have
thought to get the schedules of all athletes for instance, and in these
districts I suppose we shouldn't count on administrators holding our
hands so it is good to be able to take care of as many things
independently as possible. The advice of the authors of the book seems
to echo the advice given by fellow teachers and that is to always have
something for the students to do. If the teacher does not provide
something for them to occupy their time with than they will come up
with their own activities. My first day teaching in summer school was
aided by the fact that I began as soon as the bell rang with something
for them to do and tried to have no lulls in time during the period. I
hope that I can keep up that energy in the Fall as it seems that
disorganization on the teacher's part will lead to chaos on the behalf
of the students. I noticed that my second years implemented much of the
advice from Delta Autumn on
the first day of summer school and that led to a good base of
discipline and organization for the rest of the summer. If you begin
firm and fair it appears that you should have an easier time than
beginning lax or flexible. The second years did a good job modeling the
discipline and organization that it takes to begin the year.
I found this text to be very helpful as it was written by
people that have walked in the shoes that we are right now. I will keep
it as a resource and browse it occasionally to remind myself of helpful
survival tips this year I am sure. I hope that I can end this program
looking back and thinking that I had done all I could in the beginning
to help the year go as smoothly as I can and not with regret that I did
not take advice or heed warnings that have been generously given. I
know that teaching in Holly Springs will be an arduous task, but I am
thankful for sources of support and any aid that I can receive in
helping with this journey.
