A Christian Context on Urban Education

The Status Quo is No Longer Welcome

2011-08-22T09:59:00.000-07:00

Contributed by Memphian and former NBA player, Elliot Perry.

In some ways, we have allowed our education system to sink to a bottomless pit of status quo primarily at the expense of the underserved. As a result, too many children – most in fact, have not been able to inhale the fresh air of the best schools or allow their mental buckets to sink deep into the wells of knowledge.

Over the past 50 years (and maybe longer), we have allowed our education system to persist in mediocrity.

Why you ask? Because, we have been afraid to address the single most important asset to our students: teachers.

For years we have been in retreat, but I tell you it’s only through confrontation that we demand the best and most effective teachers in every classroom, and the best leaders in every school and not just a few. Then, and only then, will we be able to hold our students to those same standards of excellence. To convince them that education is not abstract, but indeed figurative; that it is not Intangible, but tangible; and that it is the vehicle that allows us all not just to create a better life for ourselves, but reinforce that such knowledge will be worth more than any other qualification they’ll ever earn.

Sure, we have some great teachers in our classrooms, but some is not enough because the viability of our nation’s student population is at stake. We have to be willing to discover new ground, even at the risk of some disappointment. Meaningful change never happened as a result of fear or complacency; it happened, because a new generation of leadership chose to create a new path and till through unfertile soil in an attempt to yield new crops.

MCS leadership has demonstrated tremendous fortitude to cover that new ground through its new Teacher Effectiveness Initiative ( TEI ). And it has made clear that this work cannot be done alone by embracing other reform-minded organizations such as Teach For America, New Leaders for New Schools, Memphis Teacher Residency, and The New Teacher Project. Thanks to the Gates Foundation and numerous local foundations, the Teacher Effectiveness Initiative will allow Dr. Cash and his staff to not only look at but do something about evaluating teachers to ensure that every classroom is led by an effective teacher in order to graduate every student and send them to college and/or be workforce ready.

My hope is that this ground breaking initiative and national partnership leads to ground breaking participation and support from our community. This should sound the alarm that the time is now and we should rise up as the new Freedom Fighters to ensure this echoes across our community as affirmation that we cannot afford to sit back and wait on time to solve this problem.

Dr. King was right when he said, “We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there is such a thing as being too late. Procrastination is still the thief of time. Life often leaves us standing bare, naked, and dejected with a lost opportunity. The tide in the affairs of men does not remain at flood—it ebbs. We may cry out desperately for time to pause in her passage, but time is adamant to every plea and rushes on. Over the bleached bones and jumbled residues of numerous civilizations are written the pathetic words, too late. There is an invisible book that faithfully records our vigilance or our neglect.”

So with that let us embrace and celebrate the great strides MCS is making in this area and hope that the hard work of teachers yields enormous dividends for our students, that they see the Importance of their own education and sink their mental buckets deep into the wells of knowledge.

TN DOE approves MCS Teacher Effectiveness Measure

2011-06-16T06:06:00.000-07:00

With the approval of their new teacher effectiveness measure (TEM), MCS will initiate for the 2011-2012 school year a new and more rigorous process to evaluate the quality of teaching and learning in the classroom. In prior years, teacher evaluations have been a formality with more than 99% of teachers receiving satisfactory teacher performance ratings. This evaluation status quo has effectively been killed with the passing of MCS' new TEM.

Evaluations will now be more professionally collected and analyzed. In addition, teacher evaluations will now be used to inform decisions regarding leadership, compensation, tenure and dismissal.

This is a very important and exciting step towards insuring the right people are teaching our city's children.

See the press release below:

MEMPHIS, Tenn., June 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- In a move that solidifies Memphis City Schools' position as a leader in urban education reform, today the Tennessee State Board of Education unanimously approved the statewide use of the MCS Teacher Effectiveness Measure (TEM), a groundbreaking method of evaluating teachers. The Board's decision allows districts throughout Tennessee to use Memphis' system for assessing teachers and significantly advances the district's $110+ million reform agenda.

The TEM is a cornerstone of MCS' effort to radically transform the city's public schools, increasing student achievement by improving the effectiveness of its teachers. While many other models of effective teaching rely largely on test scores, the TEM takes a more holistic view of teacher performance. Created by Memphis educators in collaboration with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the TEM considers teacher content knowledge and the perceptions of stakeholders like students, colleagues and parents, as well as the value add indicators of effectiveness.

With the approval of the TEM, MCS-and any other Tennessee district that chooses to adopt it-will be better able to evaluate teacher practices in the classroom and identify teachers who are most in need of increased support and assistance. Teachers will also be identified who are able to serve as mentors to their peers and contribute their sizeable talents to the district's neediest students and schools.

In response to the approval, Dr. Kriner Cash, superintendent of MCS, said:

"Memphis City Schools is in the vanguard of the national push to increase effective teaching. This endorsement of our work gives us the green light to implement the innovations we are developing to increase effective teaching in our school district. Our teachers and students will benefit immensely when teachers are given the essential tools to make the necessary changes to improve teaching and learning. Our work is focused on providing effective teachers in every classroom, every day. The approval of the TEM is a major endorsement of our efforts."

Dr. Irving Hamer, the district's deputy superintendent, added: "With innovations such as TEM, the basis for individualized professional development, reformed career and compensation paths, and teacher recognition and support is set. The opportunity for transformation in education is at hand."

While state guidelines were developed by education policymakers in Nashville, the TEM was spearheaded by Memphis public school teachers, working in tandem with community leaders and philanthropists. A group comprised of teachers, administrators and other education reformers created the system after extensive research and testing. Their philosophy: Just as teachers are in the best position to determine how well their students perform in the classroom, teachers' peers are best able to tell whether they are up to the task of properly educating students.

The MCS Board of Commissioners approved the TEM, and the district submitted it to the state for approval in May.

A Great "Word" from the New York Times

2011-06-02T11:50:00.000-07:00

Op-Ed Columnist - NY Times

It’s Not About You

By DAVID BROOKS

Published: May 30, 2011

Over the past few weeks, America’s colleges have sent another class of graduates off into the world. These graduates possess something of inestimable value. Nearly every sensible middle-aged person would give away all their money to be able to go back to age 22 and begin adulthood anew.

The intellectual, cultural and scientific findings that land on the columnist’s desk nearly every day.

But, especially this year, one is conscious of the many ways in which this year’s graduating class has been ill served by their elders. They enter a bad job market, the hangover from decades of excessive borrowing. They inherit a ruinous federal debt.

More important, their lives have been perversely structured. This year’s graduates are members of the most supervised generation in American history. Through their childhoods and teenage years, they have been monitored, tutored, coached and honed to an unprecedented degree.

Yet upon graduation they will enter a world that is unprecedentedly wide open and unstructured. Most of them will not quickly get married, buy a home and have kids, as previous generations did. Instead, they will confront amazingly diverse job markets, social landscapes and lifestyle niches. Most will spend a decade wandering from job to job and clique to clique, searching for a role.

No one would design a system of extreme supervision to prepare people for a decade of extreme openness. But this is exactly what has emerged in modern America. College students are raised in an environment that demands one set of navigational skills, and they are then cast out into a different environment requiring a different set of skills, which they have to figure out on their own.

Worst of all, they are sent off into this world with the whole baby-boomer theology ringing in their ears. If you sample some of the commencement addresses being broadcast on C-Span these days, you see that many graduates are told to: Follow your passion, chart your own course, march to the beat of your own drummer, follow your dreams and find yourself. This is the litany of expressive individualism, which is still the dominant note in American culture.

But, of course, this mantra misleads on nearly every front.

College grads are often sent out into the world amid rapturous talk of limitless possibilities. But this talk is of no help to the central business of adulthood, finding serious things to tie yourself down to. The successful young adult is beginning to make sacred commitments — to a spouse, a community and calling — yet mostly hears about freedom and autonomy.

Today’s graduates are also told to find their passion and then pursue their dreams. The implication is that they should find themselves first and then go off and live their quest. But, of course, very few people at age 22 or 24 can take an inward journey and come out having discovered a developed self.

Most successful young people don’t look inside and then plan a life. They look outside and find a problem, which summons their life. A relative suffers from Alzheimer’s and a young woman feels called to help cure that disease. A young man works under a miserable boss and must develop management skills so his department can function. Another young woman finds herself confronted by an opportunity she never thought of in a job category she never imagined. This wasn’t in her plans, but this is where she can make her contribution.

Most people don’t form a self and then lead a life. They are called by a problem, and the self is constructed gradually by their calling.

The graduates are also told to pursue happiness and joy. But, of course, when you read a biography of someone you admire, it’s rarely the things that made them happy that compel your admiration. It’s the things they did to court unhappiness — the things they did that were arduous and miserable, which sometimes cost them friends and aroused hatred. It’s excellence, not happiness, that we admire most.

Finally, graduates are told to be independent-minded and to express their inner spirit. But, of course, doing your job well often means suppressing yourself. As Atul Gawande mentioned during his countercultural address last week at Harvard Medical School, being a good doctor often means being part of a team, following the rules of an institution, going down a regimented checklist.

Today’s grads enter a cultural climate that preaches the self as the center of a life. But, of course, as they age, they’ll discover that the tasks of a life are at the center. Fulfillment is a byproduct of how people engage their tasks, and can’t be pursued directly. Most of us are egotistical and most are self-concerned most of the time, but it’s nonetheless true that life comes to a point only in those moments when the self dissolves into some task. The purpose in life is not to find yourself. It’s to lose yourself.

TN Charter Law removes cap and enrollment restrictions

2011-05-24T17:08:00.000-07:00

In a move that most certainly will transform the public education landscape in Tennessee, the TN State Legislature voted last week to:
1. Remove the cap on the amount of charter schools in TN. Currently the cap is 90 statewide.
2. Remove any restrictions on enrollment. Currently, restrictions on enrollment limit the pool of charter school-eligible students to failing students, students from failing schools and students from lower-income families.
The potential ramifications are enormous... not only for the unions and traditional district schools (MCS) but also for local private schools.
Unions-
Since charters are staffed with non-union teachers, the growth in charter schools and their staff (and their potential success) pose a challenge to the the existing norm in Tennessee education.
Memphis City Schools-
MCS will certainly be impacted as more charter schools are created and are eligible to enroll a larger pool of city students. Since public funding follows the students, declining enrollment in traditional MCS schools reduces the funding to MCS. Free and open enrollment very much makes the business of public education a competitive "open" market for students and the corresponding funding implications.
Local Private Schools-
The opportunity for charter schools to recruit and enroll all students (including wealthy and/ or academically high achieving students) will put a tremendous pressure on private schools. For example, a charter school could open in an affluent neighborhood, adopt a rigorous college preparatory curriculum and actively recruit students from the surrounding area. A private school environment could be recreated and offered at no cost to all families.
Children-
While unions and schools (traditional and private) should be concerned with how to navigate this new landscape, it appears the big winners will be the children in Tennessee.

See below for the press release from the Nashville Tennessean:

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A proposal by Republican Gov. Bill Haslam to remove the cap on charter schools is headed to his desk.
The measure by Republican Sen. Jamie Woodson of Knoxville passed the Senate 22-9 Friday night after the House version was approved 72-18.
Charter schools are funded with state and local tax dollars but don't have to meet some of the state regulations that traditional public schools do as they try to find different ways to improve student learning.
Under current law, the number of charter schools is capped at 90 statewide. There are currently 40 in all: 25 in Memphis, 10 in Nashville, three in Hamilton County and one each in Knoxville and Shelby County.
Besides removing the cap, the legislation also allows any student in the charter school's jurisdiction to attend.

President Obama and Memphis

2011-05-17T13:17:00.000-07:00

President Obama was in Memphis Monday, May 16th to give the graduation commencement address and hand out diplomas to Booker T. Washington High School's 155 graduates.

I was particularly interested in this quote: "So that’s why I came here today. Because if success can happen here at Booker T. Washington, it can happen anywhere in Memphis. And if it can happen in Memphis, it can happen anywhere in Tennessee. And it can happen anywhere in Tennessee, it can happen all across America."

Just a reminder... Everyone really is watching Memphis. The President is watching. Bill and Melinda Gates are watching. The whole nation is watching.

I believe the MTR has this once in a lifetime opportunity to transform education one school and one feeder pattern at a time. And in doing so, we have the opportunity and potential to transform and redeem public education in Memphis for God's glory. We have the opportunity to do the impossible... and by doing so, prove that God is real and powerful and faithful to His promises to those in need.

And the whole world will know of it...

For the text of the entire speech, see: http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2011/may/16/president-barack-obamas-commencement-speech/

For pictures, see: http://www.commercialappeal.com/photos/galleries/obama-memphis/

Tennessee Hires Chris Barbic as ASD Superintendent

2011-05-10T17:11:00.000-07:00

Tennessee is proposing to turn around the lowest achieving schools in the state through the Achievement School District (ASD). This is a groundbreaking approach that will capitalize on the newly created authority of the Commissioner of the Education through the Tennessee First to the Top Act, best practices research on successful school turnaround, and unprecedented partnerships with nonprofit organizations.

Yesterday, Tennessee announced the hiring of the Superintendent of this newly formed district, Mr. Chris Barbic. He is currently the President of YES Prep in Houston, TX.

This hiring is gaining national attention and is another step in Tennessee leading the nation in urban education reform. I thought you would like to see the commentary below from Whitney Tilson, a leading national education reformer from New York City.

1) HUGE news from Tennessee

Chris Barbic has been tapped by the new Tennessee Education Commissioner (TFA’s Huffman) to be the founding Superintendent of the Achievement School District for the state.

I think this is STOP THE PRESSES news! As you doubtless know, YES Prep is among the very top CMO’s in the country. We hope the Achievement School District will become for Tennessee what the Recovery School District is to Louisiana, and more.

As you know, Kevin Huffman is Tennessee’s new Commissioner of Education. Huffman and Chris Barbic were both in the 1992 Teach for America Corps in Houston (along with Dave Levin and Mike Feinberg). Now Huffman and Barbic will be together again, ready to make Tennessee one of the very top destinations for dynamic education reformers. Congrats to Governor Haslam and Commissioner Huffman for this recruiting coup.

Here are various versions of the announcement:

http://blog.chron.com/schoolzone/2011/05/yes-charter-school-founder-headed-to-tennessee/

http://www.tn.gov/firsttothetop/TNASDSuperintendentjobdescription.pdf

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/may/09/texas-education-reformer-named-head-low-performing/

When you send out this news, you might consider sending along this video of the YES Prep college signing ceremony, which I find very, very inspiring: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yp3DMAHh9s

Mutual Consent

2011-04-20T13:23:00.000-07:00

A key piece of education reform is reviewing and restructuring the commonly accepted practice of "last in, first out" as it pertains to teacher surplussing and teacher lay-offs. This practice endorses staffing based on seniority, not necessarily based on effectiveness.

The reform language is for staffing to be determined based upon "mutual consent"... the idea that students benefit most when teachers and principals are working in buildings by choice and not bound by contractual constraints.

See below an editorial on this issue written in the Nashville Tennessean by Michelle Rhee and former U.S. Senator Dr. Bill Frist:

Tennessean, April 16, 2011

Tennessee must keep up vital education reform

By Bill Frist, M.D. and Michelle Rhee

In the past few years, Tennessee has transformed into a national leader in K-12 education reform. Last year, the Volunteer State demonstrated its commitment to improving outcomes for students and won the inaugural Race to the Top competition, resulting in $501 million in funding for innovative education efforts.

The state legislature passed the First to the Top Act, the largest piece of education reform legislation in Tennessee since 1992. This year, the important work of reform has continued, and recently passed legislation will help ensure that Tennessee is able to identify and reward effective teachers and replace ineffective ones by changing the way tenure is granted. We applaud Tennessee for these important achievements.

Though these accomplishments are significant, there is more to be done.

Research has consistently shown that teachers are the most important school-based factor in determining how much a student learns. An important way to ensure that there is an effective teacher at the front of every classroom is to tie teacher evaluations to important school personnel decisions.

Current teacher contracts feature “last in, first out” (LIFO) requirements mandating that if teacher layoffs are necessary, they be done by seniority instead of effectiveness. These requirements could do damage to children, teachers and schools. A recent national poll shows that 74 percent of Americans support dismantling LIFO, and with looming budget cuts, we have a critical responsibility to save our best teachers.

Indeed, Tennessee faces a $1 billion budget gap, and recent news reports have suggested that some school districts across the state may unfortunately lay off teachers to balance their local budgets.

If cuts and layoffs are inevitable, we must ensure that they have minimal impact on children. Unless LIFO is eliminated, not only will more teachers need to be let go to close the budget gap, but also our children risk losing some of their most highly effective teachers; this is unacceptable.

Any change to Tennessee’s collective bargaining laws for teachers must include explicit language removing seniority as the basis for making personnel decisions. Legislation currently moving through the General Assembly and endorsed by Gov. Bill Haslam (HB 130, Amendment 1) contains this important language.

Tennessee must also work to create an optimal environment for students by allowing principals and teachers to decide teacher placements based on mutual agreement or consent. Students benefit when both principals and teachers are working in an environment of their choice rather than one in which arcane personal rules dictate who goes where. When instituted in other states, the mutual consent system has resulted in benefits for teachers and schools by offering better choices, increased flexibility and greater transparency throughout the staffing process.

To be clear, there is much work to be done. In Tennessee, only half of students score proficient or advanced in reading, and only a third score proficient or advanced in math. Recent economic investment in Tennessee has proven the vital connection between education and jobs, and Tennessee students will not be prepared to compete in the global economy without significant improvement.

Thankfully, Tennessee stands ready to take on these critical issues. Support exists across multiple sectors for making further improvements to our educational system. We are excited to build on the tremendous progress made to date, and to continue enacting reforms that put the students of Tennessee first.

Dr. Bill Frist is a former U.S. Senate majority leader and is currently chairman of the nonprofit State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE).

Michelle Rhee is the former chancellor of the Washington, D.C., Public Schools and founder and CEO of StudentsFirst.

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110416/OPINION/304160015/TN-must-keep-up-vital-education-reform?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Opinion|p

Tennessee Teacher Tenure Law

2011-04-13T06:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, April 12th, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam signed into law a new Tennessee Teacher Tenure process. Ultimately, this Tenure Law will be informed by the implementation of a new Tennessee teacher evaluation system to be approved Friday, April 15th, by the State Board of Education. The new evaluation process ties half of a teacher's annual evaluation to student performance measures, some of which have not been identified. The other half of the evaluation will be tied to observations and stakeholder (parent, student) feedback.

The idea is that with an improved and agreed upon vision for effective teaching (teacher evaluation system), Memphis (and Tennessee) will now be able to both define, measure and improve existing teacher quality. As a result, we will be able to make smarter decisions about who (and how) teaches our children as we better decide who does, and does not, receive tenure.

New Tennessee Teacher Tenure Law

1. Extends the probationary period for new teachers from the current three years to five before tenure can be awarded.

2. Requires probationary teachers to place in the top two tiers of a new five-tier evaluation system in both the fourth and fifth years of teaching to win tenure.

3. Teachers awarded tenure after July 1 of this year may be returned to probationary status if they are evaluated in the bottom two tiers of the new evaluation system for two consecutive years.

4. Expands the definition of one legal ground for dismissing tenured teachers - inefficiency - to include being evaluated as below or significantly below expectations.

5. Gives principals flexibility to keep on a nontenured teacher after the five-year period.

Additionally, but not a part of this law, Memphis will use this evaluation system to not only inform the tenure process but also to substantially improve compensation for the teachers scored in the top tier of the evaluation.

MTR supports the Tennessee Tenure law and is committed to the proven best-practice of establishing a clear vision and definition of excellence and supporting teachers as they grow towards excellence.

It's what we do.

MCS Tenure Process demonstrates progress according to plan

2011-04-07T06:40:00.001-07:00

Memphis City Schools announced yesterday that approximately 40 out of 499 teachers having completed three years of service were denied tenure. This represents an 8% denial rate, up from a 3% (18 denied out of 448) denial rate last year. See article here: http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2011/apr/07/40-teachers-not-tenured-face-firing/

Please take note of the following...

MCS' Teacher Effectiveness Initiative (TEI), funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, local investors and the MCS, is committed to four strategic initiatives:
(1) Using a common process to define and measure effective teaching;
(2) Improving the quality of teachers in the classroom;
(3) Increasing the support and compensation of existing teachers; and
(4) Improving the culture in schools for both teachers and students to foster effective teaching and learning.

Within #2 (Improving the quality of teachers in the classroom), there are four key initiatives:
(1) Improving the recruitment and hiring of high-potential teachers (of which the MTR is a strategic partner);
(2) Raising the bar and improving the process for granting tenure;
(3) Increasing the retention of effective teachers; and,
(4) Increasing the turnover of the most ineffective teachers.

I bring this to your attention so that the community may know a couple of things...
1. MCS has a clear plan for improving teaching and learning (see TEI plan above); and
2. There is real progress being made. The tenure process, in one year, has improved measurably.

We're moving in the right direction. Press on.

Memphis Leads Nation in Education Reform through City-Wide Collaboration

2011-04-06T07:51:00.000-07:00

Monday (April 4), Dr. Irving Hamer, Deputy Superintendent of the Memphis City Schools and Mr. Ken Foster, Executive Director of the Memphis Educational Association (teachers union) jointly wrote the following opinion published in the Christian Science Monitor of the good reform work happening in Memphis. Our city-wide collaboration is a unique and key element in Memphis' leading urban education reform nationally.

See the full storty at: http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2011/0404/Talking-in-Memphis-When-schools-and-unions-team-up-students-win

From our posts in Memphis as a deputy schools superintendent and a union leader, we watch with concern as state legislatures and teachers' unions around the country clash over methods of achieving school reform. While both sides make important points about improving education, the tone of the national conversation is serving as a wedge, further widening the historical rift between labor and management. Such strife can only harm efforts at meaningful reform.

To our colleagues, all of whom want an improved education system but disagree on how to get there, we suggest: Consider Memphis. We have been in your shoes, and we have found a way to work together to effect positive change.

Two years ago, we took a close look at the Memphis City Schools and what we saw was disheartening: Ds and Fs on the state report card, low graduation rates, and an unacceptable number of graduates – merely 6 percent – prepared for college. The MCS have been plagued with this sort of performance for years. But instead of accepting the status quo, we decided on radical change. The Memphis Education Association (the union) and the school administration resolved to join forces in a complete overhaul of our system.

Teachers are key: Fight for funding

It is clear that teachers are the most important factor in children's academic success. Their work is both a science and an art. That's why we sought funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to launch the Teacher Effectiveness Initiative (TEI), which focuses on giving our teachers the tools and support they need to instill children with a love of learning and to increase academic achievement.

We are proud to say we earned that funding and are now putting it to good use. We have also earned considerable support from our community. To date, area philanthropies and businesses have chipped in $21 million to help us implement this transformative plan. Members of these organizations – along with representatives from the administration and the union – also serve on an advisory board, which connects our reform efforts with community advocacy and ensures TEI's sustainability.

Honest disagreements, honest teamwork

To be sure, we face hurdles. As is often the case with union and management, we have honest disagreements over issues such as how much emphasis should be placed on student test scores and how to fairly compensate teachers while staying within the limits of our budget. (TEI funding can only be used in certain ways, and, as with districts nationwide, we are grappling with shrinking budgets.)

But each week, we sit down at the same table and work through these concerns. Of the six TEI executive board members, two represent the union. And union representatives chair all three TEI working groups, making recommendations on reforming the tenure process, changing the way we evaluate and measure teacher performance, and how best to support and retain our educators. We are plotting the district's future together.

Early indicators of progress

We are cheered by early indicators of progress: The state of Tennessee is relying heavily on our framework for evaluating teachers. To date, 258 teachers representing 115 of our 190 schools have become TEI ambassadors and are enlisting the support of their colleagues. We have 800 student envoys participating in TEI workshops and encouraging their classmates to excel academically. Online and after-school courses aimed at high-risk students have helped raise graduation rates by almost 9 percent. And for the first time ever – aided by a district-wide writing program – our students earned straight A's in writing on a state assessment.

All of these successes make for a great start. We are confident TEI can further transform our schools into true centers of student learning, where excuses for failure are neither made nor accepted. It can ensure teachers are recognized as the professionals they are. And by improving the education we offer our students, TEI will help revitalize our community economically and culturally.

A common goal makes cooperation possible

Recently, the voters of Memphis decided to unite Memphis City Schools with the Shelby County district. We have much work to do to prepare for this merger, but it won't sidetrack our efforts to better serve our students by empowering our teachers.

We appeal to our counterparts in unions and management across the country to join us by making their school reforms collaborative. We know how fortunate we are to have the support of the Gates Foundation, our community, and federal Race to the Top funding. But we began our united efforts with nothing more than the realization that change was as necessary as it was inevitable.

A host of union leaders and administrators from school districts across the country gathered at a recent forum on collaborative reform hosted by US Education Secretary Arne Duncan, which bodes well for the future of public education. We know many school districts will have a tough time making reforms, and we sympathize. But we are also excited for them. Because in setting a common goal, and working together to achieve that goal, all of us have the chance to achieve greatness.

Even more important, we can offer a shot at greatness to our students.

Ken Foster is the executive director of the Memphis Education Association. Irving Hamer Jr. is deputy superintendent of academic operations, technology, and innovation for the Memphis City Schools.

MLK's "Paul's Letter to American Christians"

2011-04-03T19:41:00.000-07:00

Monday, April 4, 2011 is the 43rd anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

To remember Dr. King, I read his essay titled "Paul's Letter to American Christians" written on November 4, 1956. In this essay, MLK translates a fictitious letter written by the Apostle Paul to the Church in America.

I was especially impressed by his closing paragraphs as he calls those fighting against the injustice of segregation to struggle with Christian methods and Christian weapons. Ultimately, the greatest Christian weapon is the hope of the gospel that reminds us that all we might ever want... all our happiness... is promised to us in heaven. Therefore, until we get there, our mission is to "stand up for the truth of God ... come what may."

Please read below and be encouraged...

May I say just a word to those of you who are struggling against this evil (of injustice). Always be sure that you struggle with Christian methods and Christian weapons. Never succumb to the temptation of becoming bitter. As you press on for justice, be sure to move with dignity and discipline, using only the weapon of love. Let no man pull you so low as to hate him. Always avoid violence. If you succumb to the temptation of using violence in your struggle, unborn generations will be the recipients of a long and desolate night of bitterness, and your chief legacy to the future will be an endless reign of meaningless chaos.

In your struggle for justice, let your oppressor know that you are not attempting to defeat or humiliate him, or even to pay him back for injustices that he has heaped upon you. Let him know that you are merely seeking justice for him as well as yourself. Let him know that the festering sore of segregation debilitates the white man as well as the Negro. With this attitude you will be able to keep your struggle on high Christian standards.

Many persons will realize the urgency of seeking to eradicate the evil of segregation. There will be many Negroes who will devote their lives to the cause of freedom. There will be many white persons of goodwill and strong moral sensitivity who will dare to take a stand for justice. Honesty impels me to admit that such a stand will require willingness to suffer and sacrifice. So don't despair if you are condemned and persecuted for righteousness' sake. Whenever you take a stand for truth and justice, you are liable to scorn. Often you will be called an impractical idealist or a dangerous radical. Sometimes it might mean going to jail. If such is the case you must honorably grace the jail with your presence. It might even mean physical death. But if physical death is the price that some must pay to free their children from a permanent life of psychological death, then nothing could be more Christian. Don't worry about persecution America; you are going to have that if you stand up for a great principle. I can say this with some authority, because my life was a continual round of persecutions. After my conversion I was rejected by the disciples at Jerusalem. Later I was tried for heresy at Jerusalem. I was jailed at Philippi, beaten at Thessalonica, mobbed at Ephesus, and depressed at Athens. And yet I am still going. I came away from each of these experiences more persuaded than ever before that "neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come . . . shall separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." I still believe that standing up for the truth of God is the greatest thing in the world. This is the end of life. The end of life is not to be happy. The end of life is not to achieve pleasure and avoid pain. The end of life is to do the will of God, come what may.

Gates Foundation expresses continued support for Memphis

2011-04-01T16:14:00.000-07:00

Friends-

On March 22, 2011 The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation released a statement expressing their continued support of Memphis, our teachers and our students.

While much has transpired over the past six months, one thing has not changed... every student in Memphis deserves a great teacher.

The Gates Foundation is committed to Memphis' continued role as the center of urban education reform in America. And the MTR is committed to the task of recruiting, training and supporting outstanding teachers for each of our city's 100,000 students.

Please see the Gates' "Post Referendum Foundation Statement on Memphis" below:

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is committed to Memphis’s Teacher Effectiveness Initiative (TEI). We believe the community will continue to support the efforts begun and led by Memphis City Schools (MCS), its leadership, and its teachers to ensure that all students are taught by effective teachers every year in every subject in every school.

We commend MCS Superintendent Kriner Cash, Deputy Superintendent Irving Hamer, and their team, the Memphis Education Association, and all the teachers of Memphis for staying focused on the plan for improving teaching during a challenging time. Additionally, we appreciate that the MCS Board has reaffirmed their support of the effective teaching reforms, and as the issues of governance for a consolidated school system are defined, we are confident that the community will remain focused and united on keeping students and teachers first.

Effective teaching is a priority of both Memphis and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. We intend to support the Teacher Effectiveness Initiative for as long as it remains a shared priority.

We will take the school to her...

2011-01-28T07:02:00.000-08:00

Please read this recent story surrounding a mother jailed for illegally placing her children in a higher performing school.

Here's the MTR / Christian context on urban education takeaway.... WE WILL TAKE THE SCHOOL (she wants) TO HER.

Read below (introductory paragraph copied from Whitney Tilson email):

This story is getting national attention, as it should. A low-income, black, single mom, fed up with crappy schools in the only place she could afford to live, snuck her two daughters into a much better school (serving, of course, wealthy, white students) and, for trying to do what’s right for her kids, was SENTENCED TO PRISON. This is an outrage! Here’s hoping that this becomes a rallying cry – a Rosa Parks moment – for education reform in general, and parental choice in particular.

Here’s the spot-on response from the Black Alliance for Educational Options:

BAEO Responds to Imprisonment of Ohio Mother

January 26, 2011

We are writing to express outrage at the circumstances that led to the prosecution and conviction of Kelley Williams-Bolar. As reported in the Akron Beacon Journal, Williams-Bolar was found guilty and sentenced severely for an act that defied the strict letter of the law but does not defy reason. She sent her daughters to schools outside her district of residence.

Ohio law says that if you live in Akron, you must send your children to your neighborhood school, even if it is a failing school and regardless of whether you feel your child would get a better education and stand a better chance of success elsewhere. The law says you're stuck-unless you're wealthy enough to opt out or fortunate enough to get into a high-performing charter school or to get selected for one of only 14,000 EdChoice scholarships available state-wide.

Williams-Bolar is not wealthy, so paying private school tuition for her two children was not an option, nor could she afford to move out of public housing and into a district with better schools. To be fair, Ohio has done more than most states in terms of providing options for parents whose children need better educational opportunities. But clearly, more could and should be done. In far too many states, however, these parents have no choice at all. It is high time we change the laws that force low-income and working-class families to choose between playing by the rules and doing what's best for their children.

Earlier this month, our nation honored the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., and this week, BAEO joins families, educators, and advocacy groups coast to coast in celebrating National School Choice Week. The Williams-Bolar case is a sober reminder that Dr. King's dream remains unrealized, and parental choice is the most pressing civil rights issue of our time. Every child deserves access to a quality education, and as Dr. King said, we must act with the fierce urgency of now.

Today, Kelley Williams-Bolar is serving a jail sentence for pursuing a better educational option for her daughters. Meanwhile, her children must-like thousands of other low-income students of color-endure a sentence of their own: consignment to unsafe, underperforming schools in close proximity to their homes, year after year. There is no justice here.

Below is a longer article from the Education Action Group:

The folks in charge of National School Choice Week are calling Kelley Williams-Bolar the "Rosa Parks of education."

Her story illustrates their message perfectly, and it couldn't have hit the front pages at a more opportune time.

Williams-Bolar is a single mother of two daughters who lives in Akron, Ohio. Four years ago she decided she wanted her kids to have a quality education, so she enrolled them in the neighboring Copley-Fairlawn school district, which presumably offers a better program and safer environment than Akron Public Schools.

Unfortunately her kids were not qualified to attend Copley-Fairlawn unless Williams-Bolar paid tuition. School officials finally figured out that she did not live in the district, and her children did not live with her father, who resides in the Copley-Fairlawn district.

They asked Williams-Bolar to pay $30,000 in back tuition. When she failed to produce that sort of money, the courts got involved.

She was sentenced to 10 days in jail, two years of probation and community service for falsifying public school records.

To make matters worse, Williams-Bolar, a university student preparing to become a teacher, will not be able to get a job in her field in Ohio, because convicted felons are banned from teaching positions.

Williams-Bolar went to jail, and perhaps crippled her professional future, for sending her kids to the school of her choice. And all of this happened in the middle of National School Choice Week.

"I did this for them, so there it is," she was quoted as saying about her kids. "I did this for them."

Now, we just need the teachers... Come on.

A captain has to be a captain.

2011-01-20T07:06:00.000-08:00

In this morning's Wall Street Journal (January 20, 2011), Peggy Noonan writes a column filled with some essentials of leadership that are good to hear. Her theme, to me, is summed up in one of her brief sentences: "A captain has to be a captain."

Read on:

The Captain and the King

Why Owen Honors had to go, and why a stammering monarch is a movie hero.

At a time of new beginnings in Washington, and as a new year starts, some thoughts on leadership that begin with two questions. First, why is it a good thing that the captain of the USS Enterprise was this week relieved of his duties? Second, why is the movie "The King's Speech" so popular and admired? The questions are united by a theme. It is that no one knows how to act anymore, and people miss people who knew how to act.

Capt. Owen Honors, commanding officer of an aircraft carrier, was revealed to have made and shown to his crew videos that have been variously described in the press as "lewd," "raunchy," "profane" and "ribald." They are. Adm. John Harvey, who Wednesday relieved Capt. Honors of his duties, said the captain's action "calls into question his character and undermines his credibility." Also true.

In a way it's not shocking that Capt. Honors did what he did, because he came from a culture, our culture, in which, to be kind about it, anything goes. Mainstream movies, television, music—all is raunch. To say the obvious, John Paul Jones, Bull Halsey and Elmo Zumwalt likely wouldn't have made those videos, if they could have. More to the point, some average, undistinguished naval captain in 1968 wouldn't have made them either, because he would have had his mind and consciousness formed in the 1930s and '40s, when our culture was more coherent and constructive. It can also be said that Capt. Honors's videos were not extreme by the standards of our day. Even his bigotry seemed self-spoofing, as obviously nitwittish and vulgar as the character he was playing—himself—was nitwittish and vulgar.

But the videos were a shock in that this was a captain of the U.S. Navy, commanding a nuclear-powered ship, and acting in a way that was without dignity, stature or apartness. He was acting as if it was important to him to be seen as one of the guys, with regular standards, like everyone else.

But it's a great mistake when you are in a leadership position to want to be like everyone else. Because that, actually, is not your job. Your job is to be better, and to set standards that those below you have to reach to meet. And you have to do this even when it's hard, even when you know you yourself don't quite meet the standards you represent.

A captain has to be a captain. He can't make videos referencing masturbation and oral sex. He has to uphold values even though he finds them antique, he has to represent virtues he may not in fact possess, he has to be, in his person, someone sailors aspire to be.

A lot of our leaders—the only exceptions I can think of at the moment are nuns in orders that wear habits—have become confused about something, and it has to do with being an adult, with being truly mature and sober. When no one wants to be the stuffy old person, when no one wants to be "the establishment," when no one accepts the role of authority figure, everything gets damaged, lowered. The young aren't taught what they need to know. And they know they're not being taught, and on some level they resent it.

MLK and the Purpose of Education, 1948

2011-01-19T06:34:00.000-08:00

Martin Luther King graduated from Morehouse College in 1948. During his senior year, MLK wrote the following words on the "Purpose of Education". As we seek to pursue urban education within a Christian context, I thought his words on education were especially encouraging and on-target:

"The function of education, therefore, is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. But education which stops with efficiency may prove the greatest menace to society. The most dangerous criminal may be the man gifted with reason, but with no morals.

We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character--that is the goal of true education. The complete education gives one not only power of concentration, but worthy objectives upon which to concentrate. The broad education will, therefore, transmit to one not only the accumulated knowledge of the race but also the accumulated experience of social living."

My takeaway: PURPOSE (God-given worthy objectives) is as important to living as is EDUCATION. And what powerful allies they are together.

MTR Remembers MLK

2011-01-15T11:27:00.000-08:00

On the 82nd anniversary of his birth, MTR remembers Martin Luther King, Jr. ...

The Seattle Times writes this of MLK: "Martin Luther King Jr. has now been dead longer than he lived. But what an extraordinary life it was. At 33, he was pressing the case of civil rights with President John Kennedy. At 34, he galvanized the nation with his "I Have a Dream" speech. At 35, he won the Nobel Peace Prize. At 39, he was assassinated, but he left a legacy of hope and inspiration that continues today."

He spoke not only to our President, but also to our children and our students. On October 26, 1967, six months before he was assassinated, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke to a group of students at Barratt Junior High School in Philadelphia. His speech was titled, "What is Your Life's Blueprint?"

What Is Your Life's Blueprint?

I want to ask you a question, and that is: What is your life's blueprint?

Whenever a building is constructed, you usually have an architect who draws a blueprint, and that blueprint serves as the pattern, as the guide, and a building is not well erected without a good, solid blueprint.

Now each of you is in the process of building the structure of your lives, and the question is whether you have a proper, a solid and a sound blueprint.

I want to suggest some of the things that should begin your life's blueprint.

Number one in your life's blueprint, should be a deep belief in your own dignity, your worth and your own somebodiness. Don't allow anybody to make you fell that you're nobody. Always feel that you count. Always feel that you have worth, and always feel that your life has ultimate significance.

Secondly, in your life's blueprint you must have as the basic principle the determination to achieve excellence in your various fields of endeavor. You're going to be deciding as the days, as the years unfold what you will do in life — what your life's work will be. Set out to do it well.

And I say to you, my young friends, doors are opening to you--doors of opportunities that were not open to your mothers and your fathers — and the great challenge facing you is to be ready to face these doors as they open.

Ralph Waldo Emerson, the great essayist, said in a lecture in 1871, "If a man can write a better book or preach a better sermon or make a better mousetrap than his neighbor, even if he builds his house in the woods, the world will make a beaten path to his door."

This hasn't always been true — but it will become increasingly true, and so I would urge you to study hard, to burn the midnight oil; I would say to you, don't drop out of school. I understand all the sociological reasons, but I urge you that in spite of your economic plight, in spite of the situation that you're forced to live in — stay in school.

And when you discover what you will be in your life, set out to do it as if God Almighty called you at this particular moment in history to do it. Don't just set out to do a good job. Set out to do such a good job that the living, the dead or the unborn couldn't do it any better.

If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, sweep streets like Beethoven composed music, sweep streets like Leontyne Price sings before the Metropolitan Opera. Sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry. Sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will have to pause and say: Here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well. If you can't be a pine at the top of the hill, be a shrub in the valley. Be be the best little shrub on the side of the hill.

Be a bush if you can't be a tree. If you can't be a highway, just be a trail. If you can't be a sun, be a star. For it isn't by size that you win or fail. Be the best of whatever you are.

Dr. King called us to live life (and therefore teach) within this great Christian context... even as he spoke to young children. See his message:

1. You are SOMEBODY. YOU have worth and significance... because you were created by God and for God. And nothing man can say or do can ever take that away.

2. Be EXCELLENT... because you work for God and not for man. Determine to be great for Him.

3. Be HUMBLE (implied)... enough to know that dignity and excellence are determined not by the size of your wealth, status and power. Dignity and greatness are bestowed upon those who take their greatness from God's definition and not the world's. Therefore, live with dignity and give dignity on His terms, not man's.

We recognized MLK's brilliance and contribution to our nation by honoring him with a national holiday in 1986. He is the only non-U.S. president honored in this way. I suggest we take note of his words and pass them on to our students.

Enjoy Monday by remembering the spirit of the holiday.

Improving Teachers, Lessons Learned

2011-01-11T06:47:00.000-08:00

See this week's (January 6, 2011) issue of The Economist, "Improving Teachers, Lessons Learned".

http://www.economist.com/node/17851511?story_id=17851511

Focusing on teachers as the leverage point for learning and residency models as the format for training great teachers is gaining traction nationally. See the following quotes:

"BUDGET, curriculum, class size—none has a greater effect on a student than his or her teacher."

"The Academy of Urban School Leadership in Chicago (a UTRU network partner, mine) trains teachers in a programme modelled after a medical residency—part traditional coursework, part training in a classroom. Such models may become more common; in November the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education recommended that residency-style programmes become the norm."

Jim Crow, M.D.

2011-01-10T10:23:00.000-08:00

First for context, Dr. Bill Frist is a former US Senator from Tennessee, was the Senate majority leader and was an often mentioned potential candidate for President. He held true to his self-imposed two-term limit and did not run for senate reelection in 2008. Prior to his political career, Dr. Frist was a highly regarded heart surgeon in Nashville, TN.

For his post-political career, Dr. Frist was convinced of the need (and of his opportunity) to positively impact health care. Interestingly, as he researched the most effective strategies in solving the health care issues in America, Dr. Frist determined that the single greatest leverage point in health care is .... EDUCATION. As a result, Dr. Frist founded SCORE in an effort to lead and promote an aggressive urban education reform agenda for the state of Tennessee. Education, in Dr. Frist's mind, is the key driver for improving health care. Now that's leverage.

Second, to compliment that thought, please see this article from Sunday's Memphis Commercial Appeal on Jim Crow, M.D. and the health care gap between rich and poor / black and white (http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2011/jan/09/jim-crow-md-choosing-not-to-know/). I found this quote interesting and in line with Dr. Frist's thought on education's impact on health care.

"All the diseases disproportionately affect the poor: chiefly African-Americans and Latinos, in inner cities and rural areas, especially in the South, Appalachia and along the Mexican border. 'You show me poor people in Memphis, and I'll show you these diseases,' said Hotez. He called them 'living legacies of slavery.' And they perpetuate a cycle of poverty."

Lack of education leads to poverty which translates into poor health and health care. Poor health and health care leads to poverty which leads to poor education.

You teach kids and you have the opportunity to change lives. In many ways.

Former TN Senator Dr. Bill Frist's editorial on TN education

2011-01-10T07:51:00.000-08:00

Dr. Bill Frist is a former U.S. Senate majority leader and is currently chairman of the nonprofit Tennessee State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE).

During my years of public service, there has been no more exciting year for education in Tennessee than 2010. Last year, state and local leaders joined together, across party lines, to commit to reforming our state’s education system and improving education for every Tennessean.

The list of accomplishments is long — winning a $500 million federal Race to the Top grant to support innovative K-12 education reforms; attracting the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to invest more than $90 million in the state to improve teacher effectiveness; and passing historic education legislation in the state legislature, Tennessee’s largest piece of education reform legislation since 1992. 2010 will be remembered as the year Tennessee leaped to the forefront of the national education reform movement.

This commitment to reform could come at no better time. As statistics show, producing an educated work force is critical to creating jobs. Seven of the 10 fastest-growing occupations in our state require some type of postsecondary degree. Many of the state’s newest employers — including Hemlock Semiconductor in Clarksville and Volkswagen in Chattanooga — require at least some type of postsecondary training for their employees. And estimates have shown that over the course of a lifetime, a college graduate makes nearly $1 million more than a worker with only a high school diploma. Improving our state’s education system means attracting more and better-paying jobs for Tennesseans.

But while 2010 was a banner year for education reform, we are just getting started. The first step to achieving more is expecting more, and new data released this week reflect that this is exactly what Tennessee is doing. For the first time, the state Department of Education is publishing yearly achievement data on individual schools and school districts based on new, rigorous academic benchmarks implemented just last year, benchmarks that raise the bar and more accurately reflect how Tennessee students perform relative to their peers nationally. In Tennessee, we are now asking more from our principals, teachers and, most importantly, our students.

Math, reading work needed

While we now know where Tennessee students stand, the data released this week also show how much work we have left to do. Only 26 percent of eighth-graders are proficient in math, and only 42 percent are proficient in reading. Other recent studies have shown that only 16 percent of 11th-graders are prepared to enter college without taking remedial coursework, and only 2.9 percent of Tennessee students scored “advanced” on international math tests, ranking Tennessee students behind students from Russia, Germany, Turkey and 36 other nations.

2011, therefore, will be a critical year for education in Tennessee as the work of implementing the reforms of 2010 begins. For policymakers, this means demanding timely and successful execution of key reforms, especially the development of a new teacher evaluation system that can help improve the effectiveness of principals and teachers across the state. For educators, this means rising to the challenge of teaching to higher standards and using new data about student progress to ensure every child’s achievement improves. And for communities and parents, this means expecting more from our children and providing them with the support they need to succeed.

So while we should applaud our many accomplishments from 2010, we must redouble our efforts in 2011. Our work as a state will remain unfinished until every Tennessee child graduates high school prepared for college or the work force.

My thoughts:
1. "2010 will be remembered as the year Tennessee leaped to the forefront of the national education reform movement."

We (Tennessee) really is leading the urban education reform movement. And MEMPHIS is leading Tennessee. Therefore, Memphis is leading the nation in urban education reform.

2. "For educators, this means rising to the challenge of teaching to higher standards and using new data about student progress to ensure every child’s achievement improves."

Dr. Frist's call to teachers, at this critical time, is to RISE TO THE CHALLENGE (read: work hard, work smart, be relentless and unwavering, taking personal responsibility) by being Standards-Based and Data-Driven (SBDD) to positively impact student achievement.

Right down our alley. It's as though Dr. Frist graduated from MTR... we've got the right idea, the right model. Let's stay at it for the long haul.

Lessons from Nate Saint on the 55th anniversary of his death

2011-01-09T17:33:00.000-08:00

January 8th is the 55th anniversary of the killing of five American missionaries near Quita, Ecuador by the Auca Indians. The most famous of those missionaries is Jim Elliot. A summary of their story (Operation Auca) can be found at http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/marchweb-only/110-52.0.html.

Nate Saint, the team's pilot, was also one of those martyred. A few weeks before his death, Nate Saint wrote this Christmas Letter to his friends and family:

Nate Saint's Christmas Letter (December 18, 1955)

“As we weigh the future and seek the will of God, does it seem right that we should hazard our lives for just a few savages? As we ask ourselves this question, we realize that it is not the call of the needy thousands, rather it is the simple intimation of the prophetic Word that there shall be some from every tribe in His presence in the last day and in our hearts we feel that it is pleasing to Him that we should interest ourselves in making an opening into the Auca prison for Christ.

As we have a high old time this Christmas, may we who know Christ hear the cry of the damned as they hurtle headlong into the Christless night without ever a chance. May we be moved with compassion as our Lord was. May we shed tears of repentance for these we have failed to bring out of darkness. Beyond the smiling scenes of Bethlehem may we see the crushing agony of Golgotha. May God give us a new vision of His will concerning the lost and our responsibility.

Would that we could comprehend the lot of these stone-age people who live in mortal fear of ambush on the jungle trail . . . those to whom the bark of a gun means sudden, mysterious death . . . those who think all men in all the world are killers like themselves. If God would grant us the vision, the word sacrifice would disappear from our lips and thoughts; we would hate the things that seem now so dear to us; our lives would suddenly be too short, we would despise time-robbing distractions and charge the enemy with all our energies in the name of Christ. May God help us to judge ourselves by the eternities that separate the Aucas from a comprehension of Christmas and Him, who, though He was rich, yet for our sakes became poor so that we might, through His poverty, be made rich.”

My thoughts:
1. I want to be a Nate Saint.
2. I want MTR filled with Nate Saint's.
3. That in comparison to our unwavering passion for displaying God's greatness to the world through an authentic response to the gospel in urban education, the "word sacrifice would disappear from our lips and thoughts; we would hate the things that seem now so dear to us; and our lives would suddenly be too short; and we would despise time-robbing distractions"... What a privilege and honor to serve in this way for our 20 seconds on earth.

Please pray that God might choose to reveal Himself as good and powerful and faithful to His promises to those in need by raising up a generation to positively impact student achievement in Memphis schools.

Teaching and PRESTIGE

2010-10-28T04:58:00.000-07:00

Last month, in a cover story on urban education as a run-up to Waiting for Superman, TIME Magazine tackled the idea of "what makes a school great". As is becoming the norm, TIME concluded that great teachers are the backbone of great schools. TIME believes that money is not the primary issue for difficulties in attracting top candidates: "But as a whole, the profession lacks something almost as precious as money: PRESTIGE." Lack of prestige... a disregard for the "profession" of teaching... a stigma of a low-performing profession... a culture that is building teaching around a "public service / volunteerism" mindset... all of this creates a void of prestige, says TIME. In America, for example, only 23% of teachers come from the top third of their college class while 47% come from the bottom third. So, they asked, how do you recruit great teachers?

So if it’s more prestige than money... what's the answer to the "prestige" issue?

My answer is quite simple. In fact, it's not my answer at all. It's God's. You want prestige in teaching, He'll give you prestige: "What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?" "The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted." "And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." "Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all."

There's no lack of prestige in teaching. The "lack" is in the definition of prestige, not in the location of it.

REFLECTIONS FROM DAY ONE...

2010-08-10T07:50:00.001-07:00

"I got to help with bathroom lines both times went, and I found that I incorporated some of the KIPP training techniques we learned. You can definitely say I’ve been “KIPP-notized”!! I had the students stand in one square tile, with one tile in between each person. "

"Secondly, I noticed the importance of calling students by their names. After I called one student by name, he responded with a smile, "Oh, you know my name? I didn't know you knew my name." He was glad I knew his name. I want to make it a point to learn a few names each day until I can call every student by name. I practice the students' names silently to myself as I circulate the room during class."

"Students perked up when I greeted them at the door with a handshake and a smile. I couldn't believe it. They would be strolling in, blank faces, pretty nervous, and then I would stop them at the door, ask for their names, and then just say, "It's nice to meet you." They're faces completely changed! "

"Finally, I am happy to report that my lesson plan (the first I ever wrote) went smoothly and that it was the part of today I absolutely enjoyed the most. The students seemed to be engaged, enjoy the story, meet the objective, and enjoy the activity."

"As I always do first thing in the morning, I went to fix my pot of coffee. My beautiful, awesome wife had left a note for me for my first big day. The Lord, without a doubt, used this not to refocus me. The card Courtney picked out had Colossians 3:12 as its verse: " clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.."Are you kidding me- what an awesome verse to set the tone for the day, for the year, for life. What if I went into every day and every conversation striving for these ideals. As if that were not convicting enough, Courtney gave me one more verse to reflect on, Ephesians 5:1-12: "Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children. And, walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.." To me, that is perfect for what we teachers are to do. As we see Christ's perfect example of how to live life. He led by being a sacrifice. He modeled for us what we are to do for our students- give them our all-"

"I am so thankful for today. I'm thankful to be in Memphis and working in Memphis City Schools. I'm thankful for supportive friends and family. I'm thankful for all the things I have learned this summer that made today a successful first day."

Mayor Wharton and the MTR

2010-07-10T09:52:00.000-07:00

On Monday, June 28th, the MTR visited Memphis' City Hall and met privately with Mayor AC Wharton. Mayor Wharton thanked our the residents for their commitment to Memphis and to urban education. He also encouraged them to work hard and be proactive in their schools and in the city.

St Jude, MTR and saving kid's lives

2010-07-10T09:36:00.000-07:00

On Monday, June 26th, the MTR was treated to a wonderful lunch and tour of St Jude Children's Hospital... recently designated as the #1 Childrens Pediatric Hospital in America by US News & World Report AND voted the 2nd best place to work in US academia by The Scientist magazine.

The energy, momentum and blessing that is St Jude was incredibly evident. After our tour, Dr. Bill Evans, St Jude's CEO, spoke with our group. Of the many highlights, my favorite was this...

In the 1950's, the survival rate of childhood leukemia ws 4%. Today at St Jude's the survival rate is 94%. And Dr. Evans encouraged us with the following statement, "So, you see, we're in the same business. St Jude's is saving children's lives medically and the MTR is about saving kid's lives academically."

We're thrilled to partner with St Jude in such important work: children.

The Gates Foundation, Colleen Oliver and Memphis as the Epicenter of Urban Education Reform

2010-07-10T08:51:00.000-07:00

Colleen Oliver, Senior Program Officer of US Education with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation spoke to the MTR Class of 2011 on July 8th. Colleen shared the Gates' core values of their foundation: (1) Every person has equal value; and, (2) Every person has the right to a healthy and productive life. These two values drive their investments into three primary areas: (1) Global Health (malaria, AIDS, polio, maternal health care); (2) Global Development (micro-finance, agriculture, clean water, green efforts); and, (3) US-Based Programs (urban education and Northwest US efforts). As support, Colleen shared that 1,000,000 students drop out of school every year in the US and more than 1,000,000 Africans die of malaria every year.

A few of the many fascinating subjects / comments she touched on included:

1. As Memphis' faith-based community goes, so goes the work in Memphis. Memphis' faith-based community is our city's greatest asset.

2. "If I could have all of you in my school, we would solve all the problems."

3. Memphis absolutely is the epicenter of urban education reform in America. Memphis has all the demographics and challenges of the largest districts in America but (as the 24th largest district in the US) is yet small enough to quickly see cause and effect of reform efforts. Therefore, we've become this great laboratory for many local and national efforts.

So, as Colleen said, "If we can do it here then there will be NO EXCUSE... If it can happen here, it can happen anywhere in our nation. And it will happen here."

4. Teachers make the difference. Great teachers in every classroom is the strategy to make it happen. And therefore the MTR -in training great teachers for every classroom- is the right place at the right time.

We really are the very tip of the arrow in urban reform... for Memphis and for our nation.

Warren Buffet, Bill Gates and Pete Carroll

2010-07-05T15:52:00.000-07:00

Gang-

I spent an hour or more at Borders this afternoon with Ruthie and Mary Van. While they read about 20 Bearenstein Bears books, I picked up two magazines: Fortune and Sports Illustrated.

I read two articles that were so insightful that I wanted to share a few aha’s.

First, and most importantly, I read the article the $600 Billion Challenge from Fortune’s July 12, 2010 edition.

Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffet are on a crusade to approach the 400 wealthiest persons in the world (all billionaires) with the challenge to give away 50% of their wealth during their lifetime or at death.

As an attachment to this article, Warren Buffet wrote a short essay explaining his personal pledge to give away 99% of his net worth. His explanation is fascinating. So much so that when I returned I had a quick team meeting with May and Annie to read it with them and talk through the main points.

Please read Buffet’s essay at here. Without detail, my aha’s were Buffet’s candor, humility and efforts to use his resources for the needs of others. Don’t miss this article.

Second, and much less significant, was the article on Pete Carroll from Sports Illustrated. Carroll is the former coach of the USC Trojans. During his 9 years at USC his teams went 97-19 and won two national titles. He is now the head coach of the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks.

I thought it was interesting that he has three team rules:

1. Protect your Teammate (read: resident, sibling, student, parent, child, friend, etc) on and off the field.
2. Be Early for Everything
3. No whining or complaining.

Good thoughts from a great coach.

The Declaration of Independence, 4th of July and the MTR

2010-07-04T12:48:00.001-07:00

Independence Day

July 4, 2010

Last night at dinner Team Montague “celebrated” Independence Day. The celebration was mostly a short review of the key dates and people of the Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary War. Following the review we read from the Declaration of Independence and talked about some our “aha’s” or “musts”. There were no fireworks, at least not at the table, not last night. That will come tonight.

A few thoughts from our time that I want to share …

First, I think having a “view” or “philosophy” on the celebration of holidays is important for a family. Our nation generally has two types of national holidays: Historical and Religious. The risk with all holidays is that we embrace the ceremony and forget the substance. We love the nostalgia of tradition and diminish the significance of the facts, the story, the sacrifice.

So, in our house, I want to celebrate all holidays by reminding my family of the substance and story of the day. Independence Day is NOT simply cookouts and fireworks. Independence Day is remembering the story and courage and history and implication of our nation’s birth. And, as our family does that, we are subtly reminded that holidays, both types of holidays, are rooted in reality and not simply in cultural norms and fairy tales.

And as I remind them of the reality of historical holidays I am also reminding the family that religious holidays are also rooted in reality. Just as Independence Day is about facts and truth and reality… so are Christmas and Easter. Just as we recognize and discuss and interpret the reality of the work of our forefathers in our nation’s history, so will we recognize, discuss and interpret the reality of Jesus’ virgin birth, perfect life, death and resurrection in our spiritual history. Easter is no more an honoring of the Easter Bunny and Christmas is no more an honoring of Santa Claus than is Independence Day an honoring of fireworks. So we will celebrate both accordingly.

Second, from reading the Declaration of Independence, we learned a three really important “musts”. MUST #1… thoughtful communication and respect must be given to people in the matters of conflict or division.

Thomas Jefferson (and others) began the document with the following introduction: When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another … a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

In conflict, “elite” leaders (such as our nation’s founders) demonstrate the importance of expressing differences rationally, systematically and with grace and class. Conflict does not have to be worked out with simple emotion and aggression… and certainly should not start that way. And the power to express differences rationally comes from the truth and validity upon which our arguments stand. Often in life I notice (both in others and in myself) that the weakest (least “right”) arguments are the ones that are accompanied with the most emotion and volatility among their bearers. And it is the strongest (most right and fair) arguments that are accompanied with the least volatility and aggression. Point: The power is in the “truth” not in the person, presentation, sincerity, emotion or hostility. May we take this mindset into our families and friendships and schools.

And how much more so should this apply to our spiritual life? In matters of morality and obedience and God’s word our power is simply in the truth of God’s word in our lives and not in finger pointing self-righteousness.

Third, we learn that our nation began with this awesome belief that ALL people – BECAUSE we are Created by the SAME God – are EQUAL and have the same rights to life, freedom and the pursuit of happiness as another. Hear these famous and beautiful words from the second paragraph of our Declaration of Independence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it,…

How great a nation to be founded on such a principle. And here is Must #2… Since this charge comes ultimately from God (the Creator-Endower) and not from Thomas Jefferson, this call to secure these rights to all people falls NOT ONLY upon governments, but also upon the PEOPLE of God… individuals. You and me. The “securing of these rights” MUST be my concern, and not only a government or district concern.

The MTR believes that all children are created equal (white, black, Hispanic, Asian, majority, minority, urban, suburban, public, charter, private, poor and rich) simply because all children are created by the same God. God says in Proverbs 22:2, “Rich and poor have this in common: The Lord God is the Maker of them all.” And therefore, ALL children have the same right to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. And since education is a common ingredient to each of these, WE BELIEVE it is a MUST that ALL children have the right to sit before a great teacher within a great school.

And we believe that it is not only the responsibility of the state to provide this right, but it is also the responsibility of His people, individuals, to protect, provide and produce these rights. And we believe there is no better way to produce this right than by great leaders choosing to become great teachers for the children most likely to miss this opportunity.

Last – and I love this part – see the community of ownership of this ideal among our leaders… each taking personal responsibility of this ideal as more important to themselves than their very own honor, net worth and even life itself. See the very last words of this document:

And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

And so how did this pledge “play out”? In great victory, we now know.

So, Must #3 is that for victory to be accomplished it must require the greatest of commitments – the greatest sacrifice of fortune, reputation and life – within a sense of mutual community. Every child can have a great teacher and a great school. However, the cost and commitment will be high. It is not for the weak or faint of heart. Great causes never were. Never will be.

And does this not point us to Christ himself? Who for the sake of mankind to have the right to come close to God not only pledged but also lost His honor, fortune and life itself.

We now come with the same mission…. We have come at this time to uphold not simply the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution, but to uphold this common mission that comes from Above-our-constitution with our lives, fortunes, and honor. Jefferson, Washington, Adams in a sense… and more importantly Christ in full, made Himself poor so that others might be rich; put Himself at risk so that others might be secure; put Himself away so that others might be brought in.

This is our heritage. This is our mission. This is our Story. These are our Musts.

Pitt Hyde, AutoZone and the Innovative Power in Memphis

2010-06-16T06:47:00.000-07:00

Pitt Hyde, AutoZone founder and Memphis philanthropist, came to share with the MTR Class of 2011 on June 9th. Among other things, he stressed the importance of CREATING and ENVIRONMENT where everyone wants to EXCEL. Everyone wants to be on a winning team. So, he made AutoZone into this culture and stressed the importance of making classrooms this same culture. In addition, we saw how one man with a Big Goal and a vision for innovation changed the way America bought, sold and used auto parts.

Holiday Inn and the Innovative Power in Memphis

2010-06-16T06:36:00.000-07:00

Kem Wilson Jr., Principal and Executive Vice President of the Kemmons Wilson Companies and son of Holiday Inns founder Kemmons Wilson, spoke to the MTR on June 14th. Kem shared with us his father's life story and the influence of Holiday Inn. Of most interest were the lessons that included (1) Hardship and difficulties are important and helpful in producing greatness and "success"; (2) The importance of vision and setting Big Goals; (3) The value of Hard Work; and (4) The understanding of how the creativity and innovation of one man in Memphis changed the way America traveled.

Housing in Memphis and in Heaven

2010-06-02T05:33:00.000-07:00

(Urban Context 1.1)

Hope VI Revitalization Program is a federal housing redevelopment initiative that began in 1993. The goal is to use federal money to incentivize urban areas to redevelop low-income housing projects into more attractive and sustainable communities. Memphis has just won its fifth Hope VI grant. This $22 million award will go to the redevelopment of the Cleaborn Housing project that feeds Vance Middle School and Booker T. Washington High School (south downtown area).

The project will include demolishing 460 distressed units and replacing them with 400 new apartments, 140 of which will be public/low income housing units. MHA has executed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Shelby County Government Head Start program to enroll families in both the Head Start and Early Head Start programs.

The Head Start program has partnered with Porter Leath, a United Way agency, to provide home visitation services to support residents who are pregnant.

Memphis was one of only six cities to receive funding from an applicant pool of 44 cities. See http://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/stories/2010/05/31/daily3.html

Blacks in Memphis lose decades of economic gain, says the New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/31/business/economy/31memphis.html?scp=1&sq=memphis&st=cse
This is a national phenomenon, not simply a Memphis thing. However, this article does an excellent job in describing the plight of many homeowners nationally. Briefly, the loss of wealth within our nation has mostly been a loss of home equity (and of homes in general). For a decade (or more) lending for the purchase of homes has been extremely easy. As a result, many people were able to borrow more and more money at seemingly low interest rates to buy homes. This easy money (creating a greater demand for homes) drove the value of homes sky high for years. Everyone seemed to win, for a while. Banks loved it because they were making money hand over fist through loan origination fees and interest payment collections. And homeowners loved it because they were able to buy bigger homes than they should have and all the while fooled into thinking their homes were great long-term investments. What is more, as their homes "appreciated" in value, homeowners were tempted into borrowing more money on their new and higher home value through second mortgages.... until it all came crashing down. This facade of irresponsibility - irresponsibility of lenders and consumers - has now wiped out trillions of dollars from bank's balance sheets and individual's savings. What is left is explained in the last line of the article, "“Some days it feels like everyone I know in Memphis is in trouble,” Mr. Banks says. “We’re all just begging to stay in our homes, basically.”

"In my Father's house there are many mansions (rooms)", says Jesus. See John 14:2-4. The Christian context on housing is that there really is an after-life. This world is not all there is. There is more and better to come. There are promises given by Jesus to His people. And these promises inform the thoughts and hopes and wishes and desires of His people here and now. One such promise is that Jesus, in heaven, has prepared for us mansions - or rooms - for us to live... with Him... forever. And this promise we believe by faith. And therefore, since we believe it, we live the here and now accordingly. And the "accordingly" is that we do not put our best housing hope in a city or neighborhood or zip code or gated community or square footage or acreage, etc. For the greatest of all these does not nor will not ever compare to the housing that is to come in heaven.

So, housing in Memphis is informed by our housing in heaven. Jesus-followers are patient people who know the best is yet to come. Therefore, we can be delayed-gratification people who gladly live beneath our means knowing that all of our housing-lusts are filled perfectly, tomorrow.

And the reality of today is that this gospel-centered housing world view might actually help keep us from "begging to stay in our homes".

Factories, Wal-Mart and Paul on the importance of great urban teachers

2010-05-30T13:49:00.000-07:00

Urban Context (1.0)

Recently, I posted a blog describing the forces impacting large urban cities, like Memphis. Most significantly, technology and outsourcing have significantly reduced the number of mid-level jobs in American cities. Mid-level jobs are those jobs that required mid-level skills and paid wages that supported middle-class lifestyles. These jobs were mostly the industrial / manufacturing (unionized) jobs. The industrial revolution provided ample access to these jobs and therefore to a rising standard of living.

Today, however, things have changed. Automation and cheap overseas labor have taken away these mid-level jobs leaving "most of the lesser-skilled city workers employed in the services rather than in the more promising unionized factory jobs. As a result, the city's (Memphis) racial and ethnic ghettos have become repositories for a sizable number of extremely poor residents with very limited job prospects." (Opportunity Lost, Pohlmann, page 37)

More recently, see Belaboured (Economist, May 29, 2010). This article chronicles the transition of a Chicago South Side neighborhood that has seen the loss of factories give way to a potential opening of a Wal-Mart... with much lower wages: "Mildred McClendon, who has lived on the South Side since 1968, is one of those who say they would welcome Wal-Mart if it paid a middle-class wage. She remembers when the area’s factories whirred. Her husband worked at Automatic Electric and the Wal-Mart site in Pullman was home to a steel plant. The retail stores that replaced the factories, she insists, must pay more. If Wal-Mart agrees to raise wages, other retailers will follow suit. This is the argument put forward by Chicago’s unions and their supporters. But remembering the old days is unlikely to do them much good."

Into this urban economic reality we go to teach the next generation... Into this urban economic reality, education is more important than ever. It means life or death.

Recognizing that God, speaking through the writer Paul in the book of Philippians (chapter 2), has called us to "look not only to our own interests but also to the interests of others", entering Memphis' highest-needs schools to be fantastic math, english, science, spanish, french, history or elementary teachers is absolutely a valid and necessary response to the gospel. For what is the alternative?

Won't you join us?

Harvard, Solzhenitsyn and a Christian Take on Urban Education

2010-05-22T12:11:00.000-07:00

For important urban context (1.1) see "As jobs fade away" in the May 8th Economist.

This is an excellent overview of what is significantly impacting our lower-educated urban population. In summary, over the past 30 years or so, technology has drastically improved efficiencies and therefore drastically eliminated whole classes of middle-skilled jobs that provided middle class lifestyles. As a result, there continues to be large numbers of both very low skilled minimum wage jobs and high skilled high paying jobs. The jobs in the middle, however, have shrunk.

In addition, due to population trends (see last blog entry, "Deep Magic") there is a growing percentage of a lower educated population and a declining percentage of a higher educated population. This fact has had the supply and demand result of putting a declining wage pressure on the middle and low skilled jobs and a rising wage pressure on the high skilled jobs. As a result, since 1979 there has been significant positive change in real income for highly educated persons and a significant decline in real income for those with limited education. See chart and excerpts below.

"Americans were keenly aware of this growing inequality even before the recession; in 2007, the top 1% of earners took home 23.5% of all income earned, the highest share since 1928. In recent decades the American economy has become increasingly polarised. Jobs have been plentiful for low and high-skilled workers, but employment opportunities for middle-skilled labourers have become much scarcer. Technology is the main culprit. Automation and outsourcing have claimed whole classes of jobs. The supply of skilled workers has failed to keep pace with demand, so the college wage premium (see chart) has increased."

"Middle-skill jobs have declined as a share of occupations across Europe as well, and inequality has increased, though not as much as in America. How to maintain a stable middle class amid sweeping technological change is a problem the developed world is only beginning to appreciate. Governments will be sorely tempted to protect workers, but a flexible, well-educated labour force is likely to fare best in the transition."

So, a new issue is upon us (as stated in the article): how to maintain a stable middle class amid sweeping technological changes (advancements and efficiencies). A well-educated workforce is the Economist's best answer.

So what is the "Christian Context" of this new western issue?

In his commencement speech to Harvard in 1978, Alexander Solzhenitsyn spoke these fascinating words: “However, in early democracies, as in American democracy at the time of its birth, all individual human rights were granted because man is God’s creature. Thus, freedom was given to the individual conditionally, in the assumption of his constant religious responsibility. Subsequently, however, all such limitations were discarded everywhere in the West; a total liberation occurred from the moral heritage of Christian centuries with their great reserves of mercy and sacrifice… The West ended up by truly enforcing human rights, sometimes even excessively, but man’s sense of responsibility to God and society grew dimmer and dimmer. The defense of individual rights has reached such extremes as to make society as a whole defenseless against certain individuals. It is time, in the West, to defend not so much human rights as human obligations.”

This is fascinating. What began as “theology”… that because you were created by God, then you do have certain rights – no matter your race, religion, economic or educational status, etc. And so “individual’s rights” were created by God because He created us in His image… the same Maker is the maker of us all. However, the other side of this theological coin is that man not only has INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS, but also has been gifted by this same God with INDIVIDUAL OBLIGATIONS.

Now, in “modern history” we have thrown off God (Time Magazine April 8, 1966 “Is God Dead”) but have quite conveniently kept the notion of individual rights. Yet we have twisted these "rights" to mean that one may do whatever one wishes. Rarely in this culture that screams for the right to do and say and be anything does anyone still clamor for the right to do and serve and love and help others.

So the Christian context is that it is time, again, to defend not so much our human rights as our human obligations. And our obligations - as mandated by a good God - is to (among other things) look out for the poor and the needy. To seek injustices and make them fair and right. To do unto others as we would have others do unto us. To look out for our neighbor.

This is a great leadership point. We need people-of-courage who will think in terms of (Godly) obligation and not personal rights. Or, in different terms, we need people who will think of rights in terms of other’s rights, and not simply our own.

And there is no greater unmet "right" today than the right for every child in America to sit before a great teacher within a great school.

Who's game?

The Deep Magic of Jesus, Narnia and Urban Education

2010-05-19T09:13:00.000-07:00

See Minding the Education Gap, from Miller-McCune on May 18.
(http://www.miller-mccune.com/business-economics/minding-the-education-gap-16074/)

He points out what we already know... that there is a large, and growing, education gap between whites / asians and blacks / hispanics. Thirty-two percent of whites and asians have college degrees while only 15% of blacks and hispanics do - a larger disparity than a decade ago.

However, he points out another trend that is important to understand, "Non-whites are expected to outnumber white Americans by 2042, and among the under-18 population in the country’s 100 largest metropolitan areas, they already do. At the same time, good-paying jobs that don’t require a college degree are dwindling, as the country transitions away from manufacturing jobs that once supported the middle class into an ever-more high-tech economy.Taken together, these trends suggest a mismatch between the future American workforce and the type of work a country must produce to stay competitive in the global economy. Educational disparities are growing at a time when the population of those less likely to be educated is growing, and as the proportion of jobs requiring higher education is growing, too."

The result of a growing U.S. percentage of a lower educated population is that "If we do nothing to close the (education) gap, we’ll wind up with an economy that matches our less-educated workforce."

Something has to give, as he puts it. He proposes three solutions to maintain a US global competitive advantage and sustain a large US middle class: (1) change the structural direction of the US economy so that it can financially support a growing non-college degreed population; (2) reverse the population growth trends of the nation; or (3) CLOSE the education gap. It goes without saying that only option #3 is viable.

There are several takeaways to this article and issue. First, and most obvious, but as a reminder, this is the SINGLE GREATEST SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUE in America today.

Second, and very important to get, is this: the situation is so desperate and the education bar is so low in high poverty areas that real and meaningful gains can, should and WILL be made. The significance of these gains, I believe, will be a creation of momentum that will draw the more hesitant and pessimistic into the battle. But for now we need the "first followers"... those who are drawn not to the progress but to the need. The first followers will be the ones that seem crazy to jump into "despair". But soon, their hard plowing will produce fruit. And the sweetness of the fruit will attract a crowd, and a tipping point will have been reached.

Need is the new opportunity. Turning negatives into positives. Using the low bar to demonstrate huge gains to bring the masses. Taking advantage of dysfunction to bring progress. Just like the "deep magic" of Narnia... death being tricked to usher in life.

Just the way Jesus did it.

And so shall we.

Vandy Hook Ups and a Gospel Centered Sex Ethic...

2010-04-22T19:21:00.000-07:00

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/04/19/college.anti.hookup.culture/index.html?hpt=C2

My nephew, John, sent me the above link to a CNN article about the culture of "hook ups" on the Vanderbilt (and most any) college campus.

Briefly, it describes the pervasive (estimated 75%+) experience of college students getting drunk and hooking up with strangers on most any given party night.

To which I replied to John with some encouragement of a Gospel-Centered Sex Ethic that goes something like this...

Our view of God dictates our view of sex. Or, said differently, our sex life is a demonstration of our view of God.

God is One God who is faithful to his bride, the bride of Christ, the church. He is not capricious. He is not fickle. He is not faith-less. He does not "hook up" with one person or people and then cast them off and "hook up" with another people. He is promised / committed to one bride and remains faithful to that bride forever. Therefore, we do the same in our lives, with our bodies. This becomes our sex-ethic. We demonstrate to a watching world the character and nature of our God. We, too, will be committed to one person - a spouse. And we will remain faithful to her, forever... all of our lives. We will not go from one women to another. We will not hook up with anyone available. For this is not who our God is. So this will not be who we are. Get this... In this way, as we interact with women in this way, then our celibacy becomes our worship and we can take greater joy in our celibacy (in singleness) or fidelity (in marriage) than we could ever take pleasure in the fickleness of the hook up culture.

And this living (by faith) the character of our God INSTEAD of living out (by faith) the character of the world shows the world that we value God above the world... and this is what brings God glory... which is the purpose for which we were created.

And, in a incredible twist, this sex ethic (which sounds restrictive) actually grants us great freedom. Freedom from guilt, shame, insecurity, drama... and frees us to have the capacity to think more of others, to serve, to love, ... and to teach - well.

(for more insight on a gospel sex ethic, please see Sandy Willson's AMEN series on Galatians - specifically "Faithfulness" and "Self Control" at www.2pc.org)

Social Mobility, Inequality and the Gospel

2010-04-22T08:34:00.000-07:00

I read an interesting article in the Economist last night, "Social mobility and inequality, Upper Bound", http://www.economist.com/world/united-states/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15908469. (MTR Language Arts Wall: Yes. You underline titles of magazines, newspapers, books, and movies. The titles of parts inside them, such as chapters or articles, are put in quotes ["..."].)

My takeaways (as they apply to Cultural Maturity 1.0 Urban Context)...

Statistics of Interest:
* Real income for men in their 30's has dropped 12% over the last generation.
* There has been a 20% increase in income inequality over the past 40+ years
* The top 10% of income earners took home 50% of all income earned in 2008 (which is a larger proportion than the wealthy earned in1928, the year before the Great Crash)

Why?
The article says the primary reason for this inequality of income (and therefore the difficulty of mobility out of poverty) is due to the advancement of technology that has lessened the need for middle-skilled workers... driving down both employment opportunities and wages.

What to do?
The Economist mentions two key social changes that most positively impact upward social movement as (1) Earning a college degree, and (2) Marrying before having children. Finally, the author comments that the "next step" is that America should focus on investing in the "productivity of the young".

1. I can think of no better way to "invest in the productivity of the young" than by being a fantastic teacher. You have chosen a field (teaching) of great importance and leverage... that is, if you happen to care about justice, impacting the next generation, not wasting your life, being a servant and not a consumer and ultimately glorifying God by your motivations of giving Him the things He loves.

2. I wanted you to be reminded and equipped with "data" that can inform your casual conversations with students. Knowing some key issues that are the real leverage points (actions that can most "make" or "break" a life) for life are important for a culturally mature teacher. Encouraging and equipping students to have the opportunity to graduate from college and the vision to desire marriage before becoming a parent are important conversations to have.

I know you know these things... I just wanted you to know that Main Street agrees.

Then, shortly after reading this article, we had dinner as a family. We're reading Acts at the dinner table and we came to this last night: "Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and sign, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him." (Acts 2:22-24)

And it occurred to me.... there is another kind of "upper bound-ness", another kind of "upward social mobility". First, there is a real sense of physical and felt needs that come with poverty and a lack of technological skills. These needs provide a real sense of oppression. And we are to use our lives to enter into places that offer us the ability to provide opportunities and relief. This is a God-given and God-demonstrated mandate (is that not what He did for us). Helping people rise above suffering is very much a proclamation of the gospel.

Yet there is another sense of "upper bound-ness" and upward mobility. This sense is the reality of an upward mobility that not suffering nor poverty nor lack of technological skills nor the lack of a college degree can prevent. It is the very real promise that through Jesus Christ - raised from the dead - nothing, no sense of poverty... even the extreme poverty of death itself... can keep us down. For through Christ, not even death can keep its hold on us.

Christ, alone, is the ultimate upwardly socially mobile answer. And because of that, we personally have no need to fight for own upward social mobility - it has been accomplished for us. And because of Christ, there is hope - even for the one who might never happen to reach the upward bound-ness of the American dream. And with Hope, no one is truly in poverty.

Urban Education and the God of Sight

2010-03-24T09:03:00.000-07:00

I recently talked with a college student who was considering either the MTR (urban education) or medical school (medicine) as his first steps toward a career. After several weeks of consideration, he emailed me to let me know he was going to pursue medicine.

I'm thrilled with his decision. Not because the world simply needs another doctor. Which I’m sure it always will. But because the world needs to an even greater degree great doctors for those in the places of most need.

It just so happened that immediately following our conversations, I saw this article, Nepalese Doc is God of Sight to poor. I was intrigued and read it with interest.

IMMEDIATELY (this was on a Sunday afternoon), I gathered my four daughters (ages 15, 14, 11, and 9) on the bed for a family meeting (what we call "announcements"). I read the article to them aloud, and then proceeded to ask each of them what they were thinking as they listened to the story. All their responses were honest. But the one that most stirred the heart of their dad was this one: "Dad, I was thinking that I could be that doctor one day."

It stirred my heart because, I think, a “future story” of living life for greatness (according to a gospel vision) was being set in my children’s heart. Life is a story. And having a “future story” – a vision - that aligns with God’s story is the secret to life.

So I came into work the next day and sent my new medical friend a link to this article with the following instructions: "In repayment to me for alerting you to this article, you owe me a five sentence summary of your aha's by Friday at 3pm." I'm sure he thinks I'm wacko. And I'm not sure I'll ever hear from him again. I do hope he reads the article. For I hope that he has a “future story” for medicine that also aligns with God’s story.

I hope you will read this article, too.

See below.

And now here is your question from me: What lessons from this article apply to the intersection of your life and urban education?

Nepalese doc is God of Sight to poor

By MARGIE MASON

The Associated Press
Sunday, March 21, 2010; 12:01 AM

HETAUDA, Nepal -- Raj Kaliya Dhanuk sits on a wooden bench, barefoot, with a tattered sari covering thin arms as rough as bark. Thick clear tears bleed from her eyes, milky saucers that stare at nothing.

For nearly a year, cataracts have clouded out all sight from the 70-year-old grandmother's world. With no money, she assumed she'd die alone in darkness. But now she waits quietly outside the operating room for her turn to meet Nepal's God of Sight.

"I am desperate. If only I could see my family again," she whispers in her native tongue. "I feel so bad when I hear the baby cry because I can't help him. I want to pick him up."

Dhanuk and more than 500 others - most of whom have never seen a doctor before - have traveled for days by bicycle, motorbike, bus and even on their relatives' backs to reach Dr. Sanduk Ruit's mobile eye camp. Each hopes for the miracle promised in radio ads by the Nepalese master surgeon: He is able to poke, slice and pull the grape-like jelly masses out of an eye, then refill it with a tiny artificial lens, in about five minutes. Free of charge.

It's an assembly-line approach to curing blindness that's possible thanks to a simple surgical technique Ruit pioneered, allowing cataracts to be removed safely without stitches through two small incisions. Once condemned by the international medical community as unthinkable and reckless, this mass surgery 'in the bush' started spreading from Nepal to poor countries worldwide nearly two decades ago.

Thousands of doctors - from North Korea to Nicaragua to Nigeria - have since been trained to train others, with the hope of slowly lessening the leading cause of blindness that affects 18 million people worldwide. And later this year, U.S. military surgeons will train under Ruit for the first time.

Ruit estimates sight has been restored to about 3 or 4 million people through his method. Most of them live in the developing world, where a loss of vision can be worse than death because of the added burden thrust on families already drowning in hardship. The soft-spoken portly doctor in acid-washed jeans and sneakers guesses he alone has removed 100,000 cataracts over his 30-year career.

"You realize there are drops which make an ocean," says Ruit, 55, an ethnic Sherpa who grew up poor in a remote mountain village on the border near Tibet. "They're such wonderful cases that make you fully convinced of the power of the work."

Sometimes the four-day mass eye camps are held in hospitals. Other times the surgery is performed in a classroom or government building in areas so remote or mountainous, they can only be reached by helicopter. Ruit has traveled to Afghanistan, Myanmar, Tibet and many other difficult places to work.

"I've never seen anything like this," says Dr. Paul Yang, chief resident at the University of Utah's Moran Eye Center, who came to the Nepal eye camp to learn Ruit's trademark technique. "In the U.S., all the technology is more modern and more optimized, but it can't compete with the volume here. ... You take back what's learned here and apply it elsewhere for your whole life."

Cataracts, which form a white film that cloud the eye's natural lens, commonly occur in older people but also sometimes affect children or young adults. The condition first causes vision to blur or become foggy because the eye is unable to focus properly. As the cataract grows and matures, it can eventually block out all light. Exposure to harsh ultraviolet radiation, especially at high altitudes as in Nepal, is a major risk factor.

Dhanuk is one of three elderly women at this camp who's blind in both eyes from cataracts. She and the long queues of other skinny, barefoot patients move like choreographed ants from eye exams to dressing rooms for blue gowns and scrub caps, then to local anesthesia and finally to one of four operating tables.

Ruit is at ease while peering into the microscope hanging over the operating table as upbeat Nepalese music plays in the background. When the electricity goes out, his latex-clad fingers continue moving confidently with only one backup light shining into the eye he's restoring.

Dhanuk, who's the size of a 10-year-old child, is carried in and laid on the table. She cannot see Ruit or the visiting Thai surgeon who's practicing the technique on patients across the room.

"I'm afraid," she says, worried it won't be successful. Her long silver-streaked hair is pulled into the scrub cap, and thin golden bangles glow against her dark, cracked arms.

But she lies still and silent. All she really wants is to be able to feed herself again, go to the toilet alone and get back to her chores. She doesn't want to be lonely and frightened in one of the world's poorest countries, where life is as harsh and rugged as the Himalayas that shape it.

After smoothly creating a tunnel and a cut into the eye that Ruit compares to entering a boiled egg, the Indian-trained ophthalmologist pulls out a thick yellowish mass and uses a vacuum to clean out the rest of the eye. He carefully slides a tiny lens into place for focus, and Dhanuk's eye is now clear and brown, instead of opal. A quick, painless procedure.

Ten minutes later - after two other patients' surgeries are completed - she returns to the table for removal of the second cataract. Both eyes are then bandaged, and she's led downstairs to a small room filled with other patients just out of surgery. Here, she sleeps on the floor bundled under her son's watch.

The scene at this eye camp held at a hospital on Nepal's plains near the Indian border resembles an orderly refugee camp. Massive tents filled with wooden pallets, blankets and about 300 patients and relatives cover a huge section of the lawn. Women stir giant cauldrons of lentils, rice and vegetables over smoking fires outside, providing patients with three meals. Buses are constantly arriving with more people in need. No one pays for anything, and the entire cost is about $25 per surgery. That's $12,750 for all 510 patients, equal to only about three or four surgeries in the U.S.

Costs are kept down by keeping things simple. Using lenses manufactured at Ruit's Tilganga Eye Center in Katmandu, these remote eye camps are sustained through donations and fees from more affluent Nepalese patients seeking surgery.

At the teaching hospital, Ruit does more sophisticated surgeries. There's an eye bank for cornea transplants, and every day about 900 people - from a former prime minister's relatives to beggars off the street - arrive for outpatient treatment. Millions of lenses produced there have also been exported to dozens of countries, from Germany to Japan and Vietnam.

But it's not the technique or the lenses or the hospital Ruit is most proud of. It's the ripple effect from all of the doctors who come to Nepal to train under him and then go on to teach others who repeat the cycle.

Ruit says this is the master plan he and the late Dr. Fred Hollows, from Australia, always had not just in Nepal, but for the entire developing world. One French surgeon, for example, trained in Nepal under Ruit and took the technique to West Africa where 300 doctors in 15 countries are now using it.

With Ruit's stitch-free method, the vision restored is not quite as sharp as with the more expensive Western-style surgery. But it's close, according to a study conducted by Dr. David Chang, a prominent cataract surgeon from the University of California, San Francisco. It's also cheap, and the risk of complications is no higher.

"Dr. Ruit is as skilled as any cataract surgeon I know, and I suppose it is natural to wonder what he could earn with these same skills in an affluent country," says Chang.

Ruit admits life could have been much more comfortable if he'd simply left Nepal for a job in the West. But not many people have the opportunity he has had to make life better for others, he says.

"This is really too good for money," he says.

The next morning at the eye camp in Hetauda, Ruit stands in front of the hospital in the warm sun looking at five rows of about 200 patients from the day before. All of them, bundled in worn shawls and knit caps, have eye patches waiting to be removed.

Dhanuk is third in line on the front row. As soon as the bandages are removed, her face fills with life. She leaps to her feet smiling and pulling her hands to her chest in a prayer position, a traditional Nepalese way of giving thanks.

After nearly a year of total blindness, Dhanuk drinks in the blue sky, the green grass and all the other patients around her. She easily counts fingers, and then Ruit asks her to squeeze his nose if she can see it. It only takes a second for her jump up and grab it with both hands. Applause erupts in this moment Ruit calls the power of vision.

"It's so nice to see everything! I had a very slim hope, but god has blessed me!" Dhanuk says, smiling. "I used to pray before going to sleep to all the gods and goddesses for my sight to come back. I prayed to god, but I think god did it through this doctor."

Urban Education and Where the Red Fern Grows

2010-03-05T14:30:00.000-08:00

So my wife and I have a 2010 Book Reading list. Book One was Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. We picked this book because our third daughter, Ruthie, was reading it in her 5th grade English class. This provided us many great opportunities and moments to connect with her.

Since it was published in 1961, I feel safe in giving away the ending. Billy is the main character and teenage owner of two wonderful coon hounds, Old Dan and Lil Ann. Billy and his family are an extremely poor yet happy family that live in the Oklahoma Ozark mountains. Billy's life, seemingly, revolves around coon hunting with his dogs among the hills and bottoms near his family's home. For years, Billy comes home with coons for his father who then sells the skins in a nearby town. Tragically, both dogs die within a week of each other.

My attention was caught as I read this conversation Papa (Billy's father) had with Billy on the night that he had buried his Lil Ann:

"Let's go in the house. I have something to show you... he had a small shoebox in his hand. I recognized the box by the bright blue ribbon tied around it. Mama kept her valuables in it.

A silence settled over the room. Walking to the head of the table, Papa set the box down and started untying the ribbon. His hands were trembling as he fumbled with the knot. With the lid off, he reached in and started lifting out bundles of money.

After stacking them in a neat pile, he raised his head and looked straight at me. "Billy," he said, "you know how your mother has prayed that some day we'd have enough money to move out of these hills and into town so that you children could get an education."

I nodded my head.

"Well," he said, in a low voice, "because of your dogs, her prayers have been answered... We now have enough."

"Isn't it wonderful," Mama said. "It's just like a miracle."

Here was my first thought... Parents are parents. Rich, poor, city, country, black, white, yellow, private school, public school parents. The normal, natural default of a parent is to highly value the educational opportunities of their children. Parents, all parents, long for their children to learn. It's true of Billy's parents; it's true of my parents; it's true of me. And it's true of parents in every urban school district in America.

(As an aside, here was my second thought... How far we have fallen. As a society, we have fallen from "moving into the city so you can get an education" to moving out of the city so you can get an education.)

At the same time, I am also reading (again) Star Teachers of Children in Poverty by Martin Haberman. And there is this great connection between the two books:

"Star teachers do not blame parents... Quitters and failures use what they find out to prove to themselves and to anyone who will listen that they cannot be held accountable for teaching children from such (poor) backgrounds. Historically, many teachers have "blamed the victim" by pointing to studies that showed students' inferior intelligence. This attribution freed the teacher from responsibility. When such reliance on heredity fell out of fashion (became politically incorrect), a newer, more sophisticated basis was needed in order to blame the victim and exonerate the schools. "Dysfunctional family" fills the bill. The undemocratic attribution of bad genes is now replaced by an apparent concern for a decent environment and a nurturing family. In either case it is a matter of blaming the victim. Effective teachers continue to believe that most parents care a great deal, and, if approached in terms of what they can do, will be active, cooperative partners."

A Christian context on urban education is one that values people, all people, all parents. And believes that all parents truly desire a strong educational environment for their children, and if approached humbly and respectfully, will become a valued partner in their child's education.

So says Wilson Rawls, Martin Haberman and the MTR.

Why I love Memphis...

2010-03-02T08:10:00.000-08:00

Here is a great example of leadership... The Mayor of Memphis (Mr. AC Wharton) telling - in an incredibly winsome and data-filled way - Steve Forbes where to stick it. So much of leadership has to do with perceptions. Attacking misperceptions is a vital component of leading well. Mayor Wharton has done so below.

As you may know, Forbes Magazine rated Memphis the 3rd most miserable city in America to live. I wholeheartedly disagree. So does Mayor Wharton.

Some of what we do at the MTR is let our Residents see the greatness of Memphis... the Grizzlies and the Redbirds, St Jude Hospital and Shelby Farms (the largest and coolest urban park in America), FedEx and AutoZone, the Mississippi River and Beale Street and the greatest zoo in the country, the National Civil Rights Museum and the Orpheum Theater. And on and on. Mayor Wharton has condensed what our Residents will see and hear into an open letter to Steve Forbes. So, as an incredibly poignant and sincere telling of Memphis, please read below.

Memphis is far from a miserable city. Interestingly, it only seems miserable to those who don't live here or know it well.

And remember, the needs we have as a city (such as our state of urban education) are also - to Christians - our greatest opportunities. We seek to love God and serve man. Period. So we enjoy the fruits of Memphis and embrace the needs. Both joyfully.

Come join us and enjoy.

david

An Open Letter to Steve Forbes

Dear Mr. Forbes,

Last Tuesday, I had the privilege of welcoming home a team of physicians, surgeons, and specialists from Memphis' Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center who traveled to Haiti to attend to the youngest victims of the devastating earthquake. These are exceptionally brilliant and compassionate lifesavers and caregivers, some of the finest in the world. They selflessly gave up weeks of their own lives, careers, and time with their families to minister to the needs of impoverished strangers on the other side of the planet.

When I stepped out of Le Bonheur, I looked up at their new hospital, currently under construction and slated to open this summer. This $340-million, 610,000-square-foot facility will double their current space for care, research, and teaching. Across the street, FedEx is sponsoring the constructing of a home to provide housing for families of long-term patients.

FedEx House will sit at the corner of a larger mixed-income, mixed-housing development called Legends Park. It's one of several Hope VI developments that have flourished in Memphis over the past couple of decades. This past summer, HUD Deputy Secretary Ronald Sims called Memphis "one of the bright shining examples in the United States today," of inner-city revitalization and blight removal.

Down the street from Le Bonheur and Legends Park I could see St. Jude's Children Research Hospital, which provides lifesaving care to children from around the world, regardless of their ability to pay. Around the corner, the new UT Baptist Research Park is under construction, which will make Memphis a global leader in bioscience. Methodist University Hospital, where Apple CEO Steve Jobs came to get a new liver last summer, is a short distance away.

The following night, the Memphis Grizzlies defeated Toronto in a thrilling overtime battle. The Grizz are doing better now than they have in years, and might even secure a post-season berth. Two nights later at FedEx Forum, near historic Beale Street, our beloved University of Memphis Tigers utterly dominated the visiting Southern Methodist University Mustangs. The coach of the Tigers is a young man named Josh Pastner, who may be the least miserable person alive.

This past Saturday, I saw a ballet at the Jeniam Center, our new, $15 million performing arts complex in the heart of our midtown arts district. This facility, modeled after Chicago's famed Steppenwolf Theatre, was financed completely by private gifts and contributions.

In a few weeks, we're going to break ground on the Salvation Army Kroc Center, a 100,000 square foot worship, arts, education, and recreation center a few blocks away. We're one of only 25 cities in the United States that will build a Kroc Center, which required our community to raise $25 million in private funds. Memphis is routinely cited as one of the most charitable cities in the United States.

My point is not about a hospital or a housing complex. It's not about a basketball team or a ballet. It's about our people. As their mayor, I simply cannot allow to pass without comment some of the things you have published about our city.

Your magazine mentioned "unemployment, taxes (both sales and income), commute times, violent crime and how its pro sports teams have fared... weather and Superfund pollution sites... [and] corruption based on convictions of public officials," as the factors for inclusion on your recent list of America's most miserable cities.

By your own criteria, there are far more cities on your list that have far higher unemployment and far longer commute times than Memphis. Most of them lack professional sports altogether. Violent crime in Memphis is declining steadily. There is a new era of transparency and ethical behavior in City Hall, due to a couple of executive orders that I drafted and signed when I took office last October. The sun shines here 230 days a year.

Memphis is not a miserable city, not by any definition, not by any metric.

Memphis is a city of joy. You can hear it coming up from our high school gymnasiums and football fields every Friday evening. You can hear it rocking on Beale Street late every Saturday night. You can hear it in our churches every Sunday morning.

Memphis is a city of innovation. The accomplishments of our past are outshone only by the brilliance of what's happening right now in our arts and business sectors. I'm sure at some point in your life you've enjoyed the music of Otis Redding or Al Green or B.B. King or Johnny Cash. Those artists and countless other achieved lasting, worldwide fame after getting started in Memphis. Brands like FedEx and AutoZone were born here and keep their world headquarters here; companies like International Paper and ServiceMaster have both relocated here in the past five years.

Memphis is a city of resilience. Floods, fire, pestilence, and poverty may have tested us, but they have never broken us. We are a city built on a bluff, positioned to withstand storms that other cities cannot. If the rates of unemployment, high school drop outs, and crime are to be our new battlegrounds, then we will join those fights, and we will prevail. For all of the problems you might show me, I can point to a legion of government agencies, non-profit organizations, churches, volunteer groups, and grassroots activists working together as one Memphis to find the solutions.

Maybe it's something in our water. Maybe it's something in our soil. I think it's something in our souls that makes us Memphians. We know who we are - and miserable is not part of the definition.

We know too that our city's song is not complete. It is being written every day, and it is sung by a chorus of hopeful, energetic voices that will resonate for generations.

Memphis is actually not my hometown. I was born and raised in a small town, about 240 miles east of Memphis. My wife and I made a deliberate choice to put our roots down here, make our careers here, and raise our children here about 40 years ago. I don't know if you've ever been to Memphis, but please accept this letter as my formal invitation to come visit us at your earliest convenience.

You'll have the time of your life, I promise you.

Best wishes,

A C Wharton, Jr.
Mayor, City of Memphis

Chipmunk Chipmunk CH CH CHerry...

2010-02-12T06:05:00.000-08:00

The MTR visited New Orleans College Prep and Akili Prep during the middle of Super Bowl week. Our Residents spent a day visiting these high-performing urban schools to observe great urban teaching. Sue Walsh and Justin Fong from Boston's Building Excellent Schools (BES) facilitated our New Orleans training. Below is a video from a 1st grade phonics lesson at Akili.

I think our greatest "aha" was in the degree of specificity that teachers must approach every single aspect of the day. We have a new awareness and appreciation for the detailed attention to the many routines and rituals that make up a school day. Order and consistency are essential to effective teaching. Therefore, having systems for every part of the day frees teachers and students to focus on the business of learning.

Urban Education and Genteel Decline

2010-02-08T08:58:00.000-08:00

Recently, I read a fascinating article from the December 12th issue of The Economist entitled Lessons from "The Leopard" (http://www.economist.com/world/europe/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15065405).

The article explained the concept of "genteel decline" from the book The Leopard. This is a fictional novel that tells the story of a rich land-owning prince who sees his lower class neighbors grabbing up parcels of land from his nobles and his sizable estate and inheritance going into decline.

But, as a prince, his "class" is too proud to act to save itself. Despite the decline and pending doom, he still can enjoy his life of culture and elegance. He expects to enjoy his leisure and privilege for his lifetime and hopes that his children and grandchildren may as well. But the novel's author knows the end is much nearer. The prince remarks that he and his people are old and exhausted and the great sin for them is "doing" anything at all.

And this is a definition of genteel decline: The willingness of a people or group of privilege to choose decline over action... where temporary and fleeting leisure is preferred over purpose-driven action. Or, more simply put, where one looks out for his own interests (pleasures) over the interests (needs and rights) of others.

However, in reality, the irony of the story comes from its best-known line, "If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change."

Doesn't this seem all too true with urban education in America... especially within the evangelical church in America (of which I consider myself a member)? Often, our primary interest is leisure and privilege for ourselves and our children (which we know often comes with superior education) with little to no concern for purpose-driven action on behalf of others. Does not an average ACT score of 17 and a graduation rate of only 60% within the Memphis City Schools tell all?

But it cannot cut both ways. Inaction on behalf of others (selfishness) will never sustain a culture or a kingdom.

Our model is Christ Himself, who actually forsook his privilege, became downwardly mobile and took action by entering into sacrifice and risk for the sake of the "have-nots" (you and me). Now we, as followers and imitators of Christ, follow suit. We do not aspire to a life of genteelness, but to one of life-giving purpose. Genteel decline is no option. Hard, difficult, downwardly mobile, sacrificial, risky, life-giving purpose for those in need becomes our way.

And with this way comes purpose, joy, peace, significance. And with this way comes a culture, society, and nation of justice and liberty for all. And with this way comes a personal destiny with God Himself, a life of interactions with Him as we live for Him and with Him. And so, paradoxically, the "hard" way is really the best way.

May we reject genteel decline and live for purpose. Need is our new opportunity.

Memphis Teacher Residency Overview

2010-02-08T07:15:00.001-08:00