McComb, Mississippi-McComb School District's 21st Century Community Learning Centers and Pike County Families First Advisory Board sponsored the first "Why Education? Let's Answer the Question" meeting on Tuesday, January 29, 2008. I was fortunate to be present among the 150 students, parents, teachers, and concerned citizens who attended the meeting, held in the McComb High School cafeteria. The goal of the meeting, as stated by Interim Superintendent Therese Palmertree, was to "revisit the concept of appreciating and understanding the value of education in our community."
"What do we want our community to look like down the road?" Palmertree asked in her opening comments. "What do we need to do today to breathe fresh life into our community through education?"
Palmertree noted that the previous superintendent Dr. Pat Cooper left McComb School District with a legacy of strong physical and fiscal resources, in addition to a health and wellness program admired by school districts across the country. "We now need to figure out how to harness these great resources we already have in place," Palmertree said.
Students from Higgins Middle School performed a musical drama based on their classroom considerations of the importance of education: Education gives you knowledge, which brings growth, which leads to progress, which brings you power.
Mr. Lonnie Ross excited the audience with his enthusiastic challenge for us to think of improving education as an ongoing "campaign" to consist of many dialogues on the subject. Ross then led small-group brainstorming activities in which each group at about thirty tables in the cafeteria thought of four or five answers to the question "Why Education?". A recorder at each table wrote down the group's responses, and then a speaker shared their table's answers with the entire group, as 21st Century's Monique Gilmore and Coach Carolyn Whitehead wrote the responses on fifteen posters on the wall. From all those great responses we narrowed it down to four main ideas:
"Why Education?"
Education:
*improves economic opportunity
*creates a culture that values knowledge
*builds personal and community growth and fulfillment, and
*unites and empowers citizens.
These points will be posted on the billboard that McComb School District already has been using on Delaware Avenue, the main thoroughfare of McComb! I also like the comment made by one young girl, who suggested this statement, which makes a catchy slogan, "Education is a navigation system. Which way do you want to go?"
Earlier in her remarks, Palmertree had mentioned the types of "safety nets" a child has. The primary safety net is the child's parents, next are the child's teachers and other educators, and then finally the child's community. We are all stakeholders in the success of our children's education; therefore we must all claim ownership. As a benediction to the meeting, Palmertree had all the students gather in the center of the cafeteria, surrounded in a circle by first the parents in the group, then a ring of educators, and finally an outer band of community members. Mayor Zach Patterson then led us as we read aloud the pledge contributed by Coach Whitehead:
"I pledge allegiance to education in Pike County,
And to promote education in my home and the community to which I belong,
Encouraging all children whenever I can to value education,
And the opportunities it affords."
Mr. Dwight Martin had begun the meeting with prayer; let us consider his requests now. He asked for the courage and strength for us to "go out with passion" into the community after learning how to make an "investment that we will keep on reaping every day."
Comments welcome!
Visit my website at www.swmsre.com
