Abraham Schewel's blog

Reflection on Mississippi....

            As I have spent more time with my students then any other group during my stay in Mississippi I have decided to let a few interactions with them summarize my experience. I will say that during my stay in Dixie I have grown and changed in innumerable ways. I feel more focused on what I want to do with my life and I have a clearer perception of how I need to get there. I also have become substantially better at handling stress, speaking in public, and completing tasks on a deadline. The excerpts I will now share with you are from conversations I had with my students, assignments they completed, or notes I confiscated from them.            

My Life by Xavier 9^th grade MS studies

What Happened

            When my cousin died that when everthen change? I was about 11 year old and that when I start didn’t give of fuck. What I wuz I start robin people fuck who they was where they from I just do it. My mother was in & out of jail. She was one of them hot girl that them people new she waz and where to look for her. And the 2^nd time she went back that was my first shoot out with V.D.P. We wuz going at with them boy by a year about now it being about 5 year in we still don’t like them V.D.P but win everthing change. My mother change my whole famile change but me I am still same old Zay  B.B.D.

                                                 

            Murrah Memoirs

One  of my best female students during a class discussion about the Middle East. “ Coach Schewel is it true that all the Brown skinned people who work at gas stations are gonna come together soon and bomb us?” 

Me: Um no, where did you hear that?

Student: Uh I don’t know.

2.

Me: Damonte, whats the point of being a GD (Gangster’s Disciple) if your friends with the Vice Lords?( Rival gang at Murrah) You don’t need protection. What do y’all even do together?

Damonte: Man drink, smoke and steal cars.

3.

Coach Schewel I’m having a bad day.

Why

My boyfriend beat me up today.

Why.

Cause he thinks I slept with Three.

Did you

No

Well don’t talk to your boyfriend anymore.

 

Thirty minutes later three is in my classroom for 6^th pd.

Three whats up with Jaquett?

Man I been fuckin her, and her boyfriend found out, I guess got mad.

Well don’t fight him

Oh I don’t fight over girls.

 

9/23/09  -In one of my finer moments I came up with the following project.

Answer the following questions, their is not necessarily a right or wrong answer. Imagine you own a 300 acre farm in Mississippi in the year 2080. Slavery has been legalized in Mississippi and every state west of the Mississippi river (TX, LA, CA, AZ, UT…etc).

You have the following options for workers on your farm. You need about 100 workers.

1.     Pay local Mississippians minimum wage ($30,000 a year) to work on your farm.

2.     Bring in slaves from China (at the cost of 1500$/per slave, but you have to pay $30,000 for the cost of each voyage over) to work on your farm.

3.     Bring in slaves from Mexico (at the cost of 2000$ and no transportation cost) to work on your farm.

A.     Who would you get to work on your farm? Why?

Percy Greenwood: ….man ima pay mexicans they work harder.

But coach Schewel I know slavery is wrong but it’s a recession.

 

Conversation at Broadmeadow Church tutoring.

Keithtavius Johnson making fun of me for eating my pizza fast.

“You acting like you eating filet mignon.” (reference to lil wayne song discussing filet mignon)

Me “What is Filet Mignon”?

Keith “It’s a type of Fish, right”?

Does anybody know what filet mignon is?

“It’s a type of noodles right?”

Keith “I swear its fish”.

Donovan: Nah you fool its noodles.

Jameel: 20 year old coach with me, it’s the steak with the bacon around it right?

 

Bryan Jones storm into the classroom after Obama’s election.

B: Coach schewel you know you mad McCain lost, all them teachers mad.

B: You know they gonna paint the whitehouse black and we gonna start having cookouts on the front lawn right?

A: No Brian I don’t think that will happen.

B: Man you just mad he lost jew.

A: I guess you have yet to learn anything in my class Brian.

            A Good Man’s Guide by Tenesia 11^th grade U.S. History

1)   Rub my feet when I ask him to

2)   Have children in bed before I get home (at night)

3)   Bring home money for bills…etc

4)   Give me my space without him being asked to

5)   No fussing or arguing after or before dinner

6)   Please my every need

7)   Make sure grass gets cut (front and backyard)

8)   Get oil changes in both cars (every 3 to 6 months)

9)   Take care of his wife and kids (especially wife)

10)                   He have to keep up a constant well paid job

11)                   Good hygiene and keep his swagga up

12)                   Love me unconditionally

13)                  Give me attention guidance and sympathy

14)                  Must be able to cook when I cant do so

15)                  Help kids with homework

16)                  Text me on my time not yours

 

 

 

J. Harris

 

Are You Listening?

 

We as people have come far

Throughout this journey

And man do we have many memories in history

Do you remember things that you

Weren’t apart of physically, but racially

I was apart of the Jim Crow to the 3^rd degree

You see it existed to isolate blacks

Denied us of our civil rights, and that’s a fact

Created separate but equal, so we couldn’t relax

Because it wasn’t right, crazy, wack

We were segregated at all facilities

Just like we were handicap and our color was our disability

Open your ears are you hearing me?

We couldn’t even glance nor speak

To a white woman or man let alone have them as friends

Treated us as if we were dogs, leashed

I remember them yelling “No Justice!”, No Peace!”

And to make a change we did all we could

We marched on Selma, with our fists and head up high we stood

So in 1964, we over ruling them with civil rights

Wasn’t enough, we strived and rallied the streets all night

Until in 1965 we got our voting rights

But we didn’t stop there, were making changes even now, every black resident

And racial slurs are irrelevant

See we’ve come so far we have a black president

We went from sitting in the back, to driving the bus

And well do it all over again, if they ever try and segregate us

So from now till the end of human kind let freedom ring

Get up and stand for something

Because if we stand for nothing, we’ll fall for anything

Are you listening?

Now we’re their doctors and lawyers

Wanted us to stand behind them now we stand forward

We have more then power

And work every day with every race every minute of the hour

No one could hold us back; those chains didn’t mean a thing

Just a symbol of our struggle, the reason why we sing

We may not have been able to walk with whites on the same road

But they’ll have to answer to God, a man whose much bigger; bold

We may not have been able to drink from their fountains; water so cold

But Jesus has a bigger better one; dripping from gold

But for right now while were here lets make one thing clear

Together our minds are powerful, black/white we make the world go round

And together we sing, we make a beautiful sound

Yes segregation was profound

But now were like beautiful lights of all kind

Yes we have different glows, but together we will shine

Throughout it all, through everything

Jim Crow is now deceased, and doesn’t run a thing

And we now still stand tall, stand strong through anything

Black yellow, pink, or green

Are you listening?

 

Mississippi Loves you

Deeeaarr First Years,

Mississippi loves you, if you love Mississippi. Or at least like it.  

Yall are likely some very cool people. Some of you are also very idealistic, talented and all are (hopefully) well educated. This will likely serve you very well in some future profession.

Do not be upset if this does not translate to immediate success your first year as a teacher.

Be happy if you have less then 30 kids per class, they stay in their seats for most of the class and show you a mild amount of respect.

Be happy if your administration recognizes you as an asset to the school, not just one of those northerners who will be gone in two years.

Be happy if the aforementioned administration enters your classroom to provide some sort of feedback for more then 10 minutes a semester.

Be happy if you get home by 5 on a school day and have no work to do for the night.

Be happy if you only get cussed out a couple of times your first year.

Learn to be happy when all of the above does not work out in the ideal way. It is likely not your fault.

……When the kid calls you Jew, he is not an anti-Semite. To him a Jew is a dark skinned man who sometimes wears weird hats, owns gas stations, and is in the baby Jesus story. However, a Jew is a bro.

…..When your principal comes on the announcement and states that on tomorrow we will have fried chicken, close your ears, but remember to plan to hold your lunch classes a little longer.

……When your principal chokes a student for 30 seconds while you and another teacher attempt to persuade him to let go. Remember that he is just trying to send a message, your principal that is.

…….When you break up your first fight remember not to choke the students for 30 seconds after breaking up the fight.

Summer in Oxford will likely be the most fun you have in Mississippi. Relish it, love it, praise it, pool it, karaoke it…..Paris it…..

Love your MTC buddies, travel to the Delta, Jackson, and even Batesville to hangout.

Make new buddies. You can’t always drive 3 hours north to see Parks, Patrick, Sealand, Deitz, and Dauwalt. TFA is likely in town and although they actually believe they are saving the world, they can be fun to hangout with.

Make buddies at your school. They will embrace you if they see you embrace their culture. Mississippi loves diversity, just not diversity that does not accept Mississippi. Do your best to accept Mississippi, at least while in public, and your life will be a lot easier.

Becoming a Part of the "Dreaded" system...

I do believe that most people join MTC with some strong idea of social change, betterment, or for some a hope for radical activism. I certainly fit somewhere in the middle. As I sit, lesson planning and reflecting on my last two years I marvel at how I have become part of the "dreaded" system.
My students will take the U.S. History state test on April 27th. This does not scare me, but it does give me a sense of responsibility in making sure these students are prepared. For the next month I will spend at least a part of everyday quizzing my students on possible SATP questions they could see. This thought makes me sick to my stomach. These kids don't need daily rote memorization. They need writing skills, analytical thinking and reading comprehension.
I do work to include the latter in my daily schedule as well, but it certainly does not take precedent to the TEST.
   I do not want it to seem that I have become the burnt-out, 70 year old History teacher down the hall who puts notes on her overhead and calls it a class. My classroom is regularly fun and engaging to most. I often combat the anti-communist, anti-immigration, anti-gay rhetoric espoused by many students and teachers alike. But in working to create a change in the system I have been stifled and eventually slowly morphed into what I wish I was working against. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer? Maybe for a while, but I am over it.
I propose that MTC creates a school solely run by MTC third year teachers who have tasted all public school has to offer and can then have a more realistic chance to be part of a larger movement of change. Where we can work at getting away from an environment that promotes or tolerates complacency, disrespect, rote memorization, hegemony, homophobia, bullying, violence, and a state test focus.

I attempt to do this in my classroom, but I need help in doing it on a larger scale.

MTC Memory (UFC vs Oxford Police)

 One time Tomas and I were leaving the Library in Oxford. It happened to be a Saturday and our night was coming to an end at 12:01 am as you can no longer sell beer on the day of the Lord.
The rest of the blog will be written in the third person.

Setting: A Latino and a Jew are waiting for a ride after exiting a bar in Oxford, MS. The Latino is 5'6 with a perpetual 5 o'clock shadow and an affinity for the Economist. The Jew is 6'1, 160, and has a highly complicated hyphenated last name. A large crowd has gathered outside of the bar as the young citizens of Oxford slowly make their way home or find a place to sleep. The Jew and Latino are attempting to do the same as they are approached by the local police.

The cops, one large and white, the other large and black have apparently profiled these two as dangerous citizens.

Cop 1: (Yells at the two companions from across the street) Hey you whats your name?

Jew: (Decides to answer as the Latino refuses to speak) umm it's complicated.

Cop 1: What?

Jew: Uhh Abraham Rubert-Schewel.

Cop 1: You lying to me son? Let me see yall's I.D.'s.
(The cop peruses each I.D. visibly becoming more upset as he reads.)

 Cop 1: Tomas? Where you from son?

Latino: Well, you can see it says Oregon from my license.

Cop 2: That is so disrespectful.

Cop 1: And Abraham your from Durham. How far away is that from Raleigh? Cause I've been to Raleigh before.

Jew: Uhh 15 minutes maybe....

Latino: Ok we are gonna leave now. (starts to turn and walk away)

Cop 2: That is so disrespectful.

Cop 1: Miranda vs. Arizona. You cannot walk away from a cop son!!  (Jew giggles)

Latino: This would never happen if we were in the North.

Cop 1: What!! This ain't got nothing to do with the North or South. I've been too Raleigh, Arizona, Memphis, Virginia, all over the North. You kids need to just learn some respect.

Cop 2: So disrespectful.

An opportunity for the two young mens escape arises when their ride arrives.

Latino: (as he walks off mumbling).....I am......ultimate fighter... 
 

   
     

A few MTC memories

What Makes a Great Teacher?

            The idea for “race to the top” sounds like a great one. Evaluating teachers based on their students test scores should be done everywhere, but I do see why many people may be hesitant to take this step. Kids who live in low-income environments certainly are able to achieve the same results as others, but does it require their teachers to work harder? I guess the real question I am asking is; if you are going to judge teachers test scores based on their students how do you ensure that the playing fields are leveled for the teachers? It is easy to sit back and say no teacher should have excuses for their kids lack of success, but is that a realistic viewpoint?

            Mr. Taylor seems to have an incredibly well run classroom from the description in the article. This combination of group work, modeling, and individual work is a constant I see in every very successful classroom. After a few years I think each teacher develops a system that works for him/her and becomes comfortable in how it works. Mr. Taylor has mastered his system and it works very well for him, but I do not necessarily think this means that it is replicable. I honestly feel that it would take me another year or two to feel like I have mastered the style and type of teacher I want to be. I say this mostly because I have had trouble coming up with a solid routine for every day. I certainly have constants, but my implementation changes from day to day. I really wish that I had seen this type of teaching modeled or elaborated on more in my training or professional development. A majority of what I have observed, and consequently what I have done, is lecture accompanied by individual work.

            The qualities Teach for America uses to determine a good teacher certainly seem very plausible to me. Life satisfaction, grittiness, perseverance and achieving high results while in a leadership position are all great characteristics to have for any job. The one that resonates most with me is “grittiness”. Teaching, especially in a low-income area, is a job, which will constantly challenge you and force you to become apathetic or to constantly find ways to change. Only exceptionally gritty people are able to constantly find ways to change and not be satisfied with the status quo. Which is probably one of the reasons why you will notice the author commented that Mr. Taylor appeared to be tired.

             

Community Assessment

1.     Defining the community:

Jackson does contain several major industries in its city limits. Mainly machinery products as well as metal products; the surrounding areas produces many types of agriculture.

            Jackson does have four companies that are publicly traded on the market.

These are Trustmark which is provides $8.1 billion in financial services.

 

Parkway Properties which is a major real-estate company, “Parkway owns or has an interest in 65 office properties located in 11 states with an aggregate of approximately 13.4 million square feet of leasable space as of August 3, 2009”.

 

Cal-Maine Foods-Largest producer of fresh shell eggs in the country.

 

East Group Properties- Has real-estate interests throughout the south and over 27.7 million square feet of property in their portfolio.

 

Jackson is also home to the Mississippi World Trade Center. Obviously the purpose of which is to foster international trade. It is unclear to how successful this venture has been to this point.

2.     Geography:

Jackson is located between Hinds and Madison counties. This allows Jackson

large access to their agricultural products as well as moderate business district.

Jackson is also bordered by the Pearl River, which provides goods transportation as well as the Ross Barnett Reservoir.

 

3.     Demographics:

Jackson has  a population of roughly 173,000 and 530,000 if you include the surrounding metropolitan area.

The racial makeup of the city is predominantly black (70.6%) and white (28%). Interestingly enough Jackson Public Schools in 97% black and 3% white, as most white kids are going to private or county schools.

25% of households had a single mother as the head. With 23.5% of the population living below the poverty line.  

76.1% of kids are living on free or reduced lunch.

In 2009 Jackson’s homicide rate ranked 4^th in the country and 2^nd in the country in terms of burglaries.

Population 25 years or older with a:

High school or higher: 79.1%

Bachelor's degree or higher: 27.1%

Graduate or professional degree: 10.2%

Unemployed: 8.9%

4.

 

5.     Physical Infrastructure:

Is controlled by the Public Works department downtown. They have separate departments for facility management, solid waste, infrastructure management, engineering, water/sewer, and vehicle maintenance. The city claims to have extensive capacities for infrastructure development and waste management, but many city roads are full of potholes and the city seems to have little care for repair.

6.     Cultural and Recreational Resources:

FAST FACTS:

 

Total Area	Approx. 2,302.35 Acres
Number of parks and recreational facilities	54
Playgrounds	31
Athletic fields	72
Community centers and gymnasiums	11
Swimming pools	9
Tennis courts	61 (6 are clay courts)
Golf courses	2
Driving range	1
Walking trails	8 miles
Go-kart track	1
Model airplane field	1
Botanical garden	1

 

The city does contain an extensive amount of recreational facilities. Unfortunately, the only quality ones are reserved for private use or big time sports events. Quality parks and recreational facilities actually open to the public are few and far in between. Many of these areas are so crime infested that children or people looking to relax would hesitate to venture inside.

 

7.     Power structure: How do things get done, individuals, board leaders, linkages. ..

Jackson mayor Harvey Johnson is likely the most powerful individual in the city. He has been credited with reviving downtown Jackson including Farish street and surrounding areas. Strangely this area still appears to be in need of repair and contains a plethora of abandoned buildings.

            This is likely why Johnson was easily ousted by former mayor Frank Melton in the 2005 election. Melton ran on a campaign to clean up the crime problem in the city in 90 days and received 63% of the vote.

            Johnsons does seem to have a reasonable amount of power over the city council. He is able to appoint people to run certain government departments and the city council must vote to approve them. The only mayoral nominee to be voted down by the council occurred during Frank Melton’s term. The leaders subsequently appointed heads of these departments, have a large amount of power and money in running their different areas (Fire, police, public works….etc).

            The council does have the power to control the payroll of these different leaders and chose to do so in the case of Melton’s appointments.

            In general when the council and mayor remain at odds, there is little the council can do to combat the mayor’s power.

 

8.     Heads of government agencies are appointed by the mayor then must be approved by the city council. They are independently run, but can have their finances checked by the city council.

 

9.     Community barriers

     Jackson is chock-full of community barriers. The first might be the huge amount of crime, homelessness, poor leadership, and poor schools. Obviously these are all factors, which are caused by the main problem of poverty.

            Downtown Jackson is the most rundown place I have ever seen in the U.S. Starting with the white flight after integration, downtown has grown progressively worse. This remains a large barrier today as not only white families, but now middle class black families are leaving Jackson. This is a huge problem as downtown teems with homelessness and crime no one wants to bring businesses into the city necessary to turn the problems around.

 

10. Values

I would say the main values in the community are religion, race, and sports. A large amount of our students value school as a means to play sports or hopefully to gain an education and get a good job. I would not say that education is as important as the first three values.

            At many schools sports will take the cake over any scholastic event and often cut into classroom time. Many teachers are also coaches and spend hours after school everyday and are forced to neglect their teaching duties.

11. Uniqueness

The most surprising part of the community I have witnessed so far is the huge population of immigrants. Most people would expect Jackson to be majority multi-generation Americans, but there is a sizeable population of African immigrants.

            At Murrah I have met a large amount of these kids especially coaching soccer. I have had players from Zimbabwe, Sudan, Uganda and others.

            The most public proof of this large group of immigrants I have found is the election of Chokwe Lumumba to city council. I found this excerpt from his website campaigning for city council “The Malcolm X Grassroots Movement (MXGM) is taking a bold step to advance the cause of New Afrikan Self-determination. Building off the experiences of developing the Freedom Party in Selma, Alabama and the Reconstruction Party in New Orleans, Louisiana, MXGM co-founder, Chokwe Lumumba, is running for City Council in Jackson, Mississippi. The aim of this run is to implement a program of progressive social and economic change that will not only improve the lives of New Afrikan people in Jackson, but also empower Black and other oppressed people throughout the Kush District (the Mississippi Black Belt) and the Deep South by advancing a new social and economic agenda and strengthening their self-organization.”

 

 

12. Schools, colleges, universities.

Jackson does have a number of good universities and colleges in many different areas of study.

            One unfortunate quality of JPS is its lack of diversity (97% black, 3% white), even though the city as a whole is more diverse (30% white, 70 % black). Most white kids go to private, or county schools.

Colleges and universities

Belhaven College (1883)

Hinds Community College's campuses in Jackson are the Nursing/Allied Health Center (1970) and the Academic/Technical Center

Jackson State University (1877)

Millsaps College (1890)

Mississippi College School of Law (1930)

Reformed Theological Seminary (1966)

Tougaloo College (1869)

University of Mississippi Medical Center (1955), health sciences campus of the University of Mississippi

Wesley Biblical Seminary (1974)

[edit]

Public high schools

▪                Bailey Magnet High School

▪                Callaway High School

▪                Career Development Center

▪                Forest Hill High School

▪                Jim Hill High School

▪                Lanier High School

▪                Murrah High School

▪                Provine High School

▪                Wingfield High School

Private high schools

▪                Christ Missionary & Industrial (CM&I) College High School

▪                Hillcrest Christian School

▪                Jackson Academy

▪                The Veritas School

Private Schools

▪                Magnolia Speech School [1]

St. Andrew's Episcopal Lower School - South Campus

 

 

References

http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/index.php/site/comments/strong_mayor_weak_council_042209/

http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/index.php/site/comments/jackson_one_of_20_strongest_performing_markets_092109  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_Johnson,_Jr.

http://www.assatashakur.org/forum/hood-news/36815-chokwe-lumumba-jackson-ms-city-council.html  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson,_Mississippi#Political_structures

 

MS Talks with Governor Barbour

Governor Haley Barbour is not an engaging speaker, but he is a Good Ole Boy. Is education really over 60% of the state budget? Education will still be $20 million more then last year because of stimulus funds. Guess we should not have taken them. I did not know the policy about the Governor being required to cut 5% from each area before they cut over 5%.

Barbour says schools get over $8,000 per student. Is this true, or is it highly skewed by richer areas of the state whose students receive substantially more.

Governor Barbour says that money for corrections facilities has gone up 10% in the last 5 years while money for education has gone up 35%. This is great, but is it not obvious that if we spent the money used for correctional facilities on our children instead we would not need the money for corrections down the road.

The argument that stimulus money hurts the economy down the road bewilders me. Maybe it is only short term help, but is it not help? Does it not give you more time to plan better down the road, and for the recession to hopefully recede? To me it seems like blatant partisan politics attacking Obama and democrats.

As someone once said Governor Barbour would rather “cut taxes then have sex”. Taxes will not be raised to help out those most hurt by the recession.  

Hazing

            To be quite honest the hazing at Millburn High does not seem to intense compared to what we have seen recently in Jackson. Jackson State recently suspended 27 band members suspected of hitting incoming freshman with beer bottles and 2x4 and committing other acts of violence JSU hazing.

            That being said I am sure that different forms of hazing, bullying, and the general stresses of being a new kid at a large school can be very damaging to a student’s psyche. In every class I have a substantial amount of students who are very withdrawn usually as a result of being intimidated or made fun of to a point where they no longer desire to speak up. These students are sometimes the most rewarding to reach, but it is often difficult in larger classes or when they are so stuck in their shell.

            I remember being hazed as a 9^th grader on the high school soccer team and taking it pretty lightly. Fortunately, I was one of the ones who did not get it the worst. First of all I had made the team and was accepted by my peers and the older kids. I knew I would experience a little hazing, but it was more exciting than something I feared.

            The kids who had it really bad where the ones who got cut from the team, did not have many friends in school, and were generally seen as outsiders. Because worse then being hazed by a team member, they were constantly ostracized by peers and older students alike. Creating a culture where this is unacceptable and all students are viewed as equal and important is one of the most important parts of our education system. This is a difficult point to reach and is only possible with good classroom management, a positive school culture, engaging extra-curricular activities for every kid, and probably eliminating all forms of hazing at school.

            This is why the hazing at Millburn and even the small amount of hazing I experienced should be ended if possible. It only enforces an attitude that some hazing is acceptable and when you accept some, it creates a school climate where hazingis acceptable at all levels.

This year

First week: Required. 

Significantly smoother then last year. Still large classes overall, but I have had the privilege to move to main building and teach US history. Teaching 11th grade and a state tested subject creates an atmosphere of focus and serenity and I am unaccustomed to. At this point last year I was struggling to keep the chaos in my room from extending to the hallway. This year my classroom is more organized and my lesson are more structured then last year. I still feel I work harder then I need to throughout the day, picking up papers, collecting papers and giving instructions. I have created a better system for notes, daily homework and daily quizzes. I believe these changes have made students take my classroom more seriously and focused on school work.

 Unfortunately, one major difference I notice between this year and last year is the huge amount of kids (especially boys) who have dropped out. My classes are now predominantly female, and I have the feeling that a majority of the kids who I failed last year may not make it to 11th grade US History. 

As troubling as this is I am incredibly content with the state of my classroom this year and I plan on filling my kids brains with as much knowledge as possible.