Delta Autumn

Reaction to Delta Autumn

Here's how I read this book - I started reading the first section on the history of education in Mississippi, then I decided to skip ahead to the parts about teaching (since I was about to start teaching), then I finished reading the history section once I finsihed the rest of the book.  I think I stumbled onto a great method for reading this book.  The first part of the history section was very interesting, but very despressing.  The other chapters were insightful, but also depressing because they read like a list of things that are bound to let new teachers down.  I finished on a positive note, however, because I read the end of the history section last.  I was eager to read the portions of the book that were supposed to offer support and help for new teachers, but they ended up just being lists of people at the schools to bug for help.  While I do appreciate the take-away message that every school is disorganized (to varying degrees) I would've liked a little more insight as to how to approach these people, where to find them, when we're supposed to be meeting them, and how to make ourselves a part of the school community.  I'm sure that once I get to the school this book will be useful, but I felt like the book could've given a little more advice on how one gets to the first day of school.  I'm left with the question "If it's going to be so horrible, what can I be doing now to prepare myself?"

I liked the sections on classroom management and the good suggestions on how to difuse tense situations.  I wish that I could remember everything the book had to say, but I feel like I'm going to have to keep the book on hand and just remember to pull it out when I have to take care of problems as they arise.  Being prepared is good, but I feel that this book would be better used as a reference. There is just too many facts to be able to pull any one out randomly and apply it on the spot.  I feel like now that I know a little more about lesson planning, classroom management, and rule making, I should re-read the applicable portions of the book so that I can put it to use. 

Now that I've been in the classroom, I really appreciate the information given in the "Student Expectations of First-Year Teachers."  The parts about keeping your personal life out of the classroom, being dependable, wearing clothes that are less interesting than your lesson, keeping your composure, and how the students want to be challenged are things that are general enough that I can keep them in the back of my mind. 

I feel the more specific tips, such as the information in the chapter on science, will come in handy later on when I've gotten to know the needs of my class this fall.  I like the suggestions to tell stories about historical discoveries.  In college, one of my professors was famous for the story he'd tell about Milutin Milankovitch.  He'd take students to Zion National Park (in Southern Utah), hike them up onto the side of Checkerboard Mesa during sunset, and then tell his story Milankovitch.  We all loved hearing him tell the story and by the time we graduated, most of us geology majors had heard the story so many times we could tell the story word for word ourselves.  I think that story telling can be a fun, nonthreatening, and memorable teaching style.

Once I finished the rest of the book, I went back and read the end of the Mississippi histroy section.  I picked up where the book told of the Mississippi Education Reform Act of 1982 and then went on to tell about the creation of the Mississippi Teacher Corps.  It was very uplifting to finally read something in the book that made it sound as if there's a chance the situation in the Delta can be improved.  I'm glad that I am here to learn about the history of the Delta and that I'm getting the opportunity to be a part of that history.