Mission and Culture...They're so much more than objectives

Here’s an excerpt from my journal. To put the excerpt in context, consider the bolded sentences the topic.

Talk about the mission of the organization. Is it a big part of the culture?

If you look on the Mississippi Teacher Corps (MTC) website the closest category to “Mission Statement” is “Objectives. What’s listed under “Objectives” is:

1. To provide dedicated, talented teachers for critical-needs school districts in Mississippi.
2. To afford a structured entry into the teaching profession for outstanding liberal arts graduates who have never before taught.
3. To identify and nurture educational leaders in the 21st century.

The objects on the website do not do the mission of MTC service. Simply, the objectives are inadequate for the scope, power, influence, and necessity of this program. I’ve been here only a week and have heard countless times; “Mississippi is last in anything good and the first in anything bad.” Frankly, it’s not too far off target and education in Mississippi is no exception.

In an in-person conversation Representative Cecil Brown, Chair of the Education Committee in the Mississippi House of Representatives, laid out just some of the challenges to adequate education in Mississippi to put the problem in perspective. Poverty, race, prejudices, dropout rates, teen pregnancy, health care, and teacher shortage present just some of the issues plaguing the state education system. The Mississippi Teacher Corps can’t tackle all the problems, but they try to alleviate what they can by placing top-notch teachers in critical…CRITICAL…needs areas.

MTC is the most selective teaching program in the nations. I’ve filed paperwork for first year teachers from institutions such as Georgetown, Harvard, Stanford, University of Mississippi, Millsaps College, Rhodes College, and (the best of all) AMHERST COLLEGE!!!! These teachers receive intensive training throughout the summer to prepare them for teaching during the school year. Also during the summer, they teach summer school and being classes for their M.A. in education from the University of Mississippi.

The teachers/grad students in this program are not only the best of the best academically, they also exhibit a level of social awareness and are that many others lack. Teachers must have socially and racially conscious minds. Critical needs doesn’t just describe the areas where a teacher shortage exists, it also describes at risk children; it describes a place where one decision is the difference between perpetuating a cycle and breaking free.

Awareness and care make up a big part of the culture. Yes, on campus teachers and interns interact with each other lightheartedly, but in the classroom students don’t need that type of interaction. I’ve spoken with a number of current and former MTC teachers; they prescribe a recipe of tough love, “Care about the students, not what they think about you.” Teacher in Mississippi public schools deal with issues that make the fodder for movies. Rape, sexual abuse, domestic abuse, neglect, malnutrition, and a host of other problems converge on school grounds and often students look to the best teachers to help solve their problems. Because MTC selects people who exhibit a high level of consciousness and care, their teachers are often the ones students turn to.

You won’t find a bad person in this group; they just wouldn’t be here. Success in MTC requires a person to think of others, not themselves. It also requires optimism that things can and will get better. MTC builds these qualities more than anything into their culture, and it shows well.

-Radical.