Summer Wrap-Up

From my previous Brown Report blog I think I’ll return to writing less academically and more personally, for this last (internship) blog reflecting on the summer.

I feel right now, as I did when I wrote the blog, that my last “…your experiences so far…”blog should have been saved for this last post. Oh well. Here are some questions and answers about the summer.

What did you like?

Throughout the internship I liked: the speaker series, trips, readings, and some blog posts. My favorites of each were the Barksdales and Dr. Winkle (they tie), the Delta (both times), the Brown Slavery and Justice Report, and the Brown Report blog, respectively.

What would you improve?

Short of having the University rent a car for the interns over the summer, I would:

• Lose the sarcasm (Ben)
• Get all the interns IDs
• Buy another ScanSnap
• Have a USB (or two) only for the Oral History Project
• Make sure to make clear when the internship is over, and that all the interns are clear on this
• Have one intern at the summer school, and one or two at the office from the very beginning.
• Stay overnight in the Delta
• Take the interns around campus to find some of the interesting things (e.g. archives and records) this University has to offer.
• Include a parent and/or student as a speaker in the speaker series
• Mandatory school board meeting
• Take students to IHL while in Jackson or have someone from IHL speak to interns in Oxford
• Meet with superintendant, preferably of the state.

What was the best part?

The best part of the internship was by far the speaker series. I have to say, 99.9% of the speakers were engaging, but 100% were worthwhile. I think it’s important

Who was your favorite speaker?

As stated earlier, and throughout the summer, my favorite speakers were the Barksdales and Dr. John Winkle.

What did you learn from the internship? How did you change?


I really don’t want to answer this question, not because I’m copping out on this blog, but because I don’t know how to express the impact this internship has had on me. In the poem I wrote last week I used the phrase “something happened” repetitively. I used it because something did happen. It’s like when you know someone is going to report bad news, you don’t want to hear hit so you brace yourself. Still, when it hits, it knocks you down. This internship knocked me down a few pegs. I’ve lived most of my life not oblivious, but ignorant of how deep the education problem in this nation is. I’d never been so close to the disparities. When you read, hear, and see the educational tragedy caused by poverty and by race, I don’t reason anyone can leave unchanged. At the least we can proclaim the wrongs in our education system to others who haven’t seen or experienced the bottom.

Has this internship made me stop running from education? I just might have.

Would you recommend it to someone else?

Of course, to anyone who wants to do “like right” and to anyone who just doesn’t know.


Thanks Ben.