Reading, Writing and What?

I haven't said much about Leadership Natchez but it's a really neat program sponsored by our Chamber of Commerce. We meet once a month, we're a group of 17, and learn different things about our City.

The first month was Healthcare. We visited all 3 hospitals in the area and learned about all the different services we have available. I left that day no longer feeling like I would need to be airlifted out of Natchez for a cold.

The second month was education. Let's be honest. Natchez is not known for it's public school system. At not least known positively. But I learned there really is a lot about which to be proud.

We visited one public school, the pre-K and Kindergarten school (in Natchez, all children of the same grade attend one school. 1st and 2nd in one building, 3rd and 4th in another, and so on.), all three private schools, and both college campuses.

It was a very full day!

But very educational (pun intended!). The technology is amazing, and most all schools have it, although to varying degrees. The biggest change is the "chalkboards".

There are very few left. They are being replaced by "smart boards". White, illuminated boards that are connected to a laptop on the teacher's desk. And they do everything.

We saw one type that had lesson plans built in to the software. I kid you, not! Built in! One board had clickers that the students could use to answer multiple choice questions. Almost like a game show.

The Catholic school had these in every classroom. And three or four classrooms had banks of laptops for the students to use. In elementary. And they didn't have to check one out to use it, there were plenty right there at their fingertips.

In one science class, though, the enormity of it hit me. We were watching a lesson on the planets, watching them spin on the screen, and it was pointed out that there were no textbooks.

Yes, you heard me right. NO TEXTBOOKS!

I know I'm "old" but I had no idea that such a world even existed. The students are only tested on what they learn in the classroom. And the biggest problem, according to the administrator, is finding qualified substitutes. Not just anyone can use those smartboards. There's no Teacher's Guide. No books at all.

One private school had a few, the other none, and the public school had them in the library and one other common area. But there were lots of computers in the public schools, even in the pre-K rooms.

They have to start them early.

It was very enlightening.

We were also given the opportunity to give back, as they say. As business owner and other leaders in town, we were asked to speak to the public school system's 8th through 10th grades about the Mississippi Scholars program. Basically, we were selling education. Trying to encourage these young people to think beyond next week. To understand that their future, in particular their earning power, is directly related to their level of education now and after high school. Not everyone is cut out for a 4 year university, but that isn't the only option. There is the military, trade schools, community colleges. The options are there as long as the students get the right foundation now.

I spoke to two classes and thanked the central office for the opportunity. I don't know if any of them listened to what we had to say, but all it takes is one. If one student left after one of those with a new focus or better plant, then wonderful. If not, then we tried.

I didn't know exactly what I was getting into when I signed up for Leadership Natchez. So far, though, it has provided me with so much insight. Natchez is so much more than "just a pretty face".