Ann Monroe Assignment: Read Delta Autumn and write a reaction.
Delta Autumn is a guide to teaching in the Mississippi Delta. What sets it apart from other books on teaching strategies is not just the fact that it contains regionally specific information, but that it was actually written by past Mississippi Teacher Corps participants. The authors basically compiled an elaborate list of everything they wish they had known before introducing themselves to a classroom of students for the very first time.
Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed reading Delta Autumn. But although there were a lot of gems contained within its pages, such as having students write poems on what they did wrong as a punishment, something I will definitely be adding to my repertoire of consequences, I felt that the majority of its advice wouldn't be relevant until I was actually experiencing what the authors had been experiencing. I feel like teaching is very much a learn through doing profession, and that no amount of reading can ever prepare you for what's to come. I thought it was great that the book had been written by past participants, but at the same time, I question how much better off I'll be on my first day for having read it.
Easily, I thought the best part of Delta Autumn was the history of education in the Mississippi Delta presented at the beginning of the book. Even if you're not into history, which I'm usually not, Mississippi has a rich history worth looking into. Opposition to the integration of schools manifested itself in the forms of everything from the disbanding of the public school system to armed riots. It's bewildering that ignorance has played such a huge role in the areas history, and completely dumbfounding that all of this took place relatively recently.
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