Progressive Policy Institute’s Rachel Canter stirred social media over the weekend with her Wall Street Journal piece on Mississippi’s recent and dramatic rise in literacy.
What has been dubbed the Mississippi Miracle is not a new subject and a story about the Magnolia State schools in early September, for once, does not mention former Ole Miss football head coach Lane Kiffin.
Here’s the headline and link:
Mississippi Fixed Its Schools. Here’s How Other States Can Too. Powerful teachers’ unions are an obstacle to reform. But Mississippi’s dramatic breakthrough proves that evidence-based literacy can succeed anywhere.
What stirred social media over the weekend was the chart below from the piece (ooooh….graphics) comparing state literacy programs with the strength of teacher unions in the states.
From the Canter column:
When my colleagues and I compared the Fordham teachers union strength ranking to ExcelinEd’s early literacy tracker, we found a strong, negative correlation between the two—the more powerful the unions, the fewer literacy policy principles the state had adopted.
Next up - Literacy and Migration.
Yes, parents can and do talk. They also can move.
The Progressive Policy Institute website has more on Mississippi at this link.
Screen shot from their landing page:
And with that…
Maybe Garth saw it first when asked about making a change…
“We fear change.”
Want to make a Change?
Virginia FREE has launched the Virginia FREE Academy, a non-partisan educational program designed to educate people involved in public policy making about how our economy actually works.
October 5th Kickoff!
As soon as you are able
Woman, I am willing
To make the break that we are on the brink of
My cup is on the table
Our love is spilling
Waiting here for you to take and drink of
So if you're tired of the same old story
Oh, turn some pages
I'll be here when you are ready
To roll with the changes
Yeah, yeah, woo
I knew it had to happen
Felt the tables turnin'
Got me through my darkest hour
I heard the thunder clappin'
Felt the desert burnin'
Until you poured on me like a sweet sunshower
Michael Jackson started with the Man In The Mirror
I’m gonna make a change
For once in my life
It’s gonna feel real good
Gonna make a difference, gonna make it right
As I turn up the collar on my favorite winter coat
This wind is blowin’ my mind
I see the kids in the street with not enough to eat
Who am I to be blind, pretending not to see their needs?
A summer’s disregard, a broken bottle top
And a one man’s soul
They follow each other on the wind, ya know
‘Cause they got nowhere to go
That’s why I want you to know
I’m starting with the man in the mirror
I’m asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you wanna make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself and then make a change