Tonight I saw something inspiring.
At the National Civil Rights Museum, teachers, students, administrators, and parents came together to talk to Bill and Melinda Gates, as well as the local administrators of the grant money, about the future of the Memphis City Schools.
There’s a perception out there that MCS is filled with parents that don’t care, which leads to teachers and students that underperform. I didn’t see any of that tonight. I saw people coming together for the best interests of the children of Memphis.
I saw teachers wanting to understand how the new measures would impact the curriculum they are tasked with teaching.
I saw parents wanting to understand the rationale behind some of the new ideas that will and are being put into place.
I saw a community of concerned individuals working for a better future for the city.
It was inspiring. I hope there’s more of this kind of dialogue in the future. I hope it works to lift our schools up, but more than that, I hope the administration of MCS will follow this model and work to better communicate with the public, both to fight the perception problem that has dogged MCS for a very long time, but also to engage a populace that’s been largely ignored by so many for so long.