Ellington

People have to care about it. You can lead the horse, but you can't make it drink, remember? This state cultivates a culture that looks down on intellect as "elite" and prefers stupidity in protection of faith? As a defense against the outside world? I don't know why but it is actively cultivated here. People have to make education a priority. Because it's not just money we need, it's political willpower and parental tolerance. Change is hard, and what we are doing isn't working, but no one has the power and will to fix anything. Everyone just wants their department funded or themselves re-elected or whatever.

Above all else, we need as close to a one-to-one ratio of students to teachers as we can get. If there is one thing above all else that we know helps students it's having attention small group or one on one instruction. You can just work on it until that student gets it. This is the one universal thing that will always pay off. I'd like to see classes of maybe 10 kids average.

In addition, I think we shouldn't have a mandatory brick and mortar school system. Alternatives should be encouraged. I think we can go high tech in some places, online. I think we can put education in the hands of the people by supporting charters and homeschooling and co-ops the same as any public school. I think the old system of apprentices was a good one. There's no reason for young adults to be in school until 18 unless they want to be. I think we can easily pay for excellent schools with tech for everyone by doing things like state lotteries, taxing casinos and yes, even decriminalizing and taxing marijuana. Colorado is on its way; yet Mississippi has long led the way in agriculture. Hell, we have the only legal place that grows it and studies it up in Oxford. Why are we letting them beat us to those millions?!

I think there is no will to do what has to be done because there is too much to be made off the low wage uneducated and often incarcerated work force by corporations who have "invested" heavily in Mississippi's Republican leadership.