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JSU to community: 'We're in your corner'
Anna Wolfe, The Clarion-Ledger 7 p.m. CST February 21, 2016
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Student teacher Edward Williams helps sixth-graders Keelyn Green, left, and Ashanti Shelton with an exercise in teacher Etoria Hill's math class on Friday at Blackburn Middle School in Jackson. Williams will graduate from Jackson State University in May and be ready for a classroom of his own in the fall.(Photo: Joe Ellis/The Clarion-Ledger)Buy Photo
For education students at Jackson State University, teaching is close to home.
Sophomore Corey Shaw, a Jackson native, grew up in an area just like the ones he now travels to through the university’s community engagement and mentoring programs.
“Those kind of people helped me growing up so I felt, when I came up, I could really be in their shoes," Shaw said. "This is an opportunity to give unto someone as they’ve done to me. Growing up, they got me on the right path."
Based on fall 2014 data compiled by the National Center for Education Statistics of the U.S. Department of Education, JSU ranks No. 1 for Historically Black Colleges and Universities that produce black male teachers.
“It’s no surprise to us,” said Daniel Watkins, dean of the College of Education and Human Development.
JSU’s College of Education has roughly 2,500 undergrads and graduates, Watkins said. Nationally, black males make up only 2 percent of the K-12 teacher population.
D’Audrek West, a sophomore, said he felt unsure about his decision to study education at JSU.
Then, he actually started working with kids.
“You start to look at things differently,” West said. “When you see the kids, you see yourself. It makes you want to do better, because you’re telling them to do better. You can’t tell them something that you wouldn’t do.”
West said he tells his students to set goals for themselves, and in doing so, he sets his own goals. Since he started teaching students in a literary program through the nonprofit Springboard to Opportunities, he’s raised his GPA to 4.0.
“When they see me, I can tell they’ve never just had that male to be in the situation I am, so I can tell they want to be like me and that’s good because education is a savior for a lot of us,” West said.
Almost 50 percent of the teaching students at JSU, Watkins said, come from Jackson Public Schools. And most of the students who graduate and become teachers end up staying.
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/local/2016/02/21/jsu-community-were-your-corner/80605920/
Anna Wolfe, The Clarion-Ledger 7 p.m. CST February 21, 2016
Student teacher Edward Williams helps sixth-graders Keelyn Green, left, and Ashanti Shelton with an exercise in teacher Etoria Hill's math class on Friday at Blackburn Middle School in Jackson. Williams will graduate from Jackson State University in May and be ready for a classroom of his own in the fall.(Photo: Joe Ellis/The Clarion-Ledger)Buy Photo
For education students at Jackson State University, teaching is close to home.
Sophomore Corey Shaw, a Jackson native, grew up in an area just like the ones he now travels to through the university’s community engagement and mentoring programs.
“Those kind of people helped me growing up so I felt, when I came up, I could really be in their shoes," Shaw said. "This is an opportunity to give unto someone as they’ve done to me. Growing up, they got me on the right path."
Based on fall 2014 data compiled by the National Center for Education Statistics of the U.S. Department of Education, JSU ranks No. 1 for Historically Black Colleges and Universities that produce black male teachers.
“It’s no surprise to us,” said Daniel Watkins, dean of the College of Education and Human Development.
JSU’s College of Education has roughly 2,500 undergrads and graduates, Watkins said. Nationally, black males make up only 2 percent of the K-12 teacher population.
D’Audrek West, a sophomore, said he felt unsure about his decision to study education at JSU.
Then, he actually started working with kids.
“You start to look at things differently,” West said. “When you see the kids, you see yourself. It makes you want to do better, because you’re telling them to do better. You can’t tell them something that you wouldn’t do.”
West said he tells his students to set goals for themselves, and in doing so, he sets his own goals. Since he started teaching students in a literary program through the nonprofit Springboard to Opportunities, he’s raised his GPA to 4.0.
“When they see me, I can tell they’ve never just had that male to be in the situation I am, so I can tell they want to be like me and that’s good because education is a savior for a lot of us,” West said.
Almost 50 percent of the teaching students at JSU, Watkins said, come from Jackson Public Schools. And most of the students who graduate and become teachers end up staying.
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/local/2016/02/21/jsu-community-were-your-corner/80605920/
