Editor, Commonwealth:
I commend Leflore County Supervisor Anjuan Brown for his willingness to tackle the chronic problem of the absenteeism within public schools (“Brown serving on task force on absenteeism,” Aug. 25). With a difficult task placed before them, Mr. Brown and the entire task force must be willing to take a nontraditional approach to combat this chronic problem of absenteeism in public schools.
Since the first day they open their eyes, students of today have had some form of technology placed before them. Vendors of technology have excelled in three categories: the interest of the student, the attention span of the student, and the learning style of the student — three categories that education has failed to acknowledge with the continued use of primitive methods such as paper, pencil, textbooks and lectures. These methods are commonly used in high-poverty areas.
When speaking of high- poverty areas, you must also take into consideration that the nature of the environment where students reside has a major impact on their interest in education. Do the people they idolize in the area value education? What is the success rate of the high school graduates who live near them?
Also, are we using the right verbiage with students in regard to success? Are we promoting that only way you can obtain success is via college? Not every student has the interest in going to college. Are we preparing students to become workforce-ready after graduation?
The Mississippi Department of Education task force against absenteeism has a tall task before it. It’s going to take a collective effort and nontraditional methods to improve the growing trend.
Kenderick Cox
Greenwood
