Guest Commentary :
Education forums focus on future vision
BY JOE NOSEF
As Chief Counsel to Governor Barbour, I have had the opportunity to play a part in some of Mississippi’s most important legal issues during the past year. From helping pass what The Wall Street Journal called “one of the most comprehensive tort reform laws in the nation”, to assisting the Governor in appointing Mississippi Supreme Court and Court of Appeals Judges, to resolving legal questions concerning Medicaid reform, this job has given me a new appreciation for my chosen profession.
However, as a Delta native and father of two daughters, I have also gained new appreciation for the role education plays in our lives – particularly in the lives of those of us fortunate enough to live in Mississippi.
It all starts with education. We cannot create more and better jobs without an educated workforce. We cannot have stronger families without parents who pass the value of learning on to their kids. We cannot sustain a community that is uneducated. Public education is the number one quality of life issue in our state, so education must be one of the top priorities of state government.
I believe developing policy is better when you let more people participate. Last December, the Governor’s Job Creation Summit brought together several hundred elected officials and business leaders – Republicans and Democrats – and was an important beginning to improving the jobs outlook for Mississippi. Several of the priorities from the Summit became law – including tort reform and workforce development improvements.
The Governor is using that same model for education. This fall, there will be four education forums to focus Mississippi’s energies on reshaping our approach to education.
The Governor’s Teacher Advisory Council Meeting took place September 23 in Jackson and involved 175 teachers from across Mississippi who advised the Governor on issues relating specifically to classroom instruction.
The Early Childhood Education Forum, held September 28 in Tupelo, convened Head Start, Pre-K, Childcare Providers, and DHS officials who discussed Mississippi’s current efforts in early childhood education and ways to enhance them.
The National Governors Association Teacher Forum is a national event that was held in Biloxi October 18-19 featuring governors, advisors, legislators, and teachers from around the country to discuss recruitment and retention of teachers, and issues relating to teacher quality.
All of these events will culminate with the Mississippi Education Summit, October 26-27 in Jackson, which will bring together teachers, administrators, legislators, and business leaders to discuss education improvement issues with national and local policy experts.
Recently, education discussions in Mississippi have been only about money. The Governor rightly believes this is the wrong approach. We need to focus on fundamentals, not just funding. As the Governor has said over the past year, a computer in the classroom is a good idea – but discipline in every classroom is a better idea. Teacher recruitment and retention, pay-for-performance, career advancement ladders for teachers, discipline, accountability in spending, and better use of technology in the classroom are issues that we will consider and that we will seek proposals to address. They need to be taken seriously, and the Governor wants to explore them in an open, participatory setting.
These education forums will offer us a chance to set a vision of education
in Mississippi that calls for high standards at every level, leads the nation with a can-do attitude, and leaves behind old ways of thinking about what our children can and cannot do. For too long, we have judged a politician’s commitment to education by how much money he is willing to spend. It is time we judge politicians by the results they demand and achieve for our children. DBJ
(Joe Nosef serves as Chief Council on Governor Haley Barbour’s staff.)
