Want more info on Jackson, please. Thanks! (Memphis, Dyersburg: credit, employment)

[strumpeace]

Call Mr. Wood in the Tennessee Room at the Jackson-Madison County Library. 731-425-8600. Good guy with lots of good info.

[titanfan07]

I think your enrollment figures are a little off. Union Universities full-time enrollment is nearing 3000. Jackson State does have the largest enrollment. It had semi-dorms for a very short period but it didnt last long. The dorms are still there but it was for sale last time I saw them. Jackson does not get tornadoes every year as someone mentioned. The last was in May of 2004. I really wouldnt base a move on tornadoes though because they are completely unpridictable and can happen anywhere at any time. ( The first one we had in Jackson was in January in south Jackson. Yep, north Jackson is the hot spot now, especially around the pro ballpark, but u can find nice homes, neighborhoods, and subdivisions throughout. I live just north of the old hickory mall and i love it. We bought a home in a quiet new subdivision that has all the charm of one in noth of I-40 Jackson but for thousands less. My parents live in a northeast subdivision named Evergreen. There house was recently appraised for over $300,000 when u can fin one similar where I am for $200-$250's range. All in all I like it here. Not to big, not to small. The public schools arent the best but they are better than alot of areas. And I wouldnt suggest moving to Medina for the schools. The schools actually ranked near the bottom in Gibson County in recent test and the population growth has completely overwelmed the town. Very high property taxes and over priced housing is taking over. They raised the taxes 60 cents to pay for the new high school and thats just the start of it. People that I know regret moving there now.

[strumpeace]

Originally Posted by titanfan07

I think your enrollment figures are a little off. Union Universities full-time enrollment is nearing 3000. Jackson State does have the largest enrollment. It had semi-dorms for a very short period but it didnt last long. The dorms are still there but it was for sale last time I saw them. Jackson does not get tornadoes every year as someone mentioned. The last was in May of 2004. I really wouldnt base a move on tornadoes though because they are completely unpridictable and can happen anywhere at any time. ( The first one we had in Jackson was in January in south Jackson. Yep, north Jackson is the hot spot now, especially around the pro ballpark, but u can find nice homes, neighborhoods, and subdivisions throughout. I live just north of the old hickory mall and i love it. We bought a home in a quiet new subdivision that has all the charm of one in noth of I-40 Jackson but for thousands less. My parents live in a northeast subdivision named Evergreen. There house was recently appraised for over $300,000 when u can fin one similar where I am for $200-$250's range. All in all I like it here. Not to big, not to small. The public schools arent the best but they are better than alot of areas. And I wouldnt suggest moving to Medina for the schools. The schools actually ranked near the bottom in Gibson County in recent test and the population growth has completely overwelmed the town. Very high property taxes and over priced housing is taking over. They raised the taxes 60 cents to pay for the new high school and thats just the start of it. People that I know regret moving there now.

Ummm, I think I wrote that Union had around 2,500 students. How far off from 3,000 is that?

And as far as the Medina schools, as most anyone in the Memphis suburbs can tell you, when white flight begins and overwhelms nearby small towns, of course the schools are going to be overwhelmed and underperforming. That, however, is typical and is a passing condition. I'm sure that within a relatively short time, Medina's schools will be just fine.

Jackson-Madison County schools, btw, rank near the bottom in the entire state -- not too far from where Memphis schools rank. I'd take my chances with one of Jackson's great private schools or a Gibson County school anyday. I was educated in the old Jackson City School system (Alexander, Tigrett, Jackson Central-Merry). The city and county systems consolidated when I was a junior at JCM. I can truly say that I cannot imagine receiving a less adequate education than I received in those schools. Embarrassingly bad.

[titanfan07]

Originally Posted by strumpeace

Ummm, I think I wrote that Union had around 2,500 students. How far off from 3,000 is that?

And as far as the Medina schools, as most anyone in the Memphis suburbs can tell you, when white flight begins and overwhelms nearby small towns, of course the schools are going to be overwhelmed and underperforming. That, however, is typical and is a passing condition. I'm sure that within a relatively short time, Medina's schools will be just fine.

Jackson-Madison County schools, btw, rank near the bottom in the entire state -- not too far from where Memphis schools rank. I'd take my chances with one of Jackson's great private schools or a Gibson County school anyday. I was educated in the old Jackson City School system (Alexander, Tigrett, Jackson Central-Merry). The city and county systems consolidated when I was a junior at JCM. I can truly say that I cannot imagine receiving a less adequate education than I received in those schools. Embarrassingly bad.

Actually I was talking to pearlbob about the student body at Union. He said 1200. So calm down. Yes u are right that the schools now rank near the bottom. I completely agree. Jackson residents actually know why this is however. Your "white flight" also applies to Jackson. What was supposed to be racially balanced schools, which it was when I went, is completely off now. And the schools that are in predominantly minority neighborhoods are being ignored and the predominantly white schools are getting the funding and the best teachers and best students because now they apply to magnet high school and they pic and choose who they want. And you might want to check where the states last 11 academic decathalon champions were from.... yes Jackson. They also won the national championship in Hawaii this year. If you arent very educated you might want to blame yourself and not your schooling. My two older sisters went through and graduated from Jackson Madison County schools and I did as well. We all graduated with highest honors and all attended and graduated from college, University of Memphis and MTSU. Non with GPA's lower than 3.25. And so many others have as well. So dont blame JMCSS for you not being smart enough once you got to college.

[Pearlbob]

I got the # of 1200 from another poster. I had never even heard of the school before.

I don't think strumpeace said he was too dumb for college. He said the education he got in his high schools was not adequate. I'd say the same thing about my high school education in the midsouth as well. When I moved here as a kid I found myself being taught the same stuff I had learned elsewhere years earlier. And also being taught and retaught the same thing all year long, to help the slower students.

The problem in those type of schools isn't the people necessarily, it's just the way public schools are these days. You can only teach at the level of the lowest student in the class. Therefore those students who are very intelligent end up being bored and not learning as much as they could. That's what AP classes are for, but many small schools dont' offer that. Which is why parents want their kids to go to magnet schools or private schools. For the most part, the classes are faster paced and don't have to be, for lack of a better word, "dumbed down" for students. Also with special ed laws now, many times the teacher just isn't able to give enough attention to those stronger kids because they spend so much time one on one with the lower ones. In circumstances like that, it's not hard to graduate with honors.

Anyway, off the soap box Bottom line is, if you are smart, you are smart and can make A's anywhere. If your high school doesn't prepare you well enough for college, then that just means you have to work a little harder your freshman year.

[titanfan07]

Originally Posted by Pearlbob

I got the # of 1200 from another poster. I had never even heard of the school before.

I don't think strumpeace said he was too dumb for college. He said the education he got in his high schools was not adequate. I'd say the same thing about my high school education in the midsouth as well. When I moved here as a kid I found myself being taught the same stuff I had learned elsewhere years earlier. And also being taught and retaught the same thing all year long, to help the slower students.

The problem in those type of schools isn't the people necessarily, it's just the way public schools are these days. You can only teach at the level of the lowest student in the class. Therefore those students who are very intelligent end up being bored and not learning as much as they could. That's what AP classes are for, but many small schools dont' offer that. Which is why parents want their kids to go to magnet schools or private schools. For the most part, the classes are faster paced and don't have to be, for lack of a better word, "dumbed down" for students. Also with special ed laws now, many times the teacher just isn't able to give enough attention to those stronger kids because they spend so much time one on one with the lower ones. In circumstances like that, it's not hard to graduate with honors.

Anyway, off the soap box Bottom line is, if you are smart, you are smart and can make A's anywhere. If your high school doesn't prepare you well enough for college, then that just means you have to work a little harder your freshman year.

Do you think thats acceptable? Some kids arent as smart as others so you separate them? What happened to no child left behind? And what happens to the kids that are intelligent but couldnt get into the magnet school or the ones whose parents cant afford private schools? Tough luck you are stuck in the bad schools with the dumb kids? I just dont believe thats the way it should be. When I was going to school it was all zones and no magnet high schools. Students took the classes they needed to graduate. If you couldnt keep up u failed. No need to separate them. That will happen anyway. How can you prepare students for life if they are constantly separated by race, social class, and intelligence? All of the high schools in Jackson offer AP classes and thats a great thing. What about the regular classes that are necessary to graduate. If you separate you end up with underachieving classrooms and excelling classrooms. Which affects the teachers. The teacher with a "smart class" is going to love teaching and be motivated to try harder and push the students to try harder. But what happens to the "dumb class" teacher? The students arent getting it as quickly and it will eventually wear down the teacher to the point that they stop trying. The result? Underachieving students = teachers giving up = bad test scores = bad schools. Segregation is hardly the answer. Whether its race or achievement levels.

[Pearlbob]

Who said anything about separating kids by race?! This isn't the 50's.

Ask any teacher if they think "no child left behind" is working well. You'll get your answers there.

[strumpeace]

I graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in History from Lambuth University (gpa=3.51). I also hold a Master of City and Regional Planning degree from the University of Memphis (gpa=3.79). I'll be starting work on a Ph.D. in Public Policy next year, as well. I think I'm doing ok.

[defiepilex]

regarding your concern about the teachers in the AP classes and the teachers in the regular classes, in most high schools, the teachers teach both regular and AP classes, so i think the loathing and loving of teaching is more on the teachers rather than the intellect of the students. things maybe slightly different since you were in school, we dont seperate by race anymore.

[strumpeace]

I had to run, so I wasn't able to finish my thought in my last post...

As demonstrated through my several posts about Jackson, I think Jackson overall is great. I have written many good things about Jackson. However, I try to be objective. Jackson, like any other town, has both good and not-so-good. I pointed out that Jackson schools are not good.

Yes, I know about Madison's Academic Decathlon team. I was on the Academic Decathlon team at JC-M for two years when Teresa Luna was there. It was a great experience. However, you must understand that the Academic Decathlon team consists of nine members; that team is hardly representative of a school district with thousands of students. When I was at JC-M, we had a great football team (featuring Al Wilson); the fact that a few dozen guys could play football well did not mean that everyone in the entire school district was a good athlete.

Again, there is good and bad about Jackson. Jackson has a hard time retaining the 'best and brightest.' (If you need evidence, find out how many of those Academic Decathlon folks came back to Jackson after college. From the two teams on which I was a member, I can count the number who now reside in Jackson on one finger.) Yet, Jackson is growing, and many young families are finding the Jackson area to be a great place to raise a family. Good points and bad points -- Every town has them. Someone pointed out on a thread a few days ago that we're not the Chamber of Commerce; it's ok to point out bad experiences in a place.