Blackburn releases Institute new curriculum

For years, the Blackburn Institute has taken pride in being a dynamic leadership organization at the University, carefully examining state and national problems and preparing young men and women to be tomorrow’s leaders.

Last Tuesday, the Institute presented a new curriculum for the academic year, called “Education in Alabama.”

Dealing with various facets of the state’s educational system, the Blackburn Institute Fellows will analyze three focal points of the new curriculum: the achievement gap, the government’s role in education and funding for both higher education and K-12 schools.
Last year’s curriculum dealt with workforce development in Alabama.

Marc Shook, director of the Institute, said the curriculum is primarily based on ideas that students as well as alumni want to discuss. The ideas are submitted by the Fellows in an exit survey at the end of the school year and are then reviewed by the Institute.
“We always want our students to be able to dictate what they’re most interested in and what keeps their attention best,” Shook said.

For many aspects of the education system the Fellows will take field trips to different schools around the state, specifically in the Black Belt region. These places include Moundville, Camden, Gee’s Bend and Anniston. From their traveling, the Fellows will be able to see these schools firsthand and be able to interact with teachers and administrators from these schools.

The issue of the achievement gap will also be brought into play, which is the difference between performance in achievement tests between students from poor, underdeveloped communities and students from wealthier ones. According to Shook, there is more to the achievement gap than meets the eye.

“Obviously, the achievement gap has more to do with people resources and teaching than just financial resources,” he said. “It has more to do with people than money.”
For examining the funding for higher education and K-12 schools, Shook said there will be case studies the Fellows will analyze in addition to traveling to see what these schools are facing financially.

“We’d like to examine the school districts that have made strides recently, especially those that aren’t the Mountain Brooks of Alabama [that have superior financial resources],” he said.

Erin Shirley, a sophomore majoring in health care management, will be entering her first semester as a Fellow. Shirley said although she didn’t partake in submitting ideas for the curriculum, she is still excited about what is to come.

“I’m looking forward to all the travel experience,” Shirley said. “I’m interested to learn about the communities that we’ll see.”

Shirley, who formerly worked for a Hispanic program at Alberta Elementary school called Hispanic Jumpstart, said she understands what is happening in the system, evidenced by the large number of Hispanic children who drop out of school due to financial reasons.

There will be an Institute event every week-and-a-half to two weeks, including discourse dinners and leadership lunches, where several prominent local figures will speak to the Fellows.

“At this point in time we are still lining those up,” Shook said.

Of special note will be the biannual Frank A. Nix lecture that will feature Frederik Willem de Klerk, former State President of South Africa from 1989-1994.

In 1993, he was a co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, along with Nelson Mandela. The lecture will be held on Friday, Oct. 17 at 10 a.m. in Sellers Auditorium, located in the Bryant Conference Center.

There are currently 70 Fellows on campus, both in graduate and undergraduate studies, and nearly 400 alumni Fellows, who also partake in curriculum events as well. The institute accepts about 25 students per year.