MTSUMBA

Megan Hunter of Cheatham County is not only a great basketball player but also a great student as well. I recognized Megan's potential as a freshman and knew that she would develop into a great player. Megan will certainly become an excellent player at the college level. However, she still has one more year to play in high school and will be one of the premiere players in the mid-state next season.

Not agreeing with Tennessee’s 48th place is your prerogative. But according to the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, Tennessee’s high school graduation rate for 2002 was is a mere 57 percent, ranking it 48th among the 50 states. Only Georgia and South Carolina had lower rankings. I don’t believe Tennessee’s graduation rate has improved since 2002. Data shows that Tennessee's graduation rate, low as it is, actually deteriorated over time. In little more than a decade, Tennessee's graduation rate declined 12 points, from 69 percent in 1991 to 57 percent in 2002. That gives Tennessee the distinction of not only having one of the lowest graduation rates in the nation, but also one of the steepest declines during that period. This data demonstrates there is ample cause for concern about Tennessee's long-range ability to compete in the new global, information-oriented economy. Education is the best way to prepare Tennessee’s children to compete in the new knowledge economy but from my experience, Tennessee’s public schools have failed in this endeavor. Last year, I was told by another teacher of a rural middle Tennessee high school that “the vast majority of our students will be unemployed.” When I attempted to arrange a partnership between this high school and the town’s largest employer, I was discouraged by the school’s Vocational Director. He told me that when he attends vocational conferences, he is often told that “our graduates lack basic skills." More specifically, he said "they are unable to do basic math and cannot write well.” I have taught in enough Tennessee public schools to know that this is not an isolated problem. Recent reports even show that most Tennessee high school graduates cannot even fill out a job application. That is very sad.

I agree with the astute comments made regarding Hillwood’s plight. It is obvious that the students who attend Hillwood do not live in the vicinity of where the school is located and are bused from low income areas of Nashville. Because the parents who live near Hillwood send their children to private schools or to magnet schools, there is a disproportionate number of students at Hillwood who come from the projects or from the inner city and they feel no real connection with Hillwood High School. I personally cannot blame parents for choosing to send their children to private schools considering that Tennessee’s public school’s are ranked 48th in the nation and show no evidence of improvement. Unfortunately many of the problems that exist at Hillwood also exist at the other Metro schools because the majority of the academic students are choosing to attend either magnet or private schools which tends to diminish the overall quality of metro schools.

Abby Lawson should be MVP.

For your information catfish, Brian Lake quit MTSU's basketball team right before Middle played Western Kentucky in Bowling Green. Apparently Lake lost his desire to play. Lake left Middle in good academic standing so hopefully he will complete his education at another university. He had played in all 12 games this season, including four starts, and averaged 6.3 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. Lake scored a career-high 17 points in a win over Florida Atlantic Dec. 21 and had actually made a recent progression, averaging eight points and shooting 57 percent from the field over his last four games. Lake was a Mr. Basketball finalist at Bolivar High School, where he led his team to a state title at the Murphy Center. He was named TSSAA Class AA state tournament MVP.

Golden Tate certainly has to be in the Mid State. Golden can make it happen on both sides of the football. Yes sir, Number 23 is an awesome player to watch on both offense and defense.