West Jackson Learning Center is the alternative school in the Jackson-Madison County School System. It houses upper-school students and as of last year, seventh and eighth graders, after the closing of South Highland Learning Center.

The student body of West Jackson Learning Center is majority black males, with whites making up approximately 1 percent, according to Burrows.

In Burrows' class, he doesn't celebrate black history month; instead, it is subject matter for the entire school year.

"I like to approach students in a non-conventional way," he said.

And that he does.

Burrows wants his students to read "Fences," a play written by August Wilson, but also the poetry written by the late rap artist Tupac Shakur.

"The students use the writings to relieve stress, anxiety in life," he said.

Another benefit in asking his students to write their feelings about what they read or films that they've viewed is that it helps them to prepare for the upcoming writing assessments for 11th-graders in the Jackson-Madison County School System.

"I don't have students that don't pass the writing assessment," said Burrows, who has been at the school for five years.

Burrows recently recognized two of his students for expressing themselves well on their latest writing challenge.

Rakevius Cole, an 11th-grader, thought English was a boring subject before Burrows' class.

"I didn't like it, it has always been boring to me," said Cole, who was awarded a dinner at Reggi's and recognized as student of the month for writing his essay, "The Black Revolution is more than a struggle," which are lines from a 1969 message from Martin Luther King Jr.

Cole likes to write rap lyrics in his spare time and was surprised in class Thursday as he listened to Burrows read a poem of Tupac's titled, "The Rose That Grew From Concrete."

"Tupac wrote that?" Cole questioned. "I didn't know he was that deep."

But 12th-grader Johnathan Dancer did.

"I always knew he was deep," said Dancer, who wrote his essay about the poem.

"His deep respect for women caught me by surprise," said Dancer referring to Tupac, who was widely known for lyrics that use derogatory terms to address women.