Appalachian Culture and Schooling

I read the article Appalachian Culture and Schooling written by Eva Thaller. The article seems to be written in to inform the public of current issues in education in the Appalachian Mountains. There are about 20 million people living in these Mountains. In 1990 54% of the population over 25 had neither a high school diploma nor GED. The article addresses why and gives suggestions on improvement.

            In Appalachian Education students are educated “only for the outside world and not for building prosperity at home.” This is an idea I had never thought about. As I was reading through the article the author kept going back to this idea. In the physical setting portion there is a beautiful comparison between the mountains of Switzerland and the Eastern KY Appalachia’s. Pointing out the people of Switzerland became successful by using good judgment about the bad land while KY mountaineers have become poor sitting on rich land. The author also talks about how people of the Appalachians Mountains are taught next to nothing about their own culture or heritage. People are encouraged to leave mountains to find a better life elsewhere. As a reader I kept thinking about motivation. What could motivate these people to value education?

The author suggests some things that could be done to improve graduation and literacy rates. One may to embrace the culture. It is easy for us to forget that dialect can affect reading and learning. As the Appalachian people have their version of an English dialect teacher often correct their language instead of embracing it. The author suggests and I would have to agree, allow children to use their dialect. As a teacher learn how your students pronounce words and teach from there. Applachians need to become familiar with their roots to increase self-esteem and help them learn it is acceptable to stay in the Appalachian Mountains if they choose to.  

This leads to the next point the author made about schools in Appalachia. School and home life are often two different worlds for these children. A lot of time, energy and brain power is used trying to remember rules and social norms not leaving enough space for academics. The author suggests making school life a bit more thing home. Allowing children to speak in their own dialect and tell or write stories how they may at home. She also suggests teachers should have expectations for these children’s abilities and achievements.

Last semester I took CFS 405, a class on professionalism, we spent an entire week on the people of the Appalachian Mountains. Even since then I jump on opportunities to learn more about culture, the people, and educational difference. Therefore, I really enjoyed this article.  Before 405 I never gave a second thought to these mountain people. I was embarrassed that it took me till a junior in college to learn of the poverty, lack of education, and struggles of people who live in such close proximity to me. This particular article really opened my eyes to the fact that these people really have a lack of motivation to graduate because professionals are always saying the grass is greener somewhere else and teacher write students off before they even try to challenge them. I think the author gave great suggestions on how to improve the educational system in the Appalachian Mountains.

If you are interested in learning more there is a great documentary with Diane Sawyer on youTube we watched in 405. It is a 5 part series A Hidden America: Children of the Mountains. Here is the link to part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dXPuh15Vmc