Purcell-Gates

"Having seen two of my own children through elementary schools and having garnered a wealth of experience with schools in general, I knew that teachers, specialists, and administrators would have created quite a big fuss if any middle-class child finished first grade knowing how to read only one word. Parents would be called and consulted, assuming they hadn't already been haunting the school corridors, testing would have been recommended and carried out, the instruction and teaching would have been questioned and examined, and elaborate educational plans drawn up to remediate this issue would have been drawn up. But no notice was taken of Donny's failure to learn."

I thought that this paragraph really illustrated the double standard that the article talked about. The difference in the educational quality between poor students and middle-class students is alarming. So many assumptions are made about certain students, like the boy Donny in the article, that they never really have a chance to succeed from the beginning. I know that we all know teachers who do this, put their students into boxes and categories even before the first day of class. Just like the teacher in the article who made assumptions upon hearing Donny's mother speak, these teachers believe that there is no hope for these students to read because of judgments made about their parents or background. Every student should be given a blank slate and an equal chance to succeed regardless of their home life or prior experience.

Mountaineer

Do you think that West Virginia has been able to hang onto our traditions and way of life to a greater degree than other states? If so, why?
I think that West Virginia has more of a connection to its traditions and past than other states. I think one reason for this is that the population of West Virginia is older than most states. West Virginia is one of the oldest states in the United States, meaning there is a higher percentage of elderly people living in this state. Most of these people have been here their entire lives because West Virginia, unlike states like Florida, is not a retirement destination. These people have lived in one place their entire lives and have very strong roots here, meaning they are going to uphold the traditions and way of life that they has been all they know. This also means that young people are moving out of the state, so new ideas have a harder time taking hold. What does this mean for the future? As the older generations go, and the younger generation has moved away, what will that mean for the culture and way of life of West Virginia. I think we will have to reinvent ourselves and our way of life. Perhaps with a mixture of old and new ideas.

Some West Virginians stereotype their own. Do you ever use the phrases "poor white trash", "hillbillies", or "hicks?" Are there parts of West Virginia you avoid because of the people that live there? Are you ashamed of these areas? Why do you think these areas exist? What is being done to help these areas?
Yes I definitely think that there is a difference between different parts of the state. Being from the "civilized" area of the state (Fairmont-Morgantown area), I almost find myself proud that I live here and not some of the more rural areas. A lot of the difference has to do with money. There is serious poverty in some parts of the state, and it definitely shows with the quality of life that these impoverished people live. You can see it in their houses, their cars/trucks. I think this is where a lot of the stereotypes come from, it just boils down to money. However, there are definitely places I would not want to end up alone at in the middle of the night. I know that there are charities set up solely to help people in southern Appalachia, but I don't know how successful they are. I imagine that these charities get lost in the storm of other charities that are out there, and it would be hard to make America understand the situation here.