appalachian traditions

Today I read two interesting stories about the education system in BC. In the first story, the school that was to good to have me as a teacher, is going to have to cut 400,000 from their budget by this coming june. Maybe they should stop building new buildings and cut some programs that aren't necessary for graduation requirements. I'm looking at the ag programs. Those are going to be gone as soon as they get the chance. Ag is a class that bends to todays curricula and doesn't real teach agriculture anymore. All of the contests they make are for public speaking and good book keeping. Being able to farm is more a function of your family background and desire, not what you learn in school. That is going to be gone along the ways of shop class. They really should keep the fine arts programs though. I was never in any of them, but the practice and focus those programs teach their students is worth the time. If I was interested in taking even one year of any of them, I would have graduated with honors from my school, but I decided it wasn't important enough.

I also read about a principal who was unwilling to give me a chance. Two years now I have put my resume or interest in for a science education job. This summer when I went in and dropped of the paperwork they asked for, he told me something interesting. He told me that the person that I was applying to replace also had an ag certification. That seemed funny to me since when I applied the previous year he wasn't going to be able to hire me since I only had an ag certification. If he was going to lie to me about something, I don't feel sorry that he is under such scrutiny now. He tries to pawn off a student having a pocketknife at school out of his pocket in class as some type of "appalacian traditions."

While I do like to claim appalachia as where I am from, i don't think it has any bearing on me as a person. I lived in the westernmost ohio border of applachia for most of my life. Like many kids today, I rarely have a use for a pocketknife. I don't make moonshine, and have only had moonshine a couple of times. I am trying to learn the banjo, but mainly because I didn't think the guitar appealed to me. I may wear work boots more than tennis shoes nowadays, but that is more of a function of my lifestyle. Being a hillbilly is the farthest thing from most kids minds. Very few people find the appeal of living a simple life and staying in the hills of somewhere.