Local Haunts

So apparently Morgantown is pretty haunted. Regardless of whether or not you actually believe in ghosts or paranormal activity or whatever else you want to call it, you’re going to have to admit there are quite a few “sightings” in Morgantown. These so-called reports of activity vary from headless hitchhikers, to haunted library desks, and WWII GI’s, all within a fifty mile radius. Who knew our town had so many ghosts, haha? But how many of these are actually based on a viable story, rather than just a few urban legends passed on by some drunken college students with an active imagination? In my project, I will attempt to find data that serves as a basis for these myths, to see if there are actually facts behind the stories. This won’t be a full-blown Ghost Adeventures-esque project, but I will be attempting to find some truth behind the stories, even if it’s only a little bit.

-Re

Appalachian Plays Have Character

So last time I did a blog, there were dissenting opinions about the subject matter. My standpoint was that Shenkkan’s characters were stereotypical and one dimensional. Others disagreed and claimed that it didn’t matter that the characters were all negative traits with no real attempt to show their better sides, because it was in the name of entertainment. In response, I proposed a project to investigate if Appalachian playwrights perpetuated stereotypes and constructed shallow characters for the sake of keeping it entertaining, or if they cast aside the tired old stock characters and showed the better side of the Appalachian culture. Interestingly enough, I have found a mix of results. And—gasp!—the non-stereotype-perpetuating pieces were just as good if not better.

I found a treasure trove of plays by Appalachian playwrights (although most were from West Virginia) in the Folklife Center in Fairmont. Amongst them were Jean Battlo’s The Little Theater’s Production of “Hamlet”, Julia Davis’s Possessions, Clyde Ware’s one-act Best in Town, and eight plays by VictorDepta (of which I have read three and part and now have personal copies that I may read at my leisure [Thank you very much, Victor Depta and Phyllis Moore]).

Most of the plays I read did their best to combat the stereotypes surrounding Appalachia and its people. While still fraught with dialects and colloquialisms, they presented a sweeter side of Appalachians. Hard-working, caring, friendly. Battlo’s play even involved a New York director being sent to Kimball, WV to direct a community play and dreading every second of it. And the longer she stayed, the more she realized the people weren’t just hicks and hillbillies content to sit around with their shotguns and sip moonshine—these were real people with hopes and dreams and goals in life. People who were kind enough to welcome her whole-heartedly into their lives even when she was resistant to working with them and downright mean on occasion.

Victor Depta’s Egg of the World brought a very interesting perspective to my project. Similar in basic premise to Battlo’s play, Egg of the World involved a director and stage-manager from Ohio and New York respectively coming to a small town in WV to direct a play showing good things about the state. What they got were a sibling set of three who were so stereotypical that all you could do is slam your head against the table. They were poor, uneducated, religious, orphans (dad died in a slate fall, mom ran off with another man), and there was an entire section about their incest. I loved this play because at the end of it, the siblings had been so horribly stereotypical of Appalachians that the director and stage-manager looked at each other and wondered if the kids were messing with them.

Possessionsby Julia Davis was the only one that I could really compare to Schenkkan’s The Kentucky Cycle. As suggested by the name, the play was about greed. The greedy coal mine operator and a woman who would do anything to maintain the lifestyle to which she had become accustomed. But even in this play, the characters showed depth—not everything is black and white and it certainly wasn’t completely black like The Kentucky Cycle. Even though this play had a somewhat negative view of Appalachians, I include it, because, unlike Schenkkan, Davis showed an evolution of the characters and their greed. They were not greedy just because the author said they were. There was a logical progression of and explanation for their desires. The characters were not one dimensional.

-J

It's Traditional

A lot of what families in Appalachia do is based on tradition. We do it that way because that is how it was done in the old country, or that is how grandma’s people did it, or that it how we’ve always done it. How many of these traditions came from the Old World? And where exactly did they come from? How many were created right here in these mountains?

-M

Mining Project

 Each semester our class does projects on topics of our choice revolving around Appalachia. The only requirements are to get our idea approved and tie in a piece of writing to it. This semester I chose to create my project on mining. We already learned about how coal mines worked years ago, but we have not gotten into coal mining today. I have been researching equipment, mine accidents in recent years, and how the industry differs throughout the United States. I am also preparing to speak to some retired miners and state representatives in order to get their opinions about how the industry has changed throughout the years, as well as the pros and cons of it. Coal mining is a huge part of Appalachia’s, particularly West Virginia’s, economy. I feel that I have lived here all of my life and still have yet to understand a lot about it. My hope is for this project to teach me something I have not yet learned about the lives of many in my home region.                   

-R

Appalachian Woodland Skills

In my Appalachian Literature class we are doing a semester project. My project is going to be skills from the woods and how they were helpful in the American Revolution, Civil War, and in the Appalachian mountains. I'm going to make a PowerPoint with nothing put pictures of what shills you would need/they had, and I’m going to explain each skill and its use. Then I have a video that I made that has a bunch of different movie scenes that show each skill and how it was used in war and in the mountains. Sounds pretty cool, right?

-E

Ghosts and Folklore

For the past few days I have been reading ghost stories from various anthologies in an attempt to get a better understanding of folklore in the Appalachian area. It seems like the old phrase “hell hath no fury like a woman scorned” originated in our hills, because let me tell you, there are some crazy, vengeful lady ghosts... Jealousy in general is a very common theme in these stories. Other reoccurring themes include Civil War tales and, of course, miner ghosts. Folklore is one of the best ways to better understand a group of people because it shows their superstitions and their fears. What people fear is a very telling thing; it helps you get a better idea of who they are. Yet often pride acts as a veil keeping that side of them from sight; folklore lets us peak behind the veil…see the skeletons in their closet.

-C

Mothman

For my project I am researching the Mothman and its sightings, events surrounding it (such as the collapse of the Silver Bridge), and the truth as to whether Mothman was an actual supernatural being or just a hoax. I’m using the book The Mothman Prophecies as the basis for my research, but I am searching for another book to use as another source. The Mothman is a very complex being, and only one book doesn’t give the being justice. Another aspect of the legend I am researching is the numerous extraterrestrial and Men in Black sightings loosely associated with Mothman.  Although these types of sightings may not have anything to do with Mothman, they will help explain why Point Pleasant was the site of all these supernatural occurrences and is still investigated to uncover if Mothman is still around today.

-C

Local Restaurants

For my semester project in Appalachian Literatureover the course of April, I’ll be studying how local restaurants support and contribute to the community of Appalachia. To present my project, I’ll be making a video filmed from my iPhone to give a relaxed and casual feel. I’m planning on filming interviews with local restaurant owners asking questions that put local restaurants in a positive light. My friend Lucas is helping me film approximately five interviews from five different restaurants. Hopefully, since I work at a restaurant, I will be able to show how little chain restaurants affect the Appalachian culture as well. To apply the actual literature aspect, I’m looking into articles or blog posts online to help guide me and prove my point.

-M

Spring Time

Finally! The time of year we’ve all been waiting for: spring.  The weather’s warming up to the mid-60’s, low 70’s, the blossoms on the trees and ground are starting to peek through, and you can even hear the frogs at my grandma’s house.  There’s something about spring that makes me instantly happier.  April is the month that’s pushing the end of the school year, and when we can say that we’re nearing our due dates for second semester projects (presenting them the first week in May so by then we only have about three weeks left of school), we get very excited.  After thinking long and hard about ideas for my second semester project (with no success), it finally hit me: Movies!  Everybody loves movies (me especially) and if you don’t, you’re crazy.  It got me thinking again.  Why do people make so many movies about Appalachia?  What is it about Appalachia that is so interesting that it needs to be such a big topic of entertainment?  Why did they recently make a TV series about the infamous Hatfields and McCoys? Why make the Beverly Hillbillies back in the 60’s? Yeah, it’s not necessarily Appalachian, but it’s partially what started the redneck and hillbilly stereotypes people from Appalachia have to deal with today.  I want to find these answers for myself, so we’ll see what happens!

-K

The Kentucky Cycle Lacks Character

    I think it’s a general consensus throughout the classroom that Robert Schenkkan, author of The Kentucky Cycle, is a nincompoop. He is not Appalachian, had only spent a handful of days in Appalachia as part of a tour, and yet he took it upon himself to write this masterpiece about Appalachia and its people. I’m sure you’ll hear about how horribly he misrepresented mountain people from my classmates, so I’ll just discuss his shortcomings from a literary point of view.

     As an unbiased reader, I rather enjoyed The Kentucky Cycle. The plot was interesting—murder, intrigue, and greed always are. It kept me engaged, and I found myself clambering through the pages faster and faster, trying to get to the end. Part of what had me flipping pages was the desire to know how the events that just occurred would affect the next generation. Choosing to follow a single family through multiple generations and years was a good approach to the play, especially considering its major themes. So kudos to Schenkkan.

     He loses points, however, for his characters. They are certainly fascinating entities, that cannot be denied, but they are too one-dimensional. Schenkkan picked the worst traits and focused solely on those. This is understandable in the face of the prevailing theme, but still not acceptable. He presented stereotypes—stock characters. The hillbilly, the old fashioned coal miner, the abusive husband, the cheating husband, the greedy mountain man…the list just keeps going. In a well told story all characters should have many facets, but not even Schenkkan’s protagonists had that extra something that made them seem human. On the other hand, with the way the characters were presented, I’m not even completely sure there were any protagonists. But I digress. The point is Schenkkan wrote a play about stock characters. Anyone in theater will tell you that is a huge no-no. The characters should be complex individuals. They should seem so real that the audience expects to walk out of the theater and actually encounter the character in real life. A play about one-dimensional characters will always fall flat, just short of the best it can be.

-J

The Revenge Cycle

In my opinion The Kentucky Cycle should have been named The Revenge Cycle, hence the title above.  I say this because throughout the book there is this reoccurring theme of revenge.  Michael Rowen kills Earl Todd over the guns Todd sold to the Indians they later used it attack Zion. That’s just one of many instances of revenge in the Kentucky Cycle.  Now I’m tasked with tying revenge to the modern world. Is there revenge in the modern world? Oh yes, it’s everywhere! A few years ago there was a story of a man killing a whole family just because someone in that family ran over the man’s dog. In the killers eyes it was an eye for an eye. It was a way for him to cope with his dog’s death. I could sit here and give examples of revenge in today’s society, but I’m going to talk about why it happens. Revenge is a primitive, destructive, and violent response to anger, injury, or humiliation. It is a misguided attempt to transform shame into pride. Many governments, religions, traditions, and cultures provide guidance on when revenge may and may not be sought. Unfortunately this guidance is often unsatisfactory because it can lead to escalated violence.  So revenge isn’t anything to play around with. It has got many people the death penalty or a life time in jail. Revenge has no place in the world today. The passion for revenge is strong and sometimes almost overwhelming. But our intuitive logic about revenge is often twisted which makes it extremely dangerous. In many cases it could have avoided, in the Kentucky Cycle and in the real world. But in the Kentucky cycle it’s a stereo type in play. It depicts Appalachian people as violent people. But were not at all, if people would take the time to see us they would realize were just like them. We all know we can’t fix ignorance.

-L

I’ve always been told that I was an optimist. I agree, I’ve always tried to believe that there was always a solution, that there’s always hope… even if it takes a little longer than usual for hope to get there. And because I’m a diehard optimist, it will definitely seem like I’m biased when I mention that The Kentucky Cycle by Robert Schenkkan made life in Appalachia, life in Kentucky, way more awful and violent then it actually probably was.

Now don’t get me wrong; there was serious bloodshed in the mountains. Ever since the first settlers battled with the Native Americans, there was a history of violence and retaliation in Appalachia among locals, world powers, and the people who travel through it. There were infamous family feuds that made headlines, internal battles that set towns ablaze, and labor problems that turned into revolutions. There was definitely violence, but it was seemingly necessary violence. Schenkkan portrays violence as a natural aspect of a day-in-the-life, but he never experienced a day-in-the-life. What does he know aside from the mild slice of Kentucky that he actually saw and a few shows off of the History Channel?

Nottthhinngg!

Seriously.

All the research in the world doesn’t come close to actually sitting down into what you’re studying. While The Kentucky Cycle was perfect for entertainment purposes, unfortunately less informed people would be lead to wonder, “Oh my God, they still do that there?? D:” and form a few unbecoming stereotypes that have undoubtedly stuck with us since the time of its publishing.

-Re



           Throughout taking Appalachian Literature, I’ve learned reoccurring themes that are tied with the Appalachian Mountains and the people born and raised in Appalachia. The themes I’ve caught onto is revenge and poverty. Both the insider perspective, the author of Storming Heaven, had similar themes as the outsider of Appalachia, Robert Schekkan, the author of The Kentucky Cycle. Appalachians take offense to the themes and plots in the play and the book, but if it wasn’t somewhat accurate, why would both an author from Appalachia and an author that isn’t write about similar themes?

           Our area is known to be poor because we make ourselves out to be and outsiders believe it. Our pregnancy rate in West Virginia is so high which causes a lot of young moms to resort to welfare. Another financial issue is how many in the southern part of West Virginia rely on coal mining which in modern day; many mines have been closing down leaving those without much education jobless. In the past though, coal mining was expected as the man’s job and wages were low causing poverty. Poverty is everywhere but since we don’t hide the fact such as the southern part of West Virginia having a high poverty rate, outsiders of our region will attack on that idea.

            Revenge seems to be the main theme in most Appalachia books. Whether the author is from the area or not, they know to cover the theme of revenge. I think everyone knows to tie revenge with Appalachia because of the Hatfields and McCoys. Whenever someone thinks of Appalachia, one instant relation may be their story. Although revenge is seen in all parts of the world, it’s easier to attack Appalachia because we have a story like Hatfields and McCoys representing us to some people.

          I feel as if the themes in all the Appalachia books are self imposed. Outsiders and natives writing about Appalachia have to be inspired from something. A lot of the fictional books do get too far-fetched for what our area is actually like. Even though they do too get too far-fetched, I still believe there is a part that is said to be true or loosely tied and the writers just stem their idea off of that.

-M

Often, the people of Appalachia, especially West Virginia and Kentucky, are subject of stereotypes: stereotypes that are hurtful and offensive. But, if we stop and ask ourselves where these stereotypes came from, we might be surprised.

No stereotype springs from thin air. They must be based in some form of general truth. People today claim that West Virginians don’t wear shoes because their ancestors could not afford many shoes and tended to go barefoot and save them for Sunday meetings. People say we all make moonshine because moonshining was a common practice during depressions and the Prohibition as a way to support oneself and one’s family.

The one stereotype I don’t understand is inbreeding. It is not, and has not ever been, common here. Since the dawn of marriage as an institution, there has been a taboo against marrying members of one’s own family. Perhaps, since in the early years there were few families in the mountains, it comes from the marriage of cousins. If that is the case, however, why don’t people mock the aristocracy of the Old World instead, where the practice of marrying cousins, to “keep all that lovely money in the family,” was so common it is almost passé?

But I digress.

When Robert Schenkkan uses common stereotypes in The Kentucky Cycle, he does not create them. The stereotypes in his play existed already in society, and for good reason. The bloodthirsty Rowen family sprang from the average outsider’s idea of how the fiercely independent mountain people lived and behaved towards each other and strangers. These ideas aren’t wrong so much as…over-concentrated. A truth, that may have only been true sometimes, was boiled down into a generalization, which was further reduced to an extract or essence of behavior and mindset.

So, we could all benefit from a good lesson in letting it go. Schenkkan didn’t use stereotypes to make the people of Appalachia angry at him. He did it to sensationalize the play, to sell more seats, to make more money. Society doesn’t used stereotypes malignantly, just misguidedly. Since that’s not going to change any time soon, the only thing left to do is grin and bear it.

-M

Passion in Appalachian : an Observation of the Hatfield and McCoy Story and The Kentucky Cycle

Passion and Obsession. These are two things that can drive anyone to do anything. To be passionate or obsessed, depending on what connotation is appropriate for the situation, means that the person will not stop until their cause has been fulfilled. In many circumstances, passion (and sometimes even obsession) is great. Passionate people help save lives and jobs. There are a couple of cases, sadly, from Appalachian history that represent just the opposite.

An example of this is the feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys. What started out as a disagreement over land turned into an all-out war leading to many deaths on both sides. Both ‘Devil’ Anse Hatfield and Randall McCoy first had a passion for the land they each thought rightfully belonged to them. Later on this turned into an obsession with defeating each other that instead thoroughly defeated themselves and their families. The popularity of their feud grew to the point where it is now in history books, been transformed into a miniseries, and a popular topic of conversation in a 21^st century classroom.

When Robert Schenkkan first wrote the play The Kentucky Cycle, he was probably a bit passionate about exposing the Kentucky he very briefly saw to the rest of the world. What he may not have expected was the intensity of the uproar from the people of Kentucky and Appalachia in general. Schenkkan’s characters sure were passionate (obsessed) with many things that enhanced some already prominent stereotypes about the region. Michael Rowen killed and betrayed several people simply for land. He and the generations of his family were so obsessed and materialistic with their land that they were determined to eliminate (murder) any threat to it. The play ends with the family in pieces and the land being sold. Shortly after being released, many Appalachains became passionate about rejecting it.

Both stories about obsession started out with good intentions that later led to the destruction of many. What the Hatfields and McCoys as well as the characters in Schenkkan’s play failed to realize was that while being passionate about something important  can be good, it is important to stick with one’s own morals. It can be easily argued that Rowen did not have morals. Perhaps the Hatfields and McCoys just lost track of theirs. Appalachains are very passionate about what they care about: people, history, and many other great things. I find it unfortunate that the story of the feud as well as the play represent this negatively.

-R

Outsiders

                The Kentucky Cycle by Robert Schenkkan is the perfect example of Hollywood stereotyping Appalachia. They place the illiterate, anger prone male brute into the rural wilderness of Kentucky to “accurately” portray how all Appalachian people act. Natives to the region tend to react negatively to this stereotype, but in truth, this isn’t the first time Hollywood has glamorized the American “hillbilly”, but it was only start of a new millennium of Appalachian based films.

Movies based around the Civil War to about 1950 portray Appalachians to be the rugged, mountain men who have no sympathy for outsiders. For example, the television miniseries Hatfield’s and McCoy’s shows how ruthless and revenge-filled the mountain people are. The Kentucky Cycle shows this same view and the feuding that goes along with it. However, both of these works make the feuding and warfare between families seen as never-ending with no hope for a truce.

                Another large issue surrounding The Kentucky Cycle and Hatfield’s and McCoy’s is the fight for land. Michael Rowen begins the play by stealing land from the Cherokee tribe, a common act for settlers to do. The Hatfield’s and McCoy’s fought over timber rights on a mountain and who they actually belonged to. The Rowen’s wanted land to show their wealth and superiority over the Indians and to have a piece of land to give to heirs. The Hatfield’s and McCoy’s, however, wanted land for economic gain.

                In truth, feuding was very uncommon in the Appalachian region and rarely escalated to the legendary height of the Hatfield and McCoy feud. The feuding and fighting in The Kentucky Cycle amounts to nothing but worthless bloodshed over land and sanity. Movies and television try their hardest to make the area of Appalachia seem as ruthless as possible, even though it was a fairly civil area. For a change, why doesn’t Hollywood create a film about the actual Appalachia?

-C

Appalachian Education

To me, the words “high school” are a euphemism for “teenage day care facility”. Parents drop their tired and exhausted teenagers off at campus each morning before the crack of dawn and expect them to learn until 2:30 or 3 in the afternoon. In fact, most high school students would much rather sleep in the extra hour or two and come to school around 8:30 or 9 am, when there is light outside, making it easier to stay awake and pay attention in class. With a block schedule, students have to sit through 4 hour and a half classes each day, causing them to grow tired and restless especially in the morning.

            Sadly, there is plenty of teacher and administrative bias in the public school system. Teachers may teach their kids or their kids’ friends and give them leeway towards homework but not other kids in the class who are “unruly” or “not likable”. Another big issue in public schools is dress code, with some kids being able to get away with wearing extremely revealing clothes to school whereas some kids are called out for a shirt that looks fairly conservative compared to other scantily clad students. This bias is completely unfair and not particular to West Virginia. It happens all over the country and is not just an Appalachian education stereotype.

            Coming from an honors and AP level student, I have an extremely tough time focusing in a classroom setting. It’s not that I don’t understand the material (which I do); I just can’t sit through an hour and a half monotone lecture every day. Most high schools in West Virginia are structured just like every other school in the country: students arrive around 7 or 8 am, sit through hours of classes, and then leave at either 2:30 or 3 pm. The classes are set up for students who can learn by sitting in a classroom and listen to a teacher for hours on end. They are also set up to prepare kids for college, even though most classes do not prepare you for the real world.

            In almost every education system there is some sort of standardized test that is designed to measure student’s abilities. In West Virginia there is WESTEST, a four part test that is used to test student’s abilities in the core classes. The one flaw with this standardized test is that it tests kids on the material their grade level should be learning. However, with the amount of kid’s taking advanced placement classes, they most likely learned the material years before and might not remember it as well as a student who took the class that year. Therefore, the honors or AP student will not always do well on the standardized test and be forced to take a remedial course that they shouldn’t be in. The standardized tests need to be based on individual student and the courses they are taking, not on the core standards for that grade level.

            One of the things I would change about Appalachian school system is create more magnet schools dedicated to each child’s personal interests and hobbies and not about what the so called “average student needs.” By having magnet schools, students interested in the arts could have their own school; students interested in the sciences could go to another school, etc. Small classroom sizes are a must as well. Consolidating two or three smaller schools into a larger school is not the answer because students do not get the one on one comfort with their teachers like they did in the smaller school. Smaller schools can cater to a child’s individual needs, whereas the larger schools will lump certain groups of students together like cattle and send them on a fast paced journey to either struggle or survive.

            In the long run, Appalachian schools will lag behind the rest of the country if they continue to run on a very administrative biased school system, standardized tests, and consolidated schools. The schools need to be more catered to individual students who want to learn at their own pace instead of forcing kids to struggle in a large classroom setting where they can’t learn and will not succeed later in life.

                                                                                                                      -C

The Art of Invisibility

     Across the country, and in every school, there are those individuals that believe their time is best served outside the classroom. Just as in nature, the prey must hide from the predator. In my school, the predator is Officer Ball and the prey is the heavily camouflaged adolescents commonly known as, “rednecks”. These kids don’t like classrooms and classrooms don’t like cigarette smoke or tobacco juice. Now, although they may be evasive, they are also lazy. Their answer to avoiding our Officer is full camo. Cloaked in Mossy Oak and Realtree, these individuals are some of the best. They have gone through rigorous training programs to master their ability, sitting up in a tree for hours on end, just waiting for the perfect moment to take a shot. From the many triggers pulled, their index fingers have become used to moving quickly; the opportunity for the perfect hit is sporadic and somewhat random. They are impervious to cold weather, and just like a congregation of emperor penguins, they huddle in groups to stay warm; aided only by the fire in between their fingers.

     The art of invisibility is a skill that many don’t care on obtaining, for it represents the, “I’m better than everyone else,” attitude. From a young age children are taught to respect school, and use is to achieve their goals. These people that try so hard to turn invisible, have only achieved this because everyone else has stopped caring; it is no longer a teacher’s responsibility to track them down. They believe they are masters at what they do, associating their success to the massive amount of foliage located in the hallways. They never ask themselves if it is truly the camouflage that allows them to hide, or is it the camo itself, representing that they are a waste of time.  

  

                                                                                                                                                            

-K

What is a Grade?

     What is a grade? Is it a true measure of what you have learned? Of how much effort you put into your schoolwork? Or is it simply a letter?

      I live in a grade driven household. An ‘A’ is passing, ‘B’ is failing, and anything lower than that and you might as well just not come home, ‘cause it ain’t gonna be pretty when you do. Report cards are sacred things, the scriptures of the almighty grade. So I pour myself into my schoolwork, spending hours upon hours every night—every weekend—studying and completing work. Just so I can get a printed ‘A’ on that flimsy piece of paper. Which is fine, I guess, but I fry my brain a couple days before the test trying to remember everything, and the moment the test is over, I can’t remember a thing.

     Is that learning?

     Even more frustrating than not being able to remember what the heck I just learned is getting back a grade on an assignment or assessment that I sewed pieces of my soul into, and finding out I failed (as in, not an ‘A’). Then, when I look around, I see the people who did the assignment in ten minutes, writing down utter BS, get the A that I deserved. Did they learn? Did their grade accurately reflect the amount of effort they put into it? No.

     I understand the concept behind the grading system. If there is a numerical value assigned to how much information is learned, then it can be monitored. It’s easier to see when a student is struggling and in what class. It’s an easier way for academic programs and institutions of higher education to see how much a student knows and whether or not that student is worthy of admission or is educated. But there are ways to trick the system.

     Last year I had a teacher who called them “cream-puff grades,” but no matter what they’re called, they have the same purpose: to save or kill a grade. When completed, a cream-puff grade can save your GPA by balancing out poor test scores. If left undone, they can be your undoing. These little froo-froo assignments (i.e. worksheets, charts, maps, practice problems, homework) might be meant to make sure you are learning (see argument above), but all they do is pad your grade. However, if for some reason they end up as a zero in the gradebook, you can kiss your perfect GPA good-bye.

     My friends are smart. Really smart. Most of them are probably smarter than me. But they are lazy procrastinators. Not a judgment, a statement of fact. They forget to do their homework. And their grades suffer. Just because they didn’t do the homework doesn’t mean they don’t know the information. Just because I did do the homework doesn’t mean I understand the information. In a system where a student is only a test score, learning is becoming less and less important.

     I truly feel that standardized testing will be the downfall of our nation. Teachers spend nine months of the year teaching us the state test at the end of the year. Essentially, we’re memorizing the answers to the test. That isn’t learning. That’s regurgitation.

     Schools should be teaching life skills. If we’re going to bother with math, then teach us how to balance our checkbooks and make smart investments. Not a bunch of mumbo-jumbo we’ll never use. Instead of chemistry, teach us how to cook.

     More than that, though, schools should teach what the students want to learn. Shoving information down our throats doesn’t mean we learned it. In classes that I enjoy, that I really want to learn about, I remember more of the information after the test. I start to acquire skills that I carry on through the next year. In classes that don’t interest me—pfft, I’m lucky if I remember enough to take the test at all.

     Learning should be an experience to be enjoyed—a process that makes us better people—not something that is required by law. Just because a body is in a seat does not mean the mind is there too.

     (Oh, dear Lord, please help me. My AP English has leaked into my Appalachian Literature. Darn you, Hume and your blasted is-ought principle!)

     The best way to get the actual act of being educated into the education system is to nix standardized testing, do away with traditional grades, and allow students to choose all of their classes. Standardized testing is so flawed that it cannot even come close to accurately measuring a student’s knowledge. Especially considering that there a numerous ways to trick the computers that grade the tests. Can anyone say Writing Assessment? (Please refer back to my point about BS-ers and perfect grades. Again.)

    Let’s trash the traditional grading system. It can be fooled into thinking a person is much smarter than they really are. It can leave a truly intelligent person behind in the dust. Switch to holistic scores that don’t need a specific numerical value—that don’t look at a heap of inconsequential nothings, but instead evaluate the work as a whole. Assess work on how much effort went into it as well as how well it conveys the student’s knowledge. Or better yet, how about no grades at all? How about conversations one-on-one between the teacher and student to judge how much the student really learned—not just memorized.

    Beyond that, forcing a student into a class that does not even remotely appeal to them is a recipe for disaster. At an elementary school level it might be acceptable. Elementary and middle schools lay a base knowledge for higher education, and when you’re that young, you don’t really know what you want to learn. But by high school, students have at least a vague idea of what they plan to do with their lives. At the very least, they know what classes interest them. Let kids choose all of their classes in high school. Don’t tell them what classes they must take. And watch the attendance rates climb. Watch habitual skippers actually come to class. Watch individual scores and grades (if you insist on keeping them) soar. Watch us learn.

~J

Education

The educational system of West Virginia is built to a high quality, but there are several parts of it that create a sense of unnecessary institutionalization revolving around a struggle for faculty to meet the standards of test makers and government officials. Statistic-building forces such as the Westest, Writing Assessment, Acuity, and more force teachers to enforce a cookie-cutter curriculum that takes from the personalization and deep level of comprehension that students require for a well-rounded education. There is also a degrading sense of unfairness between teachers and students.

The school systems of the United States have evolved in recent years to care mainly about tests scores and “No Child Left Behind.” Teachers have a set of things they must teach in a certain order or their students may not pass the dreaded Acuity tests or the majorly flawed system involving the Westest. I understand that these tests are designed to ensure students are learning the things they need to know, but it forces teachers to focus less on things that may be useful but not on the test. The Westest is the big one. Apparently, if the school does not meet a certain scoring, there is a problem. I do not wish to offend any school officials, but honestly, do you really think that forcing kids to take a standardized test early in the morning when they honestly don’t care about it is the best way to judge a school? It also does not help that the test is so standardized, advanced students are forgotten. For example, I have been in an advanced math class since the eighth grade, meaning I took Geometry in ninth grade instead of the usual Algebra 1. The time for Westest came and instead of being given the math test for geometry (the subject I had focused on all year) I was given the standard Algebra 1 test. Tell me that in some way this is fair. This not only is a problem for math classes though. High schools offer many different types of classes to get their math, social studies, english, and science credits. It would be more sensible to give each kid the tests relatable to their schedule. It would certainly make scoring more accurate. A few years ago, the Westest was “improved” by adding the yearly writing assessment into the English score. I could into this unfairness but I’ll just leave that to three words “West Virginia Writes.” To those who may be unaware of what this is, it is an online essay writing program designed to prepare students of all ages for the Writing Assessment. It goes on a scoring system of 1-6 (6 being the highest), but it is severely flawed to the point where adding the word e-bay to an essay can boost your score by 3 points (Yes, school board, I have witnessed this happen). Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate that the schools want to ensure their teachers are actually teaching, but perhaps in-person evaluations of classrooms and students would be less unjust.

While we are on the topic of unfairness, I would like to touch on a subject that I am positive many of my fellow bloggers have gone in-depth about: truancy. At my school, there are kids who cut class (many students refer to them as the “skippers”) that loiter around campus and not a thing is said or done to them. It has amazed me the lack of interest administrators have in these everyday offenders. The second a good student leaves campus to buy the lunch that they missed due to a lengthy test (which I understand is still breaking the rules), they are arrested. Arrest the kids that are always doing it then! That is called fairness. Those kids are doing the same thing, give them the same punishment! It may just be a problem at my school, but I have a nagging feeling it is not. Maybe this is because some  teachers are more concerned about the concrete rules than the fact of the matter. As I mentioned earlier: institutionalization.

I love my school. It is the best high school in the county, but I feel like there are some things that could be changed in it that would be beneficial.

                                                                                 -R