Mode of Program Participation
Academic Scholarship
Participation Type
Paper
Presentation #1 Title
Extreme Hopes: Creating Cultural Capacities in the urban middle school through Appalachian Studies
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
Durham, North Carolina seems far removed from Appalachia, its culture, and struggles. Once a major agricultural hub, Durham has transformed itself socially, economically, racially, and culturally. Teaching in a predominantly African American and Hispanic, high-poverty middle school is a challenge for someone from Central Appalachia. Initially, I feared I would find few similarities with students back home in southwest Virginia, but they do exist. Placing instruction within a disenfranchised student’s reality can be a daunting and scary task for both student and educator. Using Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed to root classroom instruction, it becomes essential to create a teacher-student relationship within the context of reality. Using the realities of others enables students to explore those realities in a non-threatening, but eye-opening manner. As Freire suggests, having the teacher move away from the role of a narrative character enables students to take control of their learning, establishing a greater sense of self. Students also develop the ability to look at cultures more critically; others as well as their own. I use Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam, Kettle Bottom by Diane Gilliam Fisher, and the study of coal in Appalachia in order to examine disenfranchisement in two locations and cultures. Although the communities experience different struggles, students find their own voices while examining the characters and situations introduced aforementioned works. A cultural study rooted in literature enables students to examine practices and conditions in a less threatening manner than if they were putting their own culture under the microscope.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Shai Cullop is a 7th generation southwest Virginian. She is currently a 6th grade teacher in Durham, North Carolina.
Extreme Hopes: Creating Cultural Capacities in the urban middle school through Appalachian Studies
Durham, North Carolina seems far removed from Appalachia, its culture, and struggles. Once a major agricultural hub, Durham has transformed itself socially, economically, racially, and culturally. Teaching in a predominantly African American and Hispanic, high-poverty middle school is a challenge for someone from Central Appalachia. Initially, I feared I would find few similarities with students back home in southwest Virginia, but they do exist. Placing instruction within a disenfranchised student’s reality can be a daunting and scary task for both student and educator. Using Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed to root classroom instruction, it becomes essential to create a teacher-student relationship within the context of reality. Using the realities of others enables students to explore those realities in a non-threatening, but eye-opening manner. As Freire suggests, having the teacher move away from the role of a narrative character enables students to take control of their learning, establishing a greater sense of self. Students also develop the ability to look at cultures more critically; others as well as their own. I use Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam, Kettle Bottom by Diane Gilliam Fisher, and the study of coal in Appalachia in order to examine disenfranchisement in two locations and cultures. Although the communities experience different struggles, students find their own voices while examining the characters and situations introduced aforementioned works. A cultural study rooted in literature enables students to examine practices and conditions in a less threatening manner than if they were putting their own culture under the microscope.
