"Being authentic..." An excellent goal. You do know that Tom Johnson (of metaphor fame) and John T. Spencer are one and the same person, correct? I am not sure you can escape technology even in deepest Appalachia. Perhaps. I lived on the fringes of Appalachia in 1948 when electricity first came to East Tennessee. One family who lived near our farm would not allow electricity near their house, so maybe you could still be correct. That family, however, finally gave in and even got an electric stove and a washing machine. Life will not change for those who live there if they do not master the new tools, however. And what responsibilities do we have? Do we help protect the past from the future? Or do we try to eliminate the past with the future? You could (and people do) argue both ways.
Have you read Night Comes to the Cumberlands: A Biography of a Depressed Area by Harry M. Caudill and James K. Caudill. It is one of my all time favorite books about Appalachia. If you are serious about wanting to teach there (or even if you aren't), I urge you to read it!
You certainly do think differently! That was the key advice of Apple in their Think Different campaign which highlighted all the famous thinkers who thought differently. I certainly can't argue with that. But even those who think differently must also be learners!
"Being authentic..." An excellent goal. You do know that Tom Johnson (of metaphor fame) and John T. Spencer are one and the same person, correct? I am not sure you can escape technology even in deepest Appalachia. Perhaps. I lived on the fringes of Appalachia in 1948 when electricity first came to East Tennessee. One family who lived near our farm would not allow electricity near their house, so maybe you could still be correct. That family, however, finally gave in and even got an electric stove and a washing machine. Life will not change for those who live there if they do not master the new tools, however. And what responsibilities do we have? Do we help protect the past from the future? Or do we try to eliminate the past with the future? You could (and people do) argue both ways.
ReplyDeleteHave you read Night Comes to the Cumberlands: A Biography of a Depressed Area by Harry M. Caudill and James K. Caudill. It is one of my all time favorite books about Appalachia. If you are serious about wanting to teach there (or even if you aren't), I urge you to read it!
You certainly do think differently! That was the key advice of Apple in their Think Different campaign which highlighted all the famous thinkers who thought differently. I certainly can't argue with that. But even those who think differently must also be learners!