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The
Case For Appalachian Studies
page 15
The
old forces of fragmentation and isolation, which have contributed their
share to the dismal past, continue to rob Appalachians of a pride in and
knowledge of their culture. In fact, the folkways, the arts -- the
entire spectrum of Appalachian life has been held up to national scorn
and ridicule by Mainstream America. In short, nothing much has
changed except the profile of the region from high to low.
Whatever happened to Appalachia is, in fact, still happening.
The people of Appalachia eventually will solve their own problems; the
solutions will not be quick or easy. Regional development will
depend on the slow maturation of plans and programs. It is clear
that one of the things which must be done is to recognize Appalachian
culture as a valid alternative to the life style of middle America.
There is a need not only for economic development in Appalachia, but
also for strong and positive cultural identity. There is no reason
why this cannot be. It is a cruel quirk of fate that this has not
already happened at a time when other ethnic minorities have
successfully created their contemporary identities out of the heritage
of their past.
Appalachian culture has survived many forms of culture shock, not the
least of them being the hostility of the region's school system to
things Appalachian. The schools represent the best place for
beginning the reaffirmation of the value of Appalachian culture.
This means that there must be a curriculum change to meet the needs of
the people, not the needs of the national norms. This would mean
that materials be written in the language terms that the Appalachian
could understand. Thus, instead of changing the child's basic
language habits, an effort should be made to add a second dialect to an
already rich expression of culture and experience. It may be
necessary to supplement or add standard English to the dialect of pupils
whose speech could disadvantage them educationally or economically.
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