Poem: Where I'm From

I am from the foothill of third hill mountain and lick run, from Nadine’s hot French bread and homemade butter from Belle our Guernsey cow.

I am from a family built log home with a metal roof that lulled me to sleep with a gentle patter of the falling rain.

I am from the thick of the forest where wild berries abound and my homemade bridge over a creek where I spent much of my youth.

I am from Feuillet’s and Lees, the French and the Indians, from hearty and independent, loving and free, encouraging and mindful.              

I am from parents who broke the mold and held on to the trail less traveled, who stood by their word and read aloud at the schools and paid it forward.

From moonlight trail rides and hayloft gatherings strewn with Christmas lights.

Raised to give thanks to ALL living things and that God is everywhere. Worshiping in the glorious outdoors with the sky as my chapel and the golden rule at my core.

A ridge runner as my uncle would say with a strong pull to the Bordeaux regions of central France and an edge of the river of the Iroquois nation and a touch of the bagpipes from over the pond.

With a likeness to my Pop from his high school picture but a deep vein of passion for horses that rides back to my ancestors.

Now with the pot stirred what bubbles to the top… the flight of my arrow… the site of my shot…with strong ties to loved ones of blood and of choice.. and no fear of ever using my voice.

Double Entry #4

Quote:
Various families with rural backgrounds knew a great deal about the cultivation of plants, animals, ranch management, mechanics, carpentry, masonry, electrical wiring, and medical folk remedies. (Moll 11)

Reaction:

 While reading the article I came across this sentence and it really hit home. I find it very interesting that Moll looked at the positive sides the these peoples lives. I was raised on a small farm and my father is capable and has experience with all of the task in the quote above. It always amazed me how talented my father was at fixing things. I now realize that he had to master these trades keep the farm going and save money. Families with rural backgrounds might not have the education that urban families do but that does not represent their ability to learn. Moll proves this in his home investigations of many different families. 

Related Resource:

This website is a great example of how people are trying to conserve the trades that cannot be done by machines. Here is the link A Place for Trades

Resource:

Moll, L. "Funds of Knowledge." Look at Luis Moll's Research Into Hidden Family Resources 11. Web. 2 Sep 2011.

   

Double Entry #3

Double Entry Journal #2

Quote:

"But I also know whether we interpret differences among children -- or adults -- as deficit or difference depends primarily on our preconceptions, attitudes toward, and stereotypes we hold toward the individual children's communities and cultures."   (Purcell-Gates 2002)

Reaction:

When I read this part in this article it really made me think about how you can judge someone just from your first impression of them. I will admit there have been people I have met and I automatically thought they were not intelligent because of the way they talked. Now looking back at this I realize it was wrong and I should judge someone because of the way they talk. I should listen to more of what they are saying not how they say it. Its just like the old saying "don't judge a book by its cover." Not only should I listen to what that person is saying but I should also take into account the differences between us. As Gates talks about throughout the article, when children start school and they have been read to and been around people that write everyday they are going to pick up on these qualities much faster than someone who doesn't see that in their day to day lives. I feel that when we are talking about students, as teachers we need to try to give everyone a fair chance to succeed and that means we need to take into account the children that have never been exposed simple things such as reading and writing.

    

Related Resources:
This website talks about many different ways to promote literacy in young children. It talks about being including your children when your reading something to expose them to it. Here is a link to the website


References:

Purcell-Gates, V. (2002). "..as soon as she opens her mouth!". In the Skin that We Speak, Retrieved from https://online.fairmontstate.edu/webct/urw/lc15057011.tp0/cobaltMainFrame.dowebct

Double Entry Journal #1

Quote:
"College professors began to use them as textbooks in sociology classes."(O'Brien, 2003).

Reaction:
After reading this article and seeing the college professors were using stories that viewed as journalistic accounts and used them as textbooks. I find this to be very offensive and completely inappropriate. It truly amazes me how college professors would take exaggerated stories written about "backward people" and use them in their textbooks. When these stories were written about the people from Appalachia the authors made these people look like "violent moutain folk" just because of where they lived. The people of Appalachia were manipulated due to the valuable resources on their land. These people were pushed off of thier land and forced to give up what they had worked hard for.

Related Resources:
I found this article talks about CBS wanting to cast a "Real Beverly Hillbillies" reality show but was not aired due to various advocacy groups. (Keeling , 2007 ) This article also givies good information about the many different sterotypes that come with living in West Virginia.
Here is my link to my resource.


 References:

Keeling , J. (2007 , December 4). West virginia stereotypes: don't believe the hype. Retrieved from http://www.abetterwestvirginia.com/2007/12/04/west-virginia-stereotypes-dont-believe-the-hype/

O'Brien, J. (2003, May 5). Tall tales of appalachia . Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/10/opinion/tall-tales-of-appalachia.html

Parking lot webquest

Here is the start to my parking lot webquest

Start to PBL parking lot project

Here is my start to the parking lot project