DOCUMENT RESUME ED 032 153 RC 033 667 The Mountains Are Moving. (Report of the Conference onEquality of Educational Opportunity for Children of Appalachia (November 29 - December 1, 1969, PikevilleCollege, Pikeville, Kentucky)] National Education Association,Washington. D.C. Spons Agency -Kentucky Education Association,Louisville.; North Car .;rta Education Association,Raleigh.; Tennessee Education Association. Nashville.;Virginia Education Association, Roanoke. Pub Date 68 Note-23p. Available from-Publications-Sales Section.National Education Association. 1201 SixteenthStreet, N. W., Washington. D. C. 20036. (Stock No. 871-24836) Single copy($OSO), Discounts on quantity orders: 2-9 copies. 107: 10 or more copies. 207. EDRS Price MF 1025 HC Not Available from EDRS. Descriptor s -*Community Involvement. *Conference Reports, *Educational Equality, Educationally Disadvantaged, Educational Needs, Educational Opportunities.Federal Aid. *Leadership Responsibility, Low Income. Planning. *Rural Education. State Action, SuccessFactors. Teacher Education Identifiers -*Appalachia Equality of educational opportunityfor children in Appalachia served as a guiding theme for the Sixth NationalEducation Association NationalConference on Human Rights in Education.Included in this conference report are a synopsisof selected comments made by conferencespeakers. brief descriptions of ongoing opportunity orientedprogramsinAppalachia regionalschooldistricts, and explanations of new concepts beingused in teacher training programs inregional colleges. Reactions and commentsof participants in a political discussionsession, suggestions for greater communityinvolvement, and a discussionof the state leadership role necessary in education arealso given. A brief summary ofFederal support available toAppalachia's schools is presented. (EV) 1116.11, AA" V fr. v IC; Y A fs, C' I 1CL , : U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH,EDUCATION t WELFARE OFFICE OF EDUCATION FROM THE THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEENREPRODUCED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED POINTS OF VIEW OR OPINIONS PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIGINATINGII. REPRESENT OFFICIAL OFFICE OFEDUCATION STATED DO NOT NECESSARILY POSITION OR POLICY. 1- nor- V .,.1r- ..l.rt;;70 414.; ". 4 Asa. 111 '" I"' A..4.. r.. - 40., : ::::[7.:..,:a,:::*,.... 4, - 4. , .4 .. .... a*,14...la;st " a-. '' ;ar'f, .,,r * ,,1.40° * . ;Itrl V""ft:40," . a a A ' ',, . ,..,, lb Cr* ' a 1 . , 'A .Ia A . ea ..,..4' ...e... , ' a 44: - 4 0"%a ' '...* 1 cl, , .... a 0. '- w- f eis\ r v .41,Aii ..k..e. 4 . ... 1, o A . 211e -1 A 41, 7:Vr- 0/1P IA& %, Ib Sixth NEA National Conference be on Human Rights inEducation tr, itaZ c,zEquality of Educational Opportunity For Children of Appalachia O tout., VV Z/ 3 0 tt ON ItIt CONFERENCE REPORT: Equality of EducationalOpportunity For Children of Appalachia November 29 - December 1, 1968 Pikeville College, Pikeville, Kentucky CONFERENCE SPONSORS NEA Center for Human Relations NEA Citizenship Committee Kentucky Education Association North Carolina Education Association North Carolina Teachers Association Tennessee Education Association Virginia Education Association Permission to reproduce this copy- righted work has been granted to the Educational Resources Informa- tion Center (ERIC) and to the or- ganization operating under contract with the Office of Education to reproduce documents included in the ERIC system by means of micro- fiche only, but this right is not conferred to any users of the microfiche received from the ERIC Document Reproduction Service. Further reproduction of any part requires permission of the copy- right owner. The mountains are moving! Thiswas the thought expressed by one NEA staffer to another as they returned from the Sixth NationalConference on Equal Educational Opportunity.Soaring 25,000 feet above the Appalachianrange, traveling at more than 500 milesper hour, they could perceive the ancient, w placid, unmovable mountains moving.Actually they were moving. s During the drive to Pikevilleover the Mountain Parkway, Senator Jennings Randolph noted that thenew roads, new waterlines, and new electric power- lines make it possible for the mountainsto move, even education.Without If good roads, school buses would be useless, andmany children would remain W isolatec! from learning. The primary purpose of this Conferencewas to call regional and national attention to the effects of geographical isolationon equal educational opportu- nity for children.Another purpose was to see ifmany of the highly publicized programs were actually reaching the children in small isolated schools. In his introductory statementto the report of the exploratory conference held in 1967, Dr. Wade Wilson, chairman of thePR&R Committee on Civil and Human Rights, put it succinctly when he asked: "Have the benefits of these programs reached the isolated classrooms? Are Appalachian teachers cognizant of theresources available to them? Have the talents and experiences of teachers and [community leaders]been utilized in the development and implementation of these programs?What are the , avenues for action by educators and others concerned with educational im- provement in the region?" 0 The spirit of the Sixth National NEA Conferenceon Human Rights in Edu- cation demonstrated a willingness on the part of educators,parents, government officials, agency officials, community leaders, businessmen, and studentsto face realistically the educational problems of the regionas well as underlying eco- nomic and political problems. a What you shall read here is,therefore, a synopsis of projects generated by and shared during the Conferenceas well as a chronicle of what actually took place during our three days together.Hopefully, parts of this report can be used as a resource by all who would perceive by theirown activity the move n ment in the mountains. SAMUEL B. ETHRIDGE Assistant Executive Secretary for Human Relations i National Education Association a Conference Coordinator MARY ANN SCOTT Conference Photographer DAVID CLEVINGER Cover Picture LUCILLE RHODES i Editors of Conference Report ELINOR HART tf MARY KEPECS I Credits for other contributors to this report and other a pictures not taken by Mr. Clevinger appearon page 20. s Single copy, 500 (Stock No. 871-24836). Discounts on quantity orders: 2-9 copies, 10 percent; 10 or more copies, 20 percent. Order from Publications- Sales Section, National Education Association, 1201 Sixteenth Street, N.W., Washington, D. C. 20036. c)(..,"koWliv\ Op) SENATOR RANDOLPH URGES COMMITMENT TO REVITALIZATION "The lack of human andeconomic resources in rural Appalachia haspro- /441.;&kait duced a formidable t.ducational deficit i # 7 1...' .: ', -liv..0-- uniejuk which must be reversed bya total 910:- kp-. community effort," declared Senator s.) !. Tr Jennings Randolph of West Virginia. I: inthe Conference keynote address, Senator Randolph lamented the dou- ble failure of the rural schoolto retain its teachers and to introduce pupils to the job world. On one hand, said the Senator, "It isestimatedthattheAppalachian states lose two-thirds of the teachers r,, they train to better-paying schoolsand to industry." In addition, the region's schools, lacking kindergartens andof- Pikeville College President fering vocationalcourses only to older students, have a 65 percent lossrate. Citing the Interim Report of theAp- Deplores Education SoulDrain palachian Regional Commission'sEdu- cation Advisory Committee,Senator "If a doctor treated his patients the way we treat our students," charged Dr. Randolph said that about11 percent Thomas Johns, president of Pikeville College, "most of them would die." The of Appalachia's adults havecompleted Conference symposium speaker continued that"we talk about equal oppor- the fifth grade, 33percent have fin- tunity, individual attention, and the humanity of the child,but we don't practice ished high school, and only5 percent what we preach. We tell childrento do page one and turn to page two, to do are college graduates. page two and turn to page three all together." (3) What is wrong with educators? reality, can no longer compete with "If children in Appalachia who have TV and the newspapers, which teach never seen a book, heard a symphony, the child by presenting lifeasitis. or seen a painting are afraid to venture Most children, said Dr. Johns, "have forth,itisbec,i0,:e an educator who witnessed the assassination of Ameri- 4 has arichcultural background dis- ca's leaders, watched urban rims, and courages adventure and hope," Dr. traveled,through themeaiumof Johns declared. The beauty of theAp- satellites, to watch athleticcontests in palachian people isto observe, feel, Mexico, Europe, and Japan." Hoveserer, and hope; yet "weremove them from the school setup doesnot communi- the great outdoors,cram them into cate the panorama of life to the child, classrooms,andsay,'Observe!' according to Dr. Johns' observations. Observe what? The four walls!" It just turns him off. Educators have failed to produce a How do we change? classroom capable of harnessing the "If we are to be honest about natural instinct of man to discover. our true professionalresponsibility,"the What is wrong with schools? college president insisted,"we must According to the Pikeville College discover whereour students are and president, education's traditionally push them one step further."Educa- negative response to change is totally tors must learn about and appreciate inadequate. The school, which has the problems of Appalachiain order separated the learningprocess from to solve them. 2 N t, AppisLAGNA I 'b.; Conferees