0.1 Johnson, j., shope, s., & Roush, j. (july 2009). toward a  (Page 4/8)

Place

The phrase “knowing your place” carries with it connotations of powerlessness and exclusion (i.e., it serves as a reminder to marginalized groups that their “place” is not at the center where decisions are made among equals; it is at the margins where those impacted by the processes from which they are excluded await the results of deliberations of deliberations conducted at the center). In that sense, rural Appalachian people all too often know their place—much to their detriment as they internalize the beliefs and attitudes that give support to the policies and practices that oppress and marginalize them (cf. Aronowitz, 1991; Gaventa, 1980; Gramsci, 2000; Lukacs, 1972). In postmodern fashion, the model described calls for a reappropriation and repurposing of place as part of operationalizing the understandings of schooling and community that responsive leadership in rural Appalachia demands.

Schooling happens within a particular place. Typically, schooling processes have no immediate connection to the particular place of the school—i.e., curriculum content and instructional practices are standardized across districts and even states, presenting students in dramatically different places (e.g., a remote rural setting versus an urban setting) with the exact same set of experiences. This kind of standardization is problematic for members of groups whose culture is not at the center, who do not see themselves reflected in the curriculum. That is not to suggest that there are no shared knowledge bases and skill sets that are relevant to all and should be taught in all settings; rather, the suggestion is for a more nuanced approach that reflects important universal skills while acknowledging and valuing the importance of place. Pedagogies described under the umbrella of place-based learning offer viable approaches for undertaking this kind of work (see Gruenewald, 2003; Hutchison&Orr, 2004; Smith, 2002; Smith&Gruenewald, 2007; Sobel, 2004). Such pedagogies meld awareness of place with rigorous academic content and service learning to create opportunities for students to engage in learning the kinds of knowledge that Smith (202, p. 586) describes: “valuable knowledge for most children is knowledge that is directly related to their own social reality, knowledge that will allow them to engage in activities that are of service to and valued by those they love and respect.”

Place-based learning is an integral part of the model we propose, but the model goes beyond classroom pedagogy to embrace the broader construct of place-conscious capacity-building (Johnson, Thompson,&Naugle, in press). Three key tenets of that model are directly applicable:

1. Responsive practice . Professional development for teachers, administrators, and other helping professionals should acknowledge that what is best in one place may not be necessarily best someplace else (and that “best practices” that are shared and/or mandated often originate in the experiences of default suburban and urban settings), and instead emphasize research-based responsive practices (or practices that are attentive to the research literature and also attentive to the specific characteristics and conditions of a particular place—in this instance, primarily rural, remote, low-resource Appalachian communities).
2. Broadening of roles and of membership . Leadership, decision-making, and governance should embrace democratic principles that are inclusive of mandated governance structure, but should move beyond required participation to involve the broader community in roles and responsibilities not mandated in statute or administrative regulation (e.g., the model broadens the definition of who is a “teacher,” calling on community members to share their expertise in structured learning opportunities for students; the model ensures that a diverse group of community members are represented in strategic planning for the school and/or school district).
3. Building a viable structure for sustainable work . All work should attend to achieving immediate and short range goals (e.g., positive student outcomes), as well as long-range goals (e.g., building sustainable structures to support continued improvements in student outcomes as well as in the resident populations served by the school).