July 10

#RuralInfluence

Growing up in a strict religious home with rural roots left no room for the toleration for cheating and lying.  My parents taught and reinforced principles of honesty and truth with the Bible and discipline – if needed.  This moral code followed me throughout school.  I would not allow myself to cheat, nor did I let any of my classmates cheat from me.  I can recall at one point in my high school career purposely placing wrong answers on a test because I knew the student next to me was copying.  I changed them back once the other student finished and put their head down.  Even then, due to this #RuralInfluence, I knew down deep that academic dishonesty takes credit away from those who truthfully earned it through their own hard work and creativity (Dowling, 2003).

As I mentioned in a previous post, academic dishonesty is not a new phenomenon and students today have been culturally conditioned to view acceptable what was once considered cheating. The rural school setting does not change the expectations within a school system regarding success and academic integrity.  In fact, the rural educational setting provides its own unique and complex circumstances.  Although the incorporation of technology within the classroom better prepares students for the 21st century (Jones, Fox, & Levin, 2011), often students and teachers in rural settings are at a disadvantage when it comes to access to educational resources, including technology. This creates a deeper perspective within my research findings on students being Culturally Conditioned – a perspective I refer to as the #RuralInfluence.

I fully acknowledge my affinity for rural life that my background instilled and the personal connection I have with rural places and people. However, the #RuralInfluence is a distinct educational viewpoint that brings with it an intensity that can only be found in the rural experience. It is an experience that one of the participants in my study described, “That whole mindset of poverty thing.  Like the Ruby Payne stuff” (Hailee, interview, May 1, 2017).

It was this poverty mindset that Allie, an English teacher in her third year of teaching, alluded to when stating:

I feel like hard work means something different to them . . . it doesn’t have to do with school and homework but it does have to do with their actual work job.  It’s just a different set of priorities that if you don’t value in them, they’re not going to respect you back for that.  (Interview, May 1, 2017)

Each of the teachers within this study spoke to the level of apathy within the rural community which makes its way into their classrooms and to lack of support found in the homes of their students.  They described a poverty mindset that brought changes to the attitudes on the importance of education.  However, they did attest to the importance of building strong, genuine relationships in their classrooms to counter the cultural conditioning that comes with the #RuralInfluence.

It was Payne (2013) who stated, “The key to achievement for students from poverty is in creating relationships with them” (p. 101).  It was this perspective that prompted Hailee, an 11 year veteran of the classroom, to say, “I think that’s why I thrive in a small, [rural] district . . . for me, it’s about personal relationships and getting to know kids and really building into kids” (Interview, May 1, 2017).  Allie, in reflecting on this #RuralInfluence, stated, “I feel like the biggest thing that rural kids connect to is being genuine” (Interview, May 1, 2017).

I agree, Allie. As a veteran of rural education, I know the power that comes in being genuine with our students and building relationships. There is no greater impact in an educational setting dealing with the #RuralInfluence than making those honest, human connections.

REFERENCES

Dowling, W. (2003). Meaningless grades and a new dishonesty. Academic Questions, 16, 57-62. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12129-003-1064-0

Jones, R., Fox, C., & Levin, D. (2011). National educational technology trends: Transforming education to ensure all students are successful in the 21st century. Glen Burnie, MD: State Educational Technology Directors Association.

Payne, R. K. (2013). A framework for understanding poverty: A cognitive approach. (5th ed). Highlands, TX: Aha! Process, Inc.

 


Posted July 10, 2018 by drnate in category Dr. Nate Intro

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