School House Perspectives. Two Views of Education in the 1930\'s

Creator: Robbins, Ashley

: Sanders, Olivine

: Pennington, Ola

In this project, Ashley Robbins interviewed her grandmother, Ola Pennington, and Olivine Sanders to learn more about education in the 1930s. Ms. Pennington was born in a coal mining camp in Pocahontas, West Virginia and attended a private school in White Top; Ms. Sanders was a teacher from 1930-1972 and started her career teaching in a two room schoolhouse in Buckeye Holler. The two interviewees provide two very different sides of the education process. This interview is among projects created by students enrolled in English 446 (initially English 452), “Appalachian Folklore,” 1981-2019, and in graduate level counterparts English 548 and 648 “Appalachian Folk Culture(s)” offered 17 fall semesters between 1987 and 2009. Minimally contain collector’s introduction and analysis, transcribed informant interviews, and excerpted and labeled examples of oral, customary, and/or material folklore/folklife collected primarily within the Appalachian region. Most include also tables of contents, informant information, indexes (outlines) of interviews, photographs, miscellaneous paper items, and indexes of informants, genres, and geographic locations. Accompanying audio recordings (several minutes to 2+ hours). Transferred to McConnell Library Archives & Special Collections from Appalachian Regional and Rural Studies Center, Fall 2013.