From my observations, the schools still have a Eurocentric focus on individual success, but aspects of other cultures are represented. Competitive achievement is evident with “Accelerated Reader Points” that display who is ahead on the bulletin board. Likewise, “Student of the week” and individually mastered tests on display show the Eurocentric trend. Nevertheless, there is some glimpse of Appalachian communal importance with charts of test scores and stressing collective success. Other examples of community activities displayed at all schools were bulletin boards completed by the whole class, individual projects displayed together on a wall outside the classroom, and class wide science projects. Furthermore, service and volunteerism, as a lived cultural aspect are included. The hybrid of cultures should continue to attain more equal representation from other cultures for improvement.

There is an evident commitment to multiculturalism in the observed schools. Although state and national requirements and the “rewards” culture dominate the community and society as a whole, teachers are engaging aspects of multiple cultures. The teaching of foreign languages has suffered at setback at one school, which is largely tied to resources and funding. Some schools have utilized college students to fill in the void in that area. College students could create an important link to historical culture of higher education. Social culture, especially among adolescents, has distorted and reduced the meaning of higher education to a largely economic and social endeavor, leaving out a vital component that most students seem to forget—an ideological sense of political culture. Higher education gives students the opportunity to create true change in society. The void of foreign languages in schools could be filled by college students through an after school program where volunteerism could connect institutions to provide a less costly alternative.

The issue of rewards is debatable. First of all, I have used rewards and awards almost interchangeably. The reason I have done this is to fuse the relationship rewards and awards have with exterior influence, which is the only way I am using these words in this project. Some people speak of rewards as being motivators for students to achieve. However, these rewards or awards, tend to be in the hands of the few; thus, leaving the remainder of the students without much hope to continue learning, if, over several years, they never receive one. Furthermore, the awards seem to become a symbol of status and intelligence rather than a recognition for what actually has been done. The historical meaning that has manifested itself in our culture is that people are often respected more for the reward they have received than for actions they have made. For example, receiving a fellowship, automatically makes a person more respected, regardless of how he/she carried out the fellowship itself. Therefore, a balance should be established by creating awards for collective achievement (collective success at a track meet), or stressing the importance behind doing what is deemed good. Generally speaking, we want students to learn. If they learn, they have done what was expected of them. Moreover, they hopefully have gained something in the process that improved them, which should be reward enough for learning. There is no need for external reward. The inner sense of reward seems unimportant in our social and historical culture that is based on empiricism. However, inner sense of reward is hard to measure, so this opinion rests on faith more than anything else.