Mike Paul

Links for Sunday, March 16, 2025

15 Books About Appalachia to Read Instead of HILLBILLY ELEGY

Kendra Winchester shares on Book Riot:

Since Hillbilly Elegy came out in 2016, I’ve experienced countless people claiming to now “understand” where I come from and what Appalachian people are like. But they don’t think of my childhood watching my dad lose himself while arranging music on his piano or my grandfather tenderly nurturing plants in his ridiculously large garden. Instead, they imagine the stereotypes of J.D. Vance’s version of Appalachia, where the entire region is made up of poor rural white people consumed with violence who have no one to blame but themselves for their life circumstances.

Vance is, of course, the 2024 Republican VP candidate who once called Trump “America’s Hitler”, supports total abortion bans, and says he would not have certified the results of the 2020 election.

Winchester goes on to recommend fifteen books about Appalachia that will provide a clearer view of the region and the people who live there. They include:

What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia by Elizabeth Catte. “If you’re still wondering why Hillbilly Elegy is so problematic, I’d suggest starting with What You’re Getting Wrong About Appalachia.”

Appalachian Elegy: Poetry and Place by bell hooks. “In this poetry collection, she laments how Black Appalachians are all too often left out of narratives about Appalachia.”

Any Other Place by Michael Croley. “Croley’s perspective as a Korean American informs his writing as his stories deal with many topics around race, identity, and belonging.”

When These Mountains Burn by David Joy. “When These Mountains Burn features two men deeply impacted by the opioid crisis in Appalachia.”

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Happy Friday, gang! We made it! I’ve got a few interesting tidbits to share with you this week:

Explore various Internet artifacts through the ages (it’s been ages, right?) and find some cool things for you and your students to discuss, research, or just laugh at.
Yes, AI really can help students write, not just cheat.
How the ‘science of reading’ benefits English learners
In case you haven’t heard, Google Jamboard goes away next year. Figjam is a great alternative; here’s a bit about how to use it with students.
Part of being a good digital citizen is knowing what music you can use for projects and what you can’t. Here are several royalty-free music sites you and your students can use when creating videos, podcasts, etc.
Since we’re amid the very witching time of the year, think about using these “nine horrifying instruments” as sounds in a project. Or, have kids write about how the sounds make them feel or write a story inspired by the sounds.
You all know I’m a huge fan of project-based learning. One of my favorite non-education examples of “project–based learning” is the Ghost Town Living YouTube channel. Brent Underwood moved to Cerro Gordo, an abandoned mining town in California, at the pandemic’s beginning. His journey to rebuild the town and explore its history is incredible and might inspire some of your students (and you!).
Oh, yeah, ChatGPT released a teacher’s guide for teaching with AI.
Maybe we can use the Swiftie Army to make literature pop for students.
If you want to know how I really feel about technology, I agree wholeheartedly with Austin Kleon’s take as a techno-pragmatist (BTW, he mentions Ursula Franklin’s amazing Real World of Technolgy book, which is 30 years old but still incredibly relevant).