Carla

An Introduction

I am a proud Appalachian. When some people hear the word Appalachia, they immediately think of the stereotypes--the dirt poor family living hand to mouth, the family at Wal-Mart clad in pajama pants, the confederate flag waving racists. And I won't sugar coat things, these people do exist.

My family was none of these. My dad worked in a factory and my mom was a postal clerk. They taught me the value of hard work and of a good education. We weren't wealthy, but I never felt deprived.

When I became a teacher, I became acquainted with all sorts of families. The two parent household was no longer the norm. There were some, but there were also single divorced parents, parents who never married at all, and even grandparents raising their grandchildren.

Parents' attitudes about education were also varied. Some placed a high value on education. Others couldn't care less, their own enjoyment was more important. But occasionally, you would have the parents, who although they were uneducated and lacked resources, wanted their child to have more than what they had.

Carla is a story of one of those parents.