Day 5 ended with a very special dinner. Dennis Adkins, the head of the technology department for Cabell County and also the man who brought this whole trip into existance just seemed to think of everything! We thought we were going to have a nice ending dinner at Logan's Country Club and maybe wrap up with a casual discussion of what we learned and a "thank you" to the group leaders, but there was so much more in store for us. We did actually talk about how this trip would impact our students (I thought one of the most important things for our students is to form an opinion but to base it on facts as I practiced during the week), we did thank Pat, Steve, Karen, Annette, and Dennis, but we also had guests! At each table we had two people whose loves are tied to coal. Wendy, Rex, and I sat with a wonderful couple who have grown up in the Logan area. The gentleman is a 3rd generation coal miner who worked in underground and surface mines, went to school for engineering, and now surveys and writes permits for coal companies. He even works with Cobalt Coal Company from the Coal show on Spike. He said they are doing very well now, by the way. He and his wife both spoke about how well regulated mining is, even to the point of hindering mining with excessive regulations. Everything they said makes sense, and it was great to get a perspective from people who live in the area. It really does seem like coal is a great thing for West Virginia. Another gentleman spoke about how much coal mining boosts the economy of the state and the potential if allowed to repurpose mined land above the flood plain for homes and businesses. I really have learned so much this week and hope I can share with my students that they need to create informed impressions and make knowledgeable judgements. I am proud of the technology and advancements in my state and see so much hope for the future if everyone will just work together and become well informed citizens.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment