Interview with Kenneth J. Wright, November 7, 2017

Partial Transcript: Hi, this is Julia Taylor.

Segment Synopsis: Wright discusses where his family was originally from, as well as where they lived as he was growing up. He also talks about the family members that were involved in higher education as well as the extent of his parents' education.

Keywords: Ashland Oil; Assistant superintendents; Berea College; Biochemistry; Carlson High School; College degrees; Eastern Kentucky; Lake Erie (Mich.); Luther Wright; Pump station operators; Rockwood; Small towns; Teaching

Subjects: Blaine (Ky.); Education; Families.; Johnson County (Ky.); Keaton (Ky.); Paintsville (Ky.); Rural conditions; Teachers; Wyandotte (Mich.)

Partial Transcript: So what got you interested in education?

Segment Synopsis: Wright summarizes how he became a teacher, as well as the jobs he was offered when he got out of college. He also talks about his brother's death, as well as where he had planned to work rather than go to college.

Keywords: Academics; Advisors; Brothers; Calvin Hall; Chrysler factory; Classes; Colleges; Elementary education; Food markets; Friends; Georgetown College; Jobs; Louise Nichols; Louise Switzer; Lunch; Marine Corps; Parents; Schools; Scott County schools; Student teaching; Tornadoes; Uncles; Wife

Subjects: Careers; Death; Education; Johnson County (Ky.); Louisa (Ky.); Scott County (Ky.); Stamping Ground (Ky.); Teachers

Partial Transcript: Um, well, so, you'd been teaching for a short period of time.

Segment Synopsis: Wright discusses the events surrounding the tornado and how the community of Stamping Ground, Kentucky handled the catastrophe. He also tells a story of climbing into the wreckage of Stamping Ground Elementary School to retrieve a set of encyclopedias given to him by some of the teachers at the school.

Keywords: Afternoons; Annabelle Marshall; Apartments; Appreciation; Attendance books; Basements; Basketball teams; Cafeterias; Ceilings; Children; Churches; Classes; Classrooms; Concrete; Cooks; Crawl warnings; Custodians; David Murphy; Districts; Downtown; Eerie; Elementary schools; Encyclopedias; F-4 tornadoes; Floors; Georgetown College; Georgetown city schools; Gymnasiums; Houses; J. W. Ballard; J. W. Marshall; Jack Williams; Knight Hall; Leveled; Marble rolling contests; Merging; Metals; Movies; People; Pressure; Principal's offices; Principals; Rain; Roof; Rural people; Sadness; Scared; Schools; Scott County schools; Shocked; Silence; Splinters; Stamping Ground Elementary School; Strange; Structure; Superintendents; Teaching materials; Towns; Trees; US 23; Victor Johnson; Wife; Wilson's Drugstore; Work

Subjects: Catastrophes; Communities; Georgetown (Ky.); Natural disasters.; Rural conditions; Scott County (Ky.); Stamping Ground (Ky.); Teachers; Tornadoes.; Tragedy; Weather

Partial Transcript: Uh, there was a community service club there as I learned called the Ruritan Club.

Segment Synopsis: Wright discusses the rebuilding of the school, as well as the different places the children were sent as a result of the school being destroyed. He also begins to discuss the emotional trauma he noticed in his students after the destruction occurred.

Keywords: Broadway; Buses; Cafeterias; Catholic churches; Central office; Classrooms; Community service clubs; Construction sites; Curriculum; East end; Faculty; Farm Supply; Federal government; Forester Building; Garth Elementary School; Garth High School; Georgetown High School; Georgetown Middle School; Grover Turner; Hurricanes; Infrastructure; J. W. Ballard; Jack Williams; Ladies; Libraries; Library; Locations; Main Street; Math; Men; Mobile units; Pictures; Playgrounds; Principals; Reading; Rebuilding; Ruritan Club; Scott County schools; Shell shock; Southern Elementary School; St. John's School; Staff; Stamping Ground Elementary School; Students; Superintendents; Trailer lots; Victor Johnson

Subjects: Catastrophes; Communities; Georgetown (Ky.); Natural disasters.; Rural conditions; Schools.; Stamping Ground (Ky.); Teachers; Tornadoes.; Tragedy

Partial Transcript: But I will say that the kids were really, uh, very scared from the tornado.

Segment Synopsis: Wright discusses the changes that were made to the new Stamping Ground Elementary School, as well as what the teachers did to prepare for weather-related and unpredictable disasters. He also talks about the emotional toll that it took on the children at the school.

Keywords: 'Forgotten ones'; Bus wrecks; City population; Classrooms; Counseling; Culture; Emergencies; Emergency; Emotional responses; Encyclopedias; Engines; Government; Hallways; Mainstream; Materials; Principals; Progressive; Public housing; Sadieville Elementary School; School bus; Schools; Services; Special education; Stamping Ground Elementary School; State; Storms; Teaching; Weather drills

Subjects: Catastrophes; Communities; Death; Education; Emergency drills; Georgetown (Ky.); Panic; Schools.; Stamping Ground (Ky.); Teachers

Partial Transcript: Uh, how long did that ma--merger take?

Segment Synopsis: Wright discusses the changes that occurred during the merging of the Scott County, Kentucky schools.

Keywords: Buddy Johnson; City boards; Classrooms; County boards; Director of People Personnel; Garth High School; George Lusby; Georgetown High School; Mergers; Principals; Problems; Scott County High School

Subjects: Education; Georgetown (Ky.); Schools.; Scott County (Ky.); Teachers

Partial Transcript: Uh, sorry to circle back to the tornado--

Segment Synopsis: Wright discusses what the community was willing to do to rebuild the elementary school because it was a part of their identity, as well as his knowledge of the fundraising events for the cost of rebuilding.

Keywords: Board of education; Center; Central office; Complaints; Construction; David Murphy; Events; Fundraisers; Fundraising; Hurricanes; Mobile units; Ruritan Club; Sadieville Elementary School; School systems; Stamping Ground Elementary School; Support

Subjects: Catastrophes; Communities; Georgetown (Ky.); Identity; Natural disasters.; Schools.; Stamping Ground (Ky.); Teachers; Tornadoes.

Partial Transcript: So, um, this might be difficult because you might have done a lot of transitions...

Segment Synopsis: Wright gives a timeline of his career and talks about the different places he has taught, as well as the positions he held as a teacher.

Keywords: Adjunct professors; Administration; Administrators; Campus; Children; Classes; Connections; Dedicated; Eastern Kentucky; Eastern Kentucky University; Elementary Director of Instruction; Graduate professors; Graduate students; Head principals; Head teachers; Leaders; Leadership; Middle schools; Money; Principal certification; Sadieville Elementary School; Secondary supervisors; Stamping Ground Elementary School; Superintendents; Syllabus; Talent

Subjects: Careers; Education; Rural conditions; Sadieville (Ky.); Schools.; Scott County (Ky.); Stamping Ground (Ky.); Teachers

Partial Transcript: No, yeah, that actually goes really well with--were there surprises about becoming a teacher...

Segment Synopsis: Wright discusses the surprises that he encountered upon beginning his career in teaching, as well as comments on a project that he started for children.

Keywords: Administrators; Advantages; Attitudes; Children; Classrooms; Competitive; Curriculum directors; Endeavors; Engaged; Fun; Groups; Growth; Help; Human; Job satisfaction; Jobs; Leaders; Leadership; Minorities; Mistakes; Money; Nice; Noble; People; Pleasure; Professions; Sacrifices; Schools; Society; Surprises; Time; Toyota

Subjects: Careers; Education; Teachers

Partial Transcript: And you, you kind of mentioned that you were still doing things that I think most people consider educational in one way.

Segment Synopsis: Wright discusses the project he set up in depth, as well as the importance of understanding the world and improving assessment scores.

Keywords: Asia; Assessment; Australia; Bonnie Kinley; Canada; Children; Competitive; Concepts; Democratic ethos; Elementary schools; England; English; Exchanges; Friends; Global citizens; Global market; Global perspectives; Grade systems; High schools; Hong Kong Project; International assessment scores; Invitational education; Kids; Learning; Libraries; Library; Mainland China; Math; Mexico; Opportunity; People; Race; Science; Scores; Scott County Public Library; Scott County schools; Students; Successful; Taiwan; Thailand; Toyota; Value; Work; World; World class

Subjects: Changchun (China); Culture; Education; Hong Kong (China); International Alliance for Invitational Education; Schools.; Scott County (Ky.); Teachers; Travel; United States of America