Data collected from observations of a kindergarten class, and parent interviews with second and third generation Appalachian families living in an inner city working class neighborhood, when contrasted with Melvin Kohn's work on values, illuminate the discontinuity between the language of social control in the home and at school. Appalachian families' parental control strategies, sex roles in child rearing, and standards of behavior do not conform to those of non-Appalachian working class families. Like middle class parents, Appalachian parents value independence and self direction rather than obedience to authority. The teacher's control of the Appalachian children in a classroom is most effective when it is child referenced rather than authority-centered. Future classroom research must consider cultural and ethnic factors, social class, and other family background variables of the children being observed, rather than focusing solely on the role teachers and schools have in maintaining classroom control. (KR)