Two Weeks In: "The Honeymoon is Over, But That's OK"

I survived my first two weeks of teaching in the village! I have been so busy and have learned so much in these two weeks that they went by in a blur. I know the life of a teacher (especially a first year teacher) is supposed to be a constant stream of chaos, so I was expecting some of what I experienced, but you can't prepare for everything. So far I've been able keep my head above water and even create some productive relationships with my students. 

There are some resources I have from college, student teaching, and working as a para that I have been able to use here, but for the most part I'm starting from scratch. The textbooks here are mostly inaccessible to my students. Though they are in high school, many have reading and writing skills at the upper elementary level. They are great at worksheets that involve copying information from one location to another, but critical thinking and making inferences is difficult for some of them. This is not to say that they are not intelligent, but it is a different kind of intelligence than what is sought after in a Westernized form of schooling. A very high percentage of FAS (fetal alcohol syndrome) means that repetition is vital to learning, but repetition is difficult when attendance is spotty.

Attendance is a big problem here; even in the first two weeks I had students who only showed up a couple days. There are a variety of reasons for poor attendance. Some are typical, some are cultural, and others are due to some disheartening attitudes that seem to permeate parts of life in Tuluksak. 

Examples of cultural reasons are:

-Many of the high schoolers have the responsibility of getting wood and water for their households, also taking care of younger siblings

-Moose season is beginning soon, and necessary preparations to go make camp on the tundra are underway

Examples of disheartening reasons are:

-If my high school students don't get themselves up for school, there is often no one at their home awake who will

-Some parents of my students don't think that education is important, and especially not when the teachers are Kass'aqs (white people) who are only going to be in the village for a little while

-Instability where my students are living and who they are living with

-Some high school students get so far behind in credits needed to graduate they don't feel it is worth trying to catch up

-A lack of post-secondary opportunities in the village

-The overt presence of alcohol and drugs (including huffing gasoline) that are a much easier past time than coming to school

All that being said, there are wonderful young people in my classes and I feel lucky to be their teacher. We've had a good couple weeks with lots of laughing, a little learning, and only a couple of pencils thrown into the ceiling :) The three other high school teachers have been very supportive in helping me acclimate to teaching here. Measures of students success that are used in the lower 48 are not always applicable in the village. I might not be able to get my students to memorize the preamble to the Constitution, but I can show them that there are adults in the world who are not alcoholics, who will try to provide for their basic needs, who will respect them as individuals, and not give up on them even if they make mistakes. My biggest lesson learned in these few weeks is that regardless of what higher-ups in education expect, my duty as a teacher is to first provide care and stability to my students, and second try my best to teach them relevant content. 

I've been a bit overwhelmed by some of the details I learn about my student's histories and home lives, but I have also found a sense of purpose and feel like this is where I am meant to be at this time. Now that classroom routines have been established and my students and I are getting used to each other, I'm excited for what the rest of the year will bring.

Here are some more pictures of the trails where Birkie and I walk. I'm trying to be outside as much as possible before the sun disappears :)

Many of the leaves are already starting to change here

A huge moose track on our walk out to the slough

Birkie on the look out for moose (none yet!)

Tuberculosis is present in the village so all students and teachers have to be tested. This was my first TB test. If you've never had one, its kind of strange--they inject a solution under the skin on your arm, and then check it two days later to see if there was a reaction. I thankfully tested negative.

Last Day of Summer

Birkie and I took advantage of an extra day of summer by taking a walk out to the airport. The view from the airport road reminds me of Brimson :)

The water is back on so school should start tomorrow!

Preparing for My First Day Teaching

    My first day was supposed to be tomorrow, but there is currently no running water in the village so there won't be school tomorrow. Last year, the school was open without water for six weeks. This year the Education Commissioner of Alaska implemented a new rule that if there is no water, there is no school.

    It will be nice having one extra day to plan, but I was also really excited for the year to start. I am teaching 9-12 Social Studies. I have 6 PREPS! My schedule is: Leadership, Physical Education (seriously), Sociology, US History, Test Prep and Government. There are around 40 kids enrolled in the high school as of today, my class size ranges from 13-28 students. 

On Saturday we had a back-to-school picnic where we gave away backpacks and had hotdogs for students and their families. It was really cool getting to meet a bunch of people and a few of my students. I played volleyball with some of the girls for a while. The gym was mostly being used by the men in the village who were playing basketball. People here are crazy for basketball and are good at it too. Kids that barely come up to my waist can dribble circles around me. 

Here are some pictures of my classroom:

Yes, I believe I do have the first Smartboard ever invented. Other teachers tell me to think of it as a "glorified projector."

    I hope school starts on Tuesday! I'm as ready as I can be.

Village Life

       Life in the village is entirely different than anywhere I've ever been or heard of. Here are some things I've seen, learned or heard about since being here:

Water

       In Tulusak, only the school and teacher housing (are supposed to) have running water. Homes in the villages store water from the river and use "honey buckets" for taking care of business. As I write this, the water has been off all day and will likely not be back on until at least tomorrow. The water that does run needs to be thoroughly filtered before drinking. Things that factor into water availability include temperature, fuel price/availability and the sobriety of the individual in charge of the water. When the water comes back on I will be filling my bins I used to ship stuff with drinking water to store for the next time it goes out. 

Dogs

     Most dogs in the village are not seen as pets the same way they are in the lower 48. There are dogs everywhere here; puppies are always being born. Some people in the village keep dogs as pets, and will put collars on them but most are not "house dogs." Abuse of these dogs is common. Puppies are viewed as things that kids can play with for a while, and then are usually left to die from disease or starvation. Every few months the tribe or the State Troopers go around and shoot all the stray dogs for population control. It is hard for me as a dog lover think about, but many people are here have limited resources and they have to chose between taking care of themselves and taking care of an animal.

     When I walk Birkie, I take her away from the village. We are often charged by packs of dogs, but as soon as I start towards them they run off.

Birkie enjoys being a "house dog" but thinks unpacking is exhausting.

Transportation

     Many people in the village have four wheelers to get around and to go out on the tundra to gather wood and food. Some people have trucks or SUVs. The only way to get these vehicles here is to buy them in Bethel and either have them barged up river or drive them to the village on the ice road in the winter. It is more likely that someone would have a skiff (boat) than a vehicle used for land travel.

People

     People here have been very welcoming to me. Everyone who sees me already knows I'm a teacher (because I'm white) so the first thing they ask is what grade I'm teaching and then list off everyone they know who might be in my classes. The students I've met are a little apprehensive, but I think we'll get along just fine. The village is dry, but bootleggers bring in booze. The brief encounters I've had or heard with intoxicated people have not been pleasant. 

Guns

      Everyone has one. Most people have many. I will have my deer rifle up here eventually, but am trying to hold off on getting any kind of hand gun because I don't like them. Many people up here say its something I "need." I am going to spend some more time up here before deciding.

Food

     There is good availability of packaged food available at the store here. Its around double the cost of what I would pay at a grocery store in Duluth. Fresh fruit, veggies and meat need to be ordered from companies in Bethel who will fly them into the village, it is expensive. I have been ordering a lot of bulk packaged food from amazon. It is important to have a stock pile of food because in the fall and winter when the weather is bad, the planes often can't fly into the village. The salmon runs were good this year so most of the people in the village have freezers full of fish and don't have they same worries about meat as us "Kass'aqs" (Yupik word for white people).

We Made It!

After 2 days and 4 airplanes, Birkie and I arrived safely at district headquarters in Akiachak! I will be spending a week here doing inservice and then travel to Tuluksak for another week of inservice before the school year begins August 17th. Below are some pictures I took on our journey, mostly from above :) 

Approaching Anchorage

Birkie would have been content staying in our Anchorage hotel forever

 Lake Clark National Park and Preserve

Matanuska-Sustina Area

A variety of topography between Anchorage and Bethel

On the last leg of our journey, Birkie got to be out of the crate and ride right behind the pilot!

Birkie meets the Kuskokwim River