I think this week in the village was very informative for me. I have up until this point only been to villages on the road system and it was interesting and different to see how life is when everything either has to be barged in or flown in.
This was especially apparent in the prices at the two local stores. I was impressed by the variety and quantity of food at Sims store.
The most memorable time for me in the village was the time I spent in the Inupiat classroom with the teacher. She was very giving of her time and the time with her students. I had the pleasure of presenting two days worth of lessons to all the Inupiat students that came to her classroom about ninety-five in all.
I learned that the Inupiat language is important to the village of Kaktovik and to the people. There has been a tremendous amount of time and effort put into developing a written and recorded spoken series of lessons for the curriculum that are on the internet and can be used in the classroom.
The people, students, and teachers of Kaktovik were very welcoming and helpful during my stay. I would hope if I were to teach in this village I would receive the same reception.
I would prepare for teaching in a village by first giving some thought as to whether this would be a good fit for my family and myself. I would next be sure we had the right parkas for the climate ☺, especially given my ongoing parka saga while I was visiting the village. Then I would think about the logistics of living to a fly in only village, what to take and just as importantly what to leave in storage.
This taken care of I would turn my attention to the just as important task of the students I would be teaching. Is there things that I should learn more about or things that would help in teaching them? How would I adapt the lessons to be place based and culturally fitting for the school and students? I would definitely have to teach several different subjects and get used to this. The up side would be I would get to know each of the students better.
The biggest challenge for teaching and living in the village for me, would be the mental isolation of not being able to get out and go for a drive or to get away from everything for a while. Even though Fairbanks is a long ways from the lower 48, there are still stores and malls and lots of people to see and observe to pass the time. Going from a borough of about 80,000 people to a village of about 350 would be a culture shock even for myself who was raised in Alaska. I think I would defiantly have to plan a family vacation to a place with more sun and warmth once a year and to visit family to stay connected. With that said I think that I may be up to the adventure of teaching in the village for a time.
