Welcome to Nasivvik High School

My desk, decorated by my students before I arrived.

Yesterday was my first day at my new school. I am in a grade 8 classroom and I will be teaching Social Studies, Math, Language Arts and Health/Science. I need to be there for 8:15, and classes start at 8:45. The school has a breakfast program for all the students, so when I arrive in the morning, my co-op teacher and I pick up our bin of breakfast. It is usually apples, oranges, and sometimes oatmeal. Each class gets one can of frozen juice. Once students arrive in the morning, a couple of them come into class to prepare the juice and cut up the fruit. At the end of the day, other students will clean up and do the dishes. This program insures that all students who come to school do not have empty stomachs. I think this is a wonderful program and because the entire school places importance on it, and allows some class time to be lost because of it, it helps these students start their days off right. It's something we should copy down south. All the students were very friendly towards me. They were quiet at first, but once they felt comfortable with me they began asking questions: "How old are you?" "Is that your hair?" "Do you dye your hair?" "Do you have a boyfriend" "Do you have a dog?" "Do you have any siblings" - so many questions. It was a real eye opener. Having just left my NS practicum school on Friday, my experience there was still fresh. So here are some of the difference:

My classroom

• Class size: classes are much smaller. Mine is about 25 students, but on a good day I have 16.
• Attendance: sporadic and undependable. Students come to class when they feel like it. Many kids sleep in and miss the morning classes. Some kids may be expected to stay home to babysit, or miss class because they are out on the land (learning valuable skills), or some miss school because no one is forcing them to go. If a student had poor attendance in NS, the school would be calling home as much as possible, or some teachers may decide those students cannot be caught up or helped. Here in the North it goes with the territory. Attendance is an issue; try your best, and be welcoming and grateful when they do come. Having students stroll in while I'm teaching will be something I need to get used to. 
• Classroom configuration: My class is set up in a horseshoe shape and kids frequently sit on the floor to do their work. I doubt many grade 8s would go for that back home.
• Students call teachers by their first name. It's odd, but I feel the respect me just as much as my NS students. 
• Different curriculums.
• A grade 8 class here is not the equivalent to a grade 8 class back home. This is because they are actually ESL learners because Inuktitut is their first language. Grade 7 is their first experience with english speaking teachers for the majority of subjects. But don't think for one second that they aren't smart! In math class I sit with them and learn their lessons because at some point I will be teaching it to them - in a race they beat me every time. Also, their comprehension of the events in Japan and Libya are much better than my grade 9s - shame on you 9-1, and 9-2.  

Similarities

• They love games
• They love gym class
• They go outside at lunch and recess
• All students want to know more about their teachers as humans
• They love movies, music, computers and TV
• They want attention, to feel loved and to know they're safe - and that is something I can always try provide :)