Iqaluit to Queen's to UW

Hi Sarah,

I'm finally catching up! I can see why returning to Waterloo will be a big shock, but I'm sure you'll be glad to finish your Math degree so you can also get your B.Ed.! Sounds like some interesting options. Teaching overseas is one way to combine teaching and traveling!

Thanks for the links to your Iqaluit trip. I did read some of them, thanks to your giving me the link to your blog, but now I've read all of them. Interesting that first names generated so much concern! I remember a student from 1977-78 who was with an associate in Napanee and the only teacher in the school who had students call him by his first name; she freaked out completely. We are SO accustomed to calling teachers Miss, Ms, Mr, Sir, etc., that anything different seems uncomfortable.

Promoting students automatically through Grade 10 is a complex issue, but then I expect education in the north is very complex. If half the students in a class didn't turn up while you were there, that certainly tells you something. I assume western schools just are not part of the northern culture. Ottawa keeps trying to improve education for first nations' people but they seem to try without understanding how different the local culture is. Is there is little or no support for that type of education in students' homes, then they are bound to drift away as soon as they can. Big problem, no simple answers.

I'm really glad you were able to experience such contrasts. It's bound to get you thinking about features of school that are commonly taken for granted, and I think it's always good to question the practices we take for granted (even if they are ones that make us feel comfortable!).

In a minute I'll send a note to the THREE UW people in our class--you'll see why!
I hope that down the road you will let me know which choices you wind up making!

Yours,
tom