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I imagine this topic has been covered, but I can't seem to find too much on it. I am considering a job teaching in a bush village, but I am a single father of a (flexible, adventurous, and intelligent) 12-year old. My questions are these: Are local children accepting of outsiders? Would my daughter do well socially, or would she be ostracized in a village environment? Should I rather consider a hub?
I thank in advance any of you folks in the know who might be able to offer me advice. I want to teach in Alaska, and I want the experience to be successful for everyone involved - myself, my daughter, my students, their families, my peers, and the school district.
I think your daughter will be accepted just fine There is always that stigma involved in being a teacher's daughter though. I was one myself but was always able to work it my advantage.
hello rdawg-
it could honestly go either way. it all depends on the approach. just make sure she knows that humility goes a very long way.
if she plays sports, that will be a big plus (especially basketball, but volleyball could be good, too). depending on the village, there could be a brief period of teasing/hazing, but that would happen in any new school and isn't necessarily bush-specific.
out of curiosity, where do you plan on teaching? i'm in the BSSD. feel free to send a message if you have any more specific questions about bush teaching.
I imagine this topic has been covered, but I can't seem to find too much on it. I am considering a job teaching in a bush village, but I am a single father of a (flexible, adventurous, and intelligent) 12-year old. My questions are these: Are local children accepting of outsiders? Would my daughter do well socially, or would she be ostracized in a village environment? Should I rather consider a hub?
I thank in advance any of you folks in the know who might be able to offer me advice. I want to teach in Alaska, and I want the experience to be successful for everyone involved - myself, my daughter, my students, their families, my peers, and the school district.
Thanks again.
In fact I don't recall having seen this issue addressed in any detail before. It's an excellent question too!
What you will experience depends on two things, one is what kind of people you and your child are (and in this case you are pretty much a unit, not separate entities), and equally as much it depends on the village.
Not everybody fits into village life. I'm a bit reluctant to attempt describing who might not, as it may offend you and will absolutely offend others! But clearly if your concept of social justice and your value system are at odds with those of people in a village it will make life difficult. If you are a social outcast, it's not fun.
There are several villages in Alaska that do not tolerate Outsiders well, and in particular take it out on teachers. These change as time passes, so when you read that a given village was antagonistic to Outside teachers a decade or two ago, do not assume that would be true in that village today, or visa versa either! What you are living down is the legacy of Bureau of Indian Affairs race based policies dating from the 1940's and 1950's.
Look up, at UAA or use google to find her, the recent studies that have been done by Diane Hirshberg at UAA's Institute of Social and Economic Research. What you'll find is that mistreated students from the 1940's through the early 1960's are now Elders, who do not like teachers! What it really should be is a dislike for "BIA teachers", but instead they never realized that all teachers do not act that way, and resent any teacher. This legacy should be on the downhill side now, as current adults in their 40's did not experience the same type of teacher and do not harbor the same resentments.
One other interesting point that is not at all specific to Alaska or the bush, is your daughter's adaptability to such a huge environment change. I've watched this several times with kids at different ages (and personally experienced it too). A kid who is younger than about 10 can move from, for example, an urban environment to a rural environment (or the reverse), and will totally adapt to the new location. By age 20 it will be as if they had been born there. On the other hand, at age 13 to 14 the mold has already set, and at age 20 they will still feel more comfortable in the original environment, and probably will in fact return to it. Kids who are 11, 12, maybe 13 are adapted to the original and can also adapt to the new, and commonly after age 20 can move back and forth between them with ease. Of course all of that can be and often is offset by adults who simply are adaptable and at any age can make do anywhere.
The point of course is that at age 12 you could not possibly find a better time to move your daughter! It will give her a perspective on society that is invaluable; and that is most particularly true if she happens to be a "people person" anyway.
And all of that said... one more point is that there seems to me to be one overall characteristic which most clearly indicates whether someone will like Alaska and stay, or not. Just how adventurous are you??? Do you like schedules? Do you enjoy repetitive tasks because you can eventually get so good that you can do them by rote and by note in your sleep (or when you are sick as a dog with the flu)? Would you like to be able to schedule your meals and other activities for a week in advance and then be able to expect to some degree that you can bet on following that schedule? Or do you hate routines, insist on something new on your plate (literally and figuratively) every day? If you've done something often enough to know how well you can do it, even if you never actually get to practice enough to ever do it that well, are you satisfied and move on to some other pet project? Or do you enjoy staying with a project because you've developed skills etc to be exceedingly good at it?
If you like routines you'll hate living in the Bush, and probably won't like anything in Alaska at all! At the extremes, for example living in Dutch Harbor or here in Barrow, life is absolutely an all day adventure every day. You can't schedule a day, much less a whole week! (That's one that hits a lot of teachers and engineers pretty hard.)
Last edited by Floyd_Davidson; 02-15-2010 at 10:22 PM..
in this particular village, the elders are all quite nice and treat the teachers well.
one cool thing about our school is that one of the elementary teachers is from here, and she has organized a program that gets elders involved in classrooms. any teacher that wants an elder in the room will probably get one- and this program might be part of the reason why relations are so positive.
in this particular village, the elders are all quite nice and treat the teachers well.
That is pretty much the norm.
As I noted, this is a problem with a legacy, and it is one that is now hopefully sliding down the back side of the hill into obscurity.
Kotzebue went through a period a few years back when they ended up with almost the entire school board being "anti-teacher". The effect was a bit of a disaster, and in particular for the school at Kivalina.
Here is an interesting article written at the peak of the problem, in 2003, by two professors at the college in Kotzebue:
We also had the same problem here on the North Slope, though without quite as much fireworks as Kotzebue experienced. It reached a peek maybe three years ago, and at this time appears (with a new Superintendent hired by a somewhat reformed School Board) to be finished.
One of the things RDawg might want to pay close attention in looking at locations in Alaska is the history of teacher retention. If a district is showing signs of worsening teacher retention rates, it might be a red flag. It's hard to spot though because most Bush school have relatively higher turn over rates than might be common else where. Hence it is any change that might be noticed and should be looked into. Of course any school that has a 50% or higher turnover in a single year is clearly a problem!
Note that most villages today have very much of a love affair with teachers. The schools, which years ago were locked when the kids got out of class, are now the center of the community. A typical teacher is someone who loves children and within weeks of residence will know every kid in town by name, and cares about them too. Those characteristics, even if you come from who knows where and talk funny too, are bound to endear every parent who notices (and in a village, they all notice).
I think your daughter will be accepted just fine There is always that stigma involved in being a teacher's daughter though. I was one myself but was always able to work it my advantage.
Thank you, Metlakatla. My daughter is accustomed to moving around and quickly settling into new environments, albeit all -48. The truth of being a teacher's daughter will always be there; it's part of who she is. I was more concerned with how easily she might be accepted in light of her cultural and ethnic minority (singularity?) in the bush.
hello rdawg-
it could honestly go either way. it all depends on the approach. just make sure she knows that humility goes a very long way.
if she plays sports, that will be a big plus (especially basketball, but volleyball could be good, too). depending on the village, there could be a brief period of teasing/hazing, but that would happen in any new school and isn't necessarily bush-specific.
out of curiosity, where do you plan on teaching? i'm in the BSSD. feel free to send a message if you have any more specific questions about bush teaching.
Thanks, bortstc37. Your point regarding humility is well-taken, as is your observation that being new to any school or community will require a period of adjustment.
I'll message you directly with a couple of other questions I have about bush teaching.
In fact I don't recall having seen this issue addressed in any detail before. It's an excellent question too!
Thank you, Floyd. I'm just trying to cover all my bases. I'm sure you can understand my concerns.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Floyd_Davidson
What you will experience depends on two things, one is what kind of people you and your child are (and in this case you are pretty much a unit, not separate entities), and equally as much it depends on the village.
Not everybody fits into village life. I'm a bit reluctant to attempt describing who might not, as it may offend you and will absolutely offend others! But clearly if your concept of social justice and your value system are at odds with those of people in a village it will make life difficult. If you are a social outcast, it's not fun.
As a unit, then, my daughter and I are open-minded and resilient. As I posted upthread, she and I are used to moving around with some frequency, so we understand and appreciate that folks do things differently in different places. We're eternally curious and always up for trying new things, and we're acutely aware that when we come to a new place, we're visitors - at least for some time. We know not to show up at somebody else's boil and tell them how to season their mudbugs (please pardon the colloquialism). That's the kind of people we are.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Floyd_Davidson
There are several villages in Alaska that do not tolerate Outsiders well, and in particular take it out on teachers. These change as time passes, so when you read that a given village was antagonistic to Outside teachers a decade or two ago, do not assume that would be true in that village today, or visa versa either! What you are living down is the legacy of Bureau of Indian Affairs race based policies dating from the 1940's and 1950's.
Look up, at UAA or use google to find her, the recent studies that have been done by Diane Hirshberg at UAA's Institute of Social and Economic Research. What you'll find is that mistreated students from the 1940's through the early 1960's are now Elders, who do not like teachers! What it really should be is a dislike for "BIA teachers", but instead they never realized that all teachers do not act that way, and resent any teacher. This legacy should be on the downhill side now, as current adults in their 40's did not experience the same type of teacher and do not harbor the same resentments.
During my research, I read about resentment held by Native Americans all over the United States towards Anglo teachers resulting from BIA treatment in decades past. It's good to hear that such feelings are fading. I mean, can't we all just get along?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Floyd_Davidson
One other interesting point that is not at all specific to Alaska or the bush, is your daughter's adaptability to such a huge environment change. I've watched this several times with kids at different ages (and personally experienced it too). A kid who is younger than about 10 can move from, for example, an urban environment to a rural environment (or the reverse), and will totally adapt to the new location. By age 20 it will be as if they had been born there. On the other hand, at age 13 to 14 the mold has already set, and at age 20 they will still feel more comfortable in the original environment, and probably will in fact return to it. Kids who are 11, 12, maybe 13 are adapted to the original and can also adapt to the new, and commonly after age 20 can move back and forth between them with ease. Of course all of that can be and often is offset by adults who simply are adaptable and at any age can make do anywhere.
The point of course is that at age 12 you could not possibly find a better time to move your daughter! It will give her a perspective on society that is invaluable; and that is most particularly true if she happens to be a "people person" anyway.
She's accustomed to change. In fact, she welcomes the stimulation, and she has no trouble at all making new friends and getting along with people. It's a skill she was born with and one she's honed throughout her life. This is sounding better all the time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Floyd_Davidson
And all of that said... one more point is that there seems to me to be one overall characteristic which most clearly indicates whether someone will like Alaska and stay, or not. Just how adventurous are you??? Do you like schedules? Do you enjoy repetitive tasks because you can eventually get so good that you can do them by rote and by note in your sleep (or when you are sick as a dog with the flu)? Would you like to be able to schedule your meals and other activities for a week in advance and then be able to expect to some degree that you can bet on following that schedule? Or do you hate routines, insist on something new on your plate (literally and figuratively) every day? If you've done something often enough to know how well you can do it, even if you never actually get to practice enough to ever do it that well, are you satisfied and move on to some other pet project? Or do you enjoy staying with a project because you've developed skills etc to be exceedingly good at it?
If you like routines you'll hate living in the Bush, and probably won't like anything in Alaska at all! At the extremes, for example living in Dutch Harbor or here in Barrow, life is absolutely an all day adventure every day. You can't schedule a day, much less a whole week! (That's one that hits a lot of teachers and engineers pretty hard.)
I am the son of a career military officer and have lived in and traveled to places the world over. As well, I spent a good number of years in the military myself. My years in South Asia and Europe afforded me exposure to many new and disparate cultures. Years spent living in North Dakota; working outdoors in Colorado, Montana, and Indiana; and training in the Bavarian Alps have left me with more than a passing familiarity with cold-weather environments. Given my upbringing and adult life experiences, I am no stranger to regimen, but I also have quite a bit of experience in being flexible and adaptable and driving on in ever-evolving and occasionally adverse situations (battle is, by definition, a fluid situation, no?). Simply put, I can do both.
My daughter and I welcome the challenge of adapting to living and working in new places; indeed, we seek out such opportunities. Life would otherwise be unbearably dull.
One of the things RDawg might want to pay close attention in looking at locations in Alaska is the history of teacher retention. If a district is showing signs of worsening teacher retention rates, it might be a red flag. It's hard to spot though because most Bush school have relatively higher turn over rates than might be common else where. Hence it is any change that might be noticed and should be looked into. Of course any school that has a 50% or higher turnover in a single year is clearly a problem!
Note that most villages today have very much of a love affair with teachers. The schools, which years ago were locked when the kids got out of class, are now the center of the community. A typical teacher is someone who loves children and within weeks of residence will know every kid in town by name, and cares about them too. Those characteristics, even if you come from who knows where and talk funny too, are bound to endear every parent who notices (and in a village, they all notice).
I've been looking at teacher retention numbers, actually. I understand that turnover is relatively high in the bush, but really high numbers can give pause. Good tip.
I suppose anyone from the -48 must sound funny to Alaskans. I expect to catch some flak for that, actually, given my background and home state. I usually try to wax humorous with the accent, though.
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There is always that stigma involved in being a teacher's daughter though. I was one myself but was always able to work it my advantage.
