New Teachers (Fairbanks, Bethel, Klawock: fit in, apartment, home)

[Rainy]

I hate to bring this back up but this thread has been bugging me.

It would have been interesting if Allen had expounded a bit on his initial post, and it could have been helpful to any potential teachers...but instead it seems he was subject to personal attack and what seems to be misinterpretation of what he said.

He could well be a disgruntled former teacher; at first I read his post that way, but the wording makes it just vague enough not to be able to know for sure.

However, nowhere did I see him say anything like, "you suck because you are white", yet he was responded to as if he had.

Nice going.

[Alaska Deb]

Oh for Heaven's Sake.

Strike 2?

Let's let it go, how about that.

If someone goes in to *any* community with a superior attitude...yacking about how it is (should be) done...where-ever....well, that person won't fit anywhere. I mean, just look at the shape Vermont is in now.

You get what you plant. You invest nothing...you get nothing.

But...he did say it would be Strike 2, and that is not a positive.

[Rainy]

Oh, well excuse me. I hadn't realized that a statement must be "positive" in order to have any value. By all means, let's get back to the rainbow coated television version of Alaska.

It's sad to see a lifelong resident of this state attacked by people who have never been here simply for stating a truth, and what could have been a valuable conservation ruined by misinterpretations and knee jerk reactions. It does rather seem the way of the future here, though.

[Alaska Deb]

Look, I won't write again on this topic.

The original post(s) discussed how many teachers leave each year. That is not an Alaskan problem...it is more widespread than that.

In my school alone, 35-40% leave each and every year. In my old school, it was 25-30% each year. That's a lot of new teachers every year when there are between 100 and 200 teachers.

Teachers leave. Unless there is a strong contract, the working conditions can be brutal, and the students are sometimes dangerous (think multiple felon convictions) ...plus the hours are long. Couple that with 'No Child Left Behind" and teaching can be tense.

We either stay with it...or don't. Race should not be an issue. My relatives have lived a life of terror because of 'race' and religion. I am sorry it has to play a role at all in life.

[Rainy]

The original post was in reference to some of the unique factors involved in teaching in the the Alaskan bush, not about how many teachers leave their jobs every year elsewhere.

The proper wording would be " felony convictions" as opposed to " felon convictions".

One reason I took my son out of the public school system before the teachers there ruined his future was that his English teacher was unable to comprehend that his use of the English language was indeed his own...and accused him of plagiarism without being able to name the author that he was supposedly stealing from, but thought it might be someone like Hemmingway.

Oh well. The teacher himself probably graduated from the bottom third of a fourth rate university along with the majority of his peers.

[mountainme]

Oh my,
some of us just wanted some information about teaching in Alaska, now all public school teachers are nazi's with low class and an equally low education?

As someone who moves a bit I get more than my share of the "you are an outsider and therefor are responsible for ruining what used to be the golden age of (insert state here)"
It is a result of all of us, no matter where we live, for having attitudes like those expressed in the above post. It is a result of overpopulation...because you are born in L.A. does it mean you should be condemned to living there forever?
Hey you want to do something, don't have a bunch of kids! Learning tolerance and understanding might help too.

[Rainy]

Excuse me, but I didn't have a " bunch of kids" and what happened here had a lot to do with the people who wanted certain information being unhappy with the honest answers that they got.

Learn to read. I didn't use the word "nazis" anywhere and neither did I state that I have had a "bunch of kids". Allen's post was about teaching in the bush. There is quite a cultural difference between that and moving from LA to Portland, for instance. Understanding that rather than getting angry over it will go a long way towards a better experience for those who want to teach here.

Oh, and by the way, the approximate grand a month I paid in private school tuition for the one child that I have was the best investment I ever made and it certainly does show

http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Stossel/story?id=1500338

[freeedom]

Rainy, You make these two very uncomfortable, your crediablity on the playing ground alone is sending them sideways, futhermore you have not used one knee-jerk comment, or inspired to lowering your morals and have stood very tanacously in your stance. If they want advice for teaching in alaska ask and recievie it and say thank you! I would not suggest a pissing contest with anyone especially a long time resdience. the wind will never be blowing in your favor. Here is a consempt. Listen to what she has to say, there is always a chance something just might be learned within her information. sorry rainy know you can deal with this but some people are rude without a care!

[Rainy]

Thanks freeedom. My point in this thread was to point out that Allen didn't make an anti-white statement so much as he stated a fact, and I'm guessing that Allen's white himself.

Overpopulation doesn't affect the bush, by the way; the village populations in some cases are decreasing every year. There are other factors that come more prominently into play regarding resentments of outsiders here.

[Urth]

http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/8780486p-8681982c.html (broken link)

My personal experiences. If you have not lived in or closely with Alaskan Natives you can not understand what others are saying about the negative atmosphere radiating from them. This complaint is true. The older Natives have much animosity towards ANY person with white skin. Currently there is a large movement of Alaska Natives and other related Clans or Tribes down south banding together in an effort to resist the white man’s ways a.k.a. Western Modern Civilization. They are hell bent in blaming us for their health problems. Read the article and try to imagine why they would welcome any whites into there communities. I use to think I was a sensitive person and I could be nice, understanding, generous and be accepted. What I learned is most Alaskan Native people have a very different way of thinking. They can not comprehend our American ways. It’s not like trying to understand a different language. It is as if we (any white people) are aliens and we are from a totally corrupt world. I had close (now deceased) relatives married into the Tlingit Clan of Klawock, Alaska. I have a better understanding than the general public. As the older Natives and their memories pass away it will become easier for outsiders to be welcomed into the bush communities. I keep asking myself. Why would any qualified teacher want to live in a bush community? Sound advise; take 2 or at least 1 month and visit only bush communities summer or winter and then make a choice. Seriously, I could never live in a bush community as long as I have a choice. No amount of money could keep me there. I am 100% sure of this. Like I said in the title. Read the front page of the Anchorage Daily News 10 April 2007 and see what is happening to bush community people. There are many other non-bush communities welcoming qualified teachers.