to engage myself with community activities , ensure Elders feel welcome in the school and try to incorporate as much traditional knowledge that I can . This means I have to rely on Elders and experts to share their knowledge not only with the students but with myself and my teachers . It can be a challenge getting some of the Elders in for many reasons . We have two that come each day and work in our traditional tools and in foods and sewing . There are many Elders in our community that can share stories but may not be able to come for various reasons , so we have tried to make them more comfortable by having teas or social events for them .
I also have attendance issues . For various reasons , there are students who do not attend . This was very unfamiliar to me . My goal was to get them in the building and make them feel welcome . If students feel part of the learning , then maybe they will stay .
Many of my students face mental health challenges . Someone in our community took their own life last year . I had never even met the youth , but I was devastated . I knew we needed to be resilient but also empower students to find ways to overcome these obstacles . We arranged a huge Red Cross conference for students . This focused on healthy relationships , dealing with grief , bullying , empowering themselves , etc .
Because there was an attempt for culture to be taken away during colonization , I feel it is my responsibility as a leader to try to show how important the Inuit culture is . We had Dark Spark come up and do videos and songs with our Grades 7 and 8 students . They got to write their own songs that showed the beauty of the Inuit , their traditions etc . Please check them out online and you can actually see the work my students did . Absolutely amazing !
So I guess , I am trying to overcome the obstacles by making sure I put as much culture back into the school as I can .
What experiences informed / motivated your administrative vision ? I think my ultimate goal for my students is that they can be part of preserving our Elders ’ stories and traditions . When Elders visit our classroom , they have so much knowledge that they can share . But unfortunately , these Elders will not be here forever , so it is our vision to ensure that these stories and traditions are preserved . We are slowly trying to capture their words and their language digitally . I wish it could be done faster , but to do this justice , we need to be patient .
I think my motivation comes from some of my research about mental health and loss of culture . Nunavut experiences some of the highest mental health issues in all of Canada . If we as a school can do our part to help sustain culture , then quite possibly we are helping our students feel included .
I also am fortunate to work with singer / songwriter Susan Aglukark . She has been an inspiration to me . Through her Arctic Rose foundation , she has put art therapy into our school as a means of battling mental health issues as well . Students come every day after school to do traditional art with sometimes a modern twist to it . Students have a safe space to be after school , learn a bit more about their culture and where they come from , what the story of their name is and build friendships .
What experiences have formed the passion behind your work ? Building a safe learning culture is very important to me . Students need to feel that they belong , and they are in a place where the adults in the building care about them as a whole . Colonialization is not in the distant history for the Inuit . I believe in Reconciliation and I need to do my part in this . I also have students who are experiencing intergenerational trauma . This devastates me and each week I see evidence of the trauma some of my students are facing . Again , research states that the disconnect with culture has an impact on students and their learning . My vision is quite simply that students feel connected with their culture and education ensure that this can happen .
One reason you were recognized with this award is because of your understanding of the importance of sustaining cultural connections and pride in student and family heritage and traditions . Your focus includes the use of digital literacies and support of the Inuit language . Can you explain what you are doing and how you are using digital literacies as a way to embed culture ? We are slowly doing this . In our Inuktitut class , students are trying to video Elders and then translate their story . Our communication class has tried to highlight Inuit traditions like sewing in video . When we want to embed culture , we are trying to show connections in each of our classes with culture . For example , in science , when we talk about global warming , we look at how it specifically effects the Inuit , the caribou , etc . In shop we look at traditional tools and learn how to build them and how to use them . We try hard to incorporate Inuktitut in all of our students ’ presentations . We are lucky to have two Inuktitut teachers and a school community counsellor who will help students and teachers with this . Our teachers try to find a way to embed the Inuit culture into their teachings to make it more relevant .
Do you have any mentors at the Faculty of Education , University of Regina ? I do . I was lucky to go to university with Dr . Val Mulholland . I think of her as a friend and a mentor . She is amazing at what she does and has great insight of what education should look like . She encouraged me to pursue more education than my B . Ed . I truly admired Jerry Orban . When I was an administrator in Saskatchewan , he was someone who I did contact during internship programs . He always had the time to talk and help . His passion for the internship program made me want to be more involved . I also love following Dr . Couros on Twitter . I really like the messages he sends . I also like how he engages his students via social media . �
Education News | Page 19