10-28-2012

End of the first quarter. Report cards have all been mailed home and parent/teacher conferences have been held. I always feel funny talking to parents about their children. Of course I try to highlight the student’s successes but I also need to touch on areas where they need work. That part will always be a bit awkward for me because I know a parent doesn’t enjoy somebody else reminding them that their child may have difficulties focusing. But it is always awesome to be able to show a parent a paper their child wrote that surprises them. Or share an anecdote about something nice the student has done for another student.

I’ve written about this before, mainly because it brings up memories of my school years. And my report cards were not full of flowery adjectives. Unfortunately, blogging was not invented yet, so I had no way to vent my frustration. My outlet was to “not apply myself”. I was not a talented student. I’m not really sure why, because I did enjoy school. Well, not report card day.  But the rest of the time school was fun for me. 

Saturday afternoon on the way to school.

Another cruel part of report card day was that the school would send the report card home with the students. Today, we either mail them home or hand them to the parent at the conference. So, our teacher would give us the sealed envelope with instructions that they were not to be opened by anyone except our parents. We rode the late bus, so we had to wait at the school for our bus to make a 45 minute run before it came back to pick us up to take us home. 

I had to hold on tight to that sealed envelope for over an hour in my grubby little hands for fear of losing it. I knew that if I lost it, nobody would believe that story. I would be accused of destroying the evidence of my laziness. Nobody ever thought that maybe I was too lazy to conjure up such a scheme. I was forced to deliver the evidence of my shortcomings to my parents. 

My class doing a yoga exercise. Notice I am not in the picture.

What made the delivery worse was that I had two brothers who were talented students. Apparently, they did “apply” themselves. They were overjoyed to hand over their envelopes, knowing that warm smiles and possibly gifts from overseas would be coming their way. I stood a few steps back, hoping that in the celebration my parents would forget about me and my envelope. But they wouldn’t. Their joyous smiles would fade and their gaze would shift from the envelope to my eyes. Everyone in the room knew what to expect, but there was always some suspense. Maybe they were all hoping I had turned the corner and began “applying” myself. I didn’t and I was always sent to bed without supper.

Ok, maybe I over dramatized things a bit. I was always fed supper. But I do empathize with my students who may lose focus or take longer than needed to finish a project or even a single assignment. I feel for the less talented students and their plight. And I don’t enjoy talking to their parents about how “if they would just apply themselves”, their scores would improve. But I will never make my students hand deliver their own report cards. 

10-20-2012

I guess I missed a week. But, I have a good excuse. I was in Anchorage attending training for our after school program that I will be teaching. Ok,teaching isn’t a good verb here; I think juggling would describe it better. Either way, I have found a way to spend an additional six hours a week at school/work.

Swan Lake and our School.

The truly bad part of flying out of the village to Anchorage is that there are a lot of people there. Not New York City crowded, but more-than- 4-people-ahead-of-you-at-a-Walmart-checkout-stand crowded. And to answer your next question: yes. People in Anchorage Walmarts act exactly like people in Walmarts across our country. I did indeed stand behind the man with the full shopping cart and a handful of cash, telling the clerk to stop scanning when she hit $100. When that event happened, he then had the clerk take back some of the item that were deemed by him as unimportant, so he could add the important items. He did have the decency to scowl at me and say that this would take a while. I have seen this man in other incarnations at other Walmarts. Once as a drunk woman in Grove, OK and another as a confused, older woman with a tiny coin purse, a wad of coupons, and bad eyesight in Wenatchee, WA.

Even though I was in Anchorage only 4 days, I was ready to get back to Nunam Iqua. And in those four days things sure changed. Looking down from the plane as we flew over the tundra, I could see how much the ponds and lakes have frozen over. The small lake here in the village, Swan Lake, was 75% frozen over. It is not ready for me to walk on, but children and several rocks have found it sturdy enough to support them. Looking back at my time-dated photos for the previous years, it seems that the freeze is right on schedule. The Yukon is already starting to form ice, so that means the road will soon be reopened for traffic.

This weekend our school will be holding a community dance, featuring fiddlers from Emmonak. Communities up here have dances where they feature fiddlers regularly. Our village, sadly, has not had one in a couple of years, so people are really excited about this. It is difficult to imagine, but our village has only one event each year where the people gather, and that is our annual potlatch. Other than that, there are literally no community gatherings for the next 364 days. No places where people can just sit to share coffee, stories, and jokes. The post office is the only place where people are likely to bump into each other.  I believe that this event can help this community after a couple of rough months. 

Our whole school playing volleyball.

Now that I’ve had a couple of trips to the big city this past month, I think I’ll be hunkering down here until May. And I really don’t mind at all. I like being able to walk to work everyday. Not having to stand in line to buy Spam. And not seeing a car or pickup for another seven months. My daily arguments with the village dogs on my walk to work everyday gives me my anger-outlet. Plus, I think they are beginning to agree with my point about the upcoming election.

10-7-2012

When Monica and I were first married, we didn’t spend a lot of time together. You may think it was because of too much awesomeness too soon for Monica.  But it was because of our work schedules.  Monica was a 911 dispatcher at the time, working nights.  I was employed by FedEx,  working the normal 6am-7pm shift.  So we didn’t see each other much. I left for work before she got home, and she was getting ready for work when I got home.  She also had to work most weekends, so that didn’t work out for  us either.  

Then we decided that I would finish college and become a teacher.  Monica then worked more overtime so we could afford me going to school full time. I still worked at nights, driving truck for FedEx, but only for 5 hrs.  Monica started working 60 hours a week, so again, we didn’t see much of each other.

Fast forward to today.  Not only do we have the same schedule and work in the same building; we also teach in the same classroom. On top of that, I am her supervisor.  Yes, I am legally allowed, if not obligated, to tell my wife what she needs to do. This causes confusion on both our parts, because apparently at home, she is legally allowed and obligated to tell me what to do. And I’ve been informed, by Monica, that I must comply. When I ask, “By what authority?”, she just gives me that look. Gentlemen, you know that look, and ladies, you have perfected that look. That look has caused the delay of many football games and interrupted several poker games. That look has also kept the worlds’s population at a lower level than it already is. We are frightened by that look and you women know it.

I have yet to get that look in the classroom from my lovely wife.  She may roll her eyes when I tell the kids a story about my childhood that she thinks I am embellishing, but that is different from the look. She also thinks I use the word ‘poop’ too much in the classroom, but she doesn't try to stop me. When I ask her to do a task in the classroom, she politely says, “Yes Mr. Miller”. 

The best part of having her in the classroom is that she is able to help me with my disability: spelling.  I feel so alone when I am at the whiteboard (chalkboard for you old-timers) with the pen in hand, fumbling in my brain for the right letter order.  Unfortunately, the whiteboard doesn’t have those red lines appear under the word when I have misspelled one.  Usually, I’ll take a step back to get a better visual perspective of the word I was trying to spell.  Then will come a chorus of “HaHaHaHa.  You spelled it wrong!”  This by third graders. I don’t even get the courtesy cough, to let me know I should run back up to the board and erase it quickly.  Nope, just jeers and laughs.  With Monica there, I can confidently stand at the board while writing.  If I think I may have a problem, I just pause, wait for her to cough, then erase the word and use my thesaurus in my head to think of an easier word.  We have ridiculous and contradicting spelling rules.

I am thankful I have Monica in my classroom daily.  She is tough with the kids and is able to get the most out of them.  We both have the same philosophy on what should happen in the classroom, so it makes it easy to lesson plan with her.  And I always know when she’s mad at me because she won’t give me the courtesy cough and lets the kids yell at me.  I hate you resurant. (cough)

9-30-2012

Some weeks drag on and some weeks fly by.  And some weeks I get on a plane Monday morning and head to Seward, Alaska.  Ok, that will only happen once this year, but I still get to count it as something I did.  I spent last week at the Alaska SeaLife Center learning about video teleconferencing.  

Being in such a remote part of the world, it makes sense to utilize technology that can connect Nunam Iqua, Alaska with Nunam Iqua, France.  Since I don’t have an Internet connection as I’m writing this, I cannot verify there is a group of Eskimos living in the suburbs of Paris.  I’ll ask Professor Google when I have the time.  But it could be I just made that up.

Video teleconferencing is a very good way to see different cities and cultures.  There are hundreds of groups around the world that offer live, interactive lessons about a variety of topics.  The Alaska SeaLife Center is one of those groups.  While we were there, we were able learn how to do our own live, interactive lessons. I am now ready to connect with other teachers to share our culture and for my students to learn about another culture by asking their own questions.

Just before the lights went out.

There were eight of us attending the workshop; representing the state from Barrow to Juneau.  Three of us were classroom teachers while the rest were either curriculum folk or technology nerds.  It was a good group of people to learn from too.  My own group of four did a lesson on octopuses.  Yes, the plural of octopus is octopuses not octopi.  I was informed by the resident marine biologist that only jerks use that term. We were able to touch and handle a live octopus.  Their suction cups on their arms are just like a bathtub mat’s cups.  They make popping noises when you pull it off.  Please do not ask me how I know that bathtub mats can stick to human skin.  At one point while we were handling the octopus, the power in Seward went out. This had three of us with octopus arms wrapped around our hands in total darkness.  That was a very anxious 5 seconds.

This is what a baby octopus looks like.

The other fun part of being in Seward is that it is a small town but includes services for the thousands of tourists that visit each year from the cruise ships.  That means many bars and restaurants to sample. And sample I did.  I recommend The Seward Brewing Co.  Good eats and rumor has it, their beer is excellent.

Another part of getting to towns with stores is that I can bring some perishables back. I brought back cheese, butter, cheese, coffee creamer, cheese, and lunch meat.  I am thinking that getting a cow might be a more efficient way to satisfy our dairy needs. It might also lead to an efficient way to feed the local wolf population. They like their cheese too apparently.

So the week away from home was fun but it is good to get back home.  I brought back Monica's Christmas present (Mac Book Air), I learned some awesome new stuff, and met some good people. I will be heading back to Anchorage in two weeks for more training.  I think I’ll sample some local Anchorage restaurants and find some liquid treats.

9-23-2012

Finding material to write about weekly (weakly?) can sometimes be difficult. Some weeks there is an abundance of events that happen and all I have to do is write about them.  Other weeks, nothing out of the ordinary takes place, so more effort is required to find things to write about.  

Well, things do happen, but I’m not going to write about everything.  When I started my blog two years ago, I made the decision to try to keep it light and humorous.  When I say ‘try’ I mean ‘do a task with little effort’. I figured that if I though it was funny, maybe somebody else would too.  And if they didn’t find it funny, at least they had solace in the fact I wasn’t in their school, teaching their kids.

We have issues up here that are just like everywhere else.  Some of the issues up here are not just like everywhere else.  We have an extremely high rate of substance abuse.  This is an issue that touches the school with a cruel, unfair hand.  With substance abuse comes neglect of children in a variety of ways we witness at the school every day.  And being in a remote area, we don’t have resources readily available to help solve these problems.  When these problems persist, the young victims continue to suffer.

We have no law enforcement in our village to respond quickly when needed.  This allows for some to not be held accountable for their actions, and continue with behavior that is detrimental to the community.   I want to strongly emphasize that the overwhelming majority of citizens are law abiding and only want to do the right thing.  But in a village with less than 200 people, it only takes a few to disrupt the community.  Like Monica says, “The smaller the room, the more potent that fart.”  I married her for her flowery prose.

Every day I get to go to work with 19 amazing kids.  Some kids come to school carrying more baggage than I could possibly endure.  They may come in wearing the same clothes for the past two weeks, having only two hours of sleep on a living room floor that night, and a small bag of Doritos for dinner.  But they walk in with a big smile on their face.  It makes the whining about Romney’s tax return or that Obama is a communist sound ridiculous and trite. 

So, I do have plenty to blog about.  Monica and I don’t feel that we are here to save a village.  We are here to work in a community and try to become a member of a group where we are the outsiders.  I also don’t think I would be benefiting anyone, including myself, to comment on specific tragedies we may witness.  We love being a part of this community.  While we don’t ignore the adversities, we want to relish all of the positives; which greatly outnumber the negatives.  I will try to write about the things that make me smile and laugh, not the things that break my heart.

9-16-2012

The remoteness of this area is one of the main reasons we we love living here. I’m not offended by modern conveniences, but it is nice not having any cars or trucks in our village.  The occasional airplane is usually the only traffic noise we are hearing this time of year.  By November the sounds of snowmobiles will become audible; even to my annoyance.  But with the airplane noise comes the opportunity to fly out of here sometimes and see other places.  At the end of this month I will be getting on one of those Era planes and fly to Anchorage for a workshop in Seward.

Since our school is so remote, the state and district have invested heavily in technology. One of our technological goodies (I think that is the nerd term) is the ability to participate in field trips at long distance.  I will be attending a workshop on how to facilitate those field trips remotely.  Plus, spending a week in Seward and Anchorage will be a nice break.  Monica unfortunately will not be accompanying on this trip, as she has to teach my class for me.  I know they will be in good hands while a beer and a cheeseburger will be in my hands.  Yes, at the same time.

I am finally getting settled in with my class.  The new kids are still trying to figure out if I’m really that mean.  I’ve learned that scared students make quieter students.  For some of my students, this is their third year with me and they have figured out what they can or can’t get away with.  I try to give the older kids more privileges and responsibilities in the classroom, so that makes them happy.  Mostly.

This is a picture Monica took of the Yukon.

This week we had some fun in science.  I was trying to answer a question about what happens to our food after we eat it.  Now, if you think I enjoy being gross with elementary students, you are correct.  I was explaining that they all have bugs in their guts, bacteria that breaks down your food.  Puzzled looks is what I got.  So I asked them, “Who has eaten a hotdog?”  Every hand enthusiastically went up.  Then I asked, “Who has pooped a hotdog?”  Nineteen hands slowly went down.  I explained that their stomachs digest the hotdog, taking out what the body needs, and shoots the rest out the backdoor.  It was silent for about 30 seconds until one of the shy students raises his hand and says, “I pooped corn.”  Then the discussion began.  This is why I love teaching.

We have had some good frosts this week.  That means that the lake will freeze over pretty soon and our walk to school will become significantly shorter.  And colder.

I will be gone for a week and Monica will have to stay.  I feel badly for her, but not bad enough to decline to offer of the workshop. It will also give me the ability to let my class see other parts of the world through  this project.  I will bring Monica back some creamer for her coffee.  I will do a little shopping for a few perishables we don’t have enough of; mainly butter and cheese.  I should just get a cow.  And the trip to Seward will give me the opportunity to sample some more of the local craft beers.  You know, just trying to help the local economy.

9-9-2012

I’ve always taken the availability of electricity for granted.  I’ve never lived in a place where we lost power for any length of time, so I guess I’ve lived a charmed life.  I’ve also never been bitten by a snake, but I don’t think those two are connected.  Before we moved up here, I read about villages whose power was disrupted constantly.  Until this fall, we continued to be lucky.

We had a few outages prior to this fall, but nothing too bad.  Maybe a few hours at a time, but then it was back on, just in time for us to watch yet another reality show about Alaska.  But this year has been brutal.  

This is an uluaq, or ulu in English. It is a Yup'ik
knife used for cutting up meat and such.

Our village, like most villages in rural Alaska, gets power from diesel generators located in the village.  There is usually more than one generator, just in case one fails.  This fall, we would have 3-4 power outages a day, usually only lasting between 15 mins to an hour.  Which is not a big deal unless you have a classroom where technology is used.  I happen to have one of those classrooms.  So it has been a constant struggle to reboot computers while students are acting like it is the apocalypse.  Even though it would be the tenth time it had happened that week.  Drama kings and queens.  It does get pretty dark in the classroom during this, so there’s not a lot we can get done during this time, except for me to talk about the apocalypse.  (They frighten easily.)

But, it looks like the problem has been solved.  On our way to work yesterday, we talked with a man who was waiting to go to the airstrip.  He said he was here to work on the generators and thinks he had the problem fixed. He said words like “air in the fuel line” and “breaker’.  I swear he even said “salami pudding”.  I don’t know because I’m not mechanically inclined. I was born without the Mr. Goodwrench gene.  I don’t know how to work on a car and never had the desire to. Some people find that odd or even offensive that a man doesn't know how to fix his own car when it breaks down. I ignore them and go back to my specific skill set: eating and updating my moth collection.  (Not at the same time, that would be ridiculous.)  So far, we’ve yet to have a  power outage since seeing the stranger, so I guess it wasn’t an hallucination from breathing moth dust.

Another look at the delta and the mighty Yukon River.
Again, these are Monica's photos. This shows why it
is so difficult to get from one place to another.

We are getting into our groove at school.  The students remembered that they don’t like doing school work and their teacher remembered that he doesn’t like writing lesson plans on Saturdays.  But even with the larger class, we’re making it work.  One 5th grader told me he missed me this summer.  I asked him how he’s going to feel next year when he moves up the the middle school.  He said, “Sad”.  Then his face lit up and he said, “I’ll have a locker!”.  So it seems I will be easily replaced by lockers.  

With the power fixed it looks like football season will be enjoyable.  Last week the power went out during the last few minutes of a close game, so I wasn’t looking forward to a whole season of that.  We now can go back to the charmed life of continuous electricity and snake-bite free living. Until the next big storm and they have to string together paperclips as a makeshift power line.