A Northern Education…
I’ve started blogs before…food blogs, personal blogs, family blogs, dog blogs…but, until I moved to northern Canada, I simply couldn’t keep them going. I suppose this could be a result of many things – the availability of movie theaters, restaurants, and parks just to name a few. Sure, I kept up-to-date with facebook and was around and astonished when Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary offended branding officials and linguists alike by including Google as a verb in their 2006 edition, but that’s about it.
The beautiful hamlet in northern Canada which I call 'home'.
So now here I am, above the Arctic Circle, wondering how to connect. True, a Bruce Willis movie with butter-drenched popcorn in a dark movie theater isn’t much of a human interaction, but at least you are surrounded by people. This reality has, however, guided my professional journey to an extent.
As an adult educator in the north I encounter a unique learner: a person with vast skill-sets, only some of which are generally deemed appropriate for in-class work…I’m not saying that I wholly agree with this generalization, but it’s one that is commonly thrown around in the dark and dusty corners of various staff-rooms I’ve entered; I’m trying to align my worldview with my current reality. People tell me, “think outside the box,” but I think I’ll need help. How does ‘education’ work in this environment.
I’m sure there are quite a few metaphors which could be used at this juncture, but I’m just trying to keep things as clear as possible. When I speak with most of my colleagues in the ‘south’ (below the treeline), their main pet peeve seems to be keeping ahead of their grade-school kids when it comes to the undeniable power of online tools. However, how do you teach someone with no experience with a computer to stay ahead of the kids at school? I work with future teachers.
I hope someone out there will stop by every now-and-then to give me some advice. And, if I insult anyone, please don’t hate me: explain why you were offended so I can learn a bit more…
#change11
Hi – welcome to the course (sorry, couldn’t find your name on the site).
I’ve had the opportunity to visit several northern communities (Iqaluit and Churchill). These communities have very different learning and educational needs than what is common in Toronto or New York. Interestingly, I find that countries in Africa have some overlapping concerns with northern communities: problems with internet access, different community narratives than what defines well developed centres, youth with huge desires and passion to create/share/become, but with some challenging barriers to overcome.
Anyway, I hope you’ll engage in change11 and share your experiences. It’s critical that educators encounter the experiences of people who come from different locations and who face different educational challenges that the ones that are reflected in prominent narratives.
George
Hi George,
Thanks for the ‘welcome’; I think it’ll be great to get such a wide perspective through this course. I am certainly looking forward to hearing from people who also teach in relatively isolated areas!
Tara
Hi Tara – I hear you when you talk about highly skilled people whose skills are often disregarded when it comes to class work. I’m below the treeline, but also in an isolated community in the NWT working as a community adult educator. Looking forward to more of your insights as you participate in #change11
It’s great to hear someone else taking part from the northern ‘wilds’ of Canada! I look forward to reading more of your posts (I just popped over to your site to view one) in the #change11 MOOC. It just seems so overwhelming to me right now…I’m glad there is someone else – with more experience than I – working with a similar group of students.
tara