Always Getting Ready

It’s Sunday; and I am getting ready for the week. But my mind is focused on getting ready for my next flight. On Thursday, I have to fly to Bethel. I am thinking of all the things I need to do before I leave. I start packing so I do not forget anything. I start preparing SIOP lessons and materials that I have promised to help teachers with. And cleaning the house. And then I will work on paperwork that needs to be done before I leave. The list goes on and on.

Nonetheless, I have a little more time to relax; I sleep in until 9 am and walk to church. Enjoying the beauty of the early morning in Chefornak, this poem came to me as I walked to church.


Twilight on the Tundra

A faint rose-hued glow on the horizon
contrasts against the darker streaks
of pink and gray-blue clouds.
The sliver of the new moon hangs
over the last row of houses,
where village meets the expansive earth.

Its 10 am;
snow crunches under my boots
on frosted boardwalks,
the rasp of ice reminds me
that it is yet another week
until Winter Solstice

The sun postpones her presence
as she slowly slides
into the silent beauty of the day;
Twilight on the tundra.



Indeed, an hour later I watched a glorious sunrise when church got out. I walked quickly down boardwalk to the school where I wrote down the image of this magical morning that I witnessed. Wooden boardwalks connect the school to the church, store and houses, to carry people over the marshy tundra of the spring, summer and fall. Now that the landscape is frozen, the snow machines zip across the frozen lakes; a shortcut back home after church.

The title of my blog today is take from the title of a great book about this region, Always Getting Ready: Upterrlainarluta Yup'ik Subsistence in Southwest Alaska by James H. Barker. It is a great book that has given me insight into the people of this region and the importance of subsistence. Knowing the issues of this region and culture is essential for any teacher. It is of even greater essential for a SIOP coach, because we have to make lessons culturally relevant and build on students’ background knowledge. For SIOP to be effectively implemented in this Yup'ik region, I must adapt it to the culture and intergrate the great cultural resources of the region.

I am constantly learning from the elders here, from the community activities and from the natural environment. In this way, I gain insight into the strengths of the students and the depth of their background knowledge. Students have a wealth of resources to draw on, if only we can think of ways to connect their background knowledge to the content and curriculum.

A wonderful, gifted teacher here in Chefornak has found away to connect to the students’ strength in their expressive language through song and dance. She brings her students to an elder’s house, who teaches the children to dance. She teaches them the stories, the words of the song and the motions that go with them. The students gain a rich oral language experience and learn the motions that help them create meaning through the song and dance.

Everyday, I am amazed at how much I am learning from the people around me: the elders, the teachers, the children and the local culture. I look forward to the week to see what new things I will learn as a SIOP coach. Sometimes it seems like I am doing the greatest learning of all.