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RANKIN INLET
Students at Tusarvik School in Repulse Bay traded their classroom for the ice and water of traditional learning earlier this month.

Lucy Siusnagnark and Natasha Angotautok, from left, get ready to measure a seal's intestine at Tusarvik School in Repulse Bay earlier this month in September of 2012. - photo courtesy of Jennifer Perry

The dozen Grade 11 science students spent a day seal hunting before returning to class to learn how to clean and dissect the seal, prepare the skin and cook the meat.

Science teacher Jennifer Perry said the cultural unit has been part of the science curriculum for three of the past four years.

She said the unit studies the ecology of the seal hunt and allows students to improve their traditional skills while also learning a little biology.

"We talk about traditional hunting and hunting techniques, and then we go boating for a day to hunt seals," said Perry.

"We also have a meal while out on the ice with the elders and guides who accompany us.

"We didn't actually get a seal on our hunt this year, but our culture teacher went out the next morning and got one for the class.

"We saw a lot of seals, and we did a lot of shooting while we were out there, but my students had pretty bad aim this year, so we came up empty ourselves."

Once the seal is delivered to the school, the fun begins for the science class.

Perry said the students begin by dissecting the seal to remove all its internal organs.

She said after pictures are taken of the process, everyone hunkers down for a good feed.

"We had an elder come in the next day to show the students how to remove the fat, clean and prepare the skin.

"Now we're in the process of the boys making slingshots and the girls making hair pins with the skin.

"The boys have to shave their skin for the traditional slingshots, while the girls are leaving the fur on for their hair pins."

Perry said the class used diagrams to cover the entire anatomy of the seal before the actual hunt.

She said when they dissect the seal, they remove each part, discuss it, go over its Inuktitut term, and talk about the function or role it plays within the seal's body.

"Once we're finished with all that, we eat it," said Perry with a laugh.

"The students had a big feed of raw liver, fat ... everything."

Perry said the cultural unit is a huge hit with the science students.

She said students' test scores are a lot higher on this module than they are in those dealing with southern science. "Student participation in class is also a lot higher with this unit.

"It's something culturally relevant to them, so they really get into it.

"You can definitely see a difference when you bring cultural aspects of science into the program."

Perry said that difference has both an upside and a downside.

She said as great as the cultural learning is, and as good as the students score in it, it's not something they're most likely to use if they want to pursue a post-secondary education.

"If they go to university or college, the vast majority of programs they take aren't going to find them talking about the seal hunt.

"But we do a little bit of both with our curriculum and our next unit, for example, is chemistry.

"This was biology and, when you think about the anatomy of a seal, it's very similar to that of a human.

"So they did get some pure science in this unit."

There's no easy answer when it comes to devising programs that address both traditional and modern learning.

The two are simply too difficult to combine.

Perry said the way the institution of schooling is set out, you can't do southern schooling using traditional ways.

"Everything is geared toward the individual with the institution of schooling, and what mark a person makes in any given test," said Perry.

"Cultural learning is more of a group or community thing.

"You can try that approach with the institution of schooling, but, in the end, it still boils down to how much work each individual actually did.

"So, you still have to bring it down to the individual student, while it doesn't really do that with cultural learning."

Perry said although combining the two is very difficult, teachers at Tusarvik will keep trying.

She said students are very much in a global world right now, so they have to be taught a lot more than what's relevant where they are right now.

"You can include that, of course, but we have to have other things as well.

"This has been a very successful module for us, and it's one I'd definitely like to see continue at Tusarvik."

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