Monday, June 8, 1998
Program cuts at Nunavut's Arctic College is the tip of the iceberg.
Below the surface, according to government figures, are the 18,000 adults in the NWT classified as illiterate or semi-illiterate. This segment of the population is kept at alarming levels by a 75 per cent school drop out rate.
Such figures suggest a sorry future when government research also indicates 45 per cent of new jobs will require 16 years of education.
For the Nunavut government, the future is already here. Arctic College is cutting courses when it most needs the homegrown brains. It's no wonder Interim Commissioner Jack Anawak had to soften his commitment to a government largely staffed by Inuit. It just can't happen.
Then there is the territory-wide problem of teachers, both hiring them and keeping them in the North. The seemingly unrelated shift from government housing and other cuts to employee benefits such as vacation travel allowances, have a very direct effect on the income of teachers living in the dozens of small Northern communities.
Too many teachers who have the option of a job in the South are taking it. Potential replacements, who before may have jumped at the attractive compensation packages in northern communities, may now conclude it would be smarter to stay south and be poor rather than doing so in the North.
The one bright light in education is the increase in aboriginal teachers coming out of the Aurora and Arctic College teacher education programs. In 1992, there were 146 aboriginal teachers in the school system. By the year 1999, there should be more than 355 aboriginal teachers.
Last week, MLAs demanded cabinet reinstate education funding. Cabinet says there is no money. That may be. But it will be up to MLAs to keep cabinet honest and ensure whatever money does become available is directed to education. Every day we delay sets us all back and robs our children of their rightful future.
As a non-beneficiary, Wolfgang Bottenberg is on shaky ground on Inuit land. The creator of the opera "Inook" wants to bring his show to the North for next year's Nunavut celebrations and he wants the government to pick up the tab.
Admittedly, he has done some of his homework and consulted Inuit organizations about becoming involved in the production and design of the show. But Bottenberg's work has just begun.
He still has to convince the powers-that-be to loosen their purse strings and fund yet another outsider's version of Inuit culture and mythology. No easy task in an era of cutbacks to domestically-produced Northern art.
Dogs are an integral part of Northern life. They always have been and they still are. Traditionally they have been used as transportation and as security alarms.
With the death of two children in the last two years, dogs are also becoming a threat.
The danger has always existed. Northern dogs aren't kept like the house pets and lap dogs of the south. MACA has launched a well-placed safety campaign to create awareness of the dangers of little kids trying to play with dogs. This kind of educational approach is an excellent idea, but surely this awareness begins at home.
Maybe there's something in the water. Or perhaps it is that southern climate. Sport North's choice for both male and female athlete of the year are from Fort Smith.
Congratulations are in order for track and field whiz Jonathan Kurszewski and arctic sports record-breaker Meika MacDonald. They are this year's choice for the most coveted athletic award that the territories has to offer.
However, because excellence in competition is the name of the game, the athletes in Fort Smith better not rest on their laurels too long. We can hear the sound of next year's nominees coming down the track.
A Rankin Inlet woman who was recently recognized with an NWT literacy award is a shining example to all who are struggling to stay in school or finding excuses not to go back and finish their education.
Violet Twyee went against all the odds. She had never before been to school until last year when, at 58, she enrolled in the Nunavut Arctic College Workplace Program. She plans to become a literacy instructor at Maani Ulujuk Illiniarvik high school and teach students the importance of staying in school. Her dedication to education and perseverance is to be commended, as well as admired.
Her accomplishment is significant and reveals the potential inside everyone. Twyee put it best when she said that you're never to old to learn.