Students build iglus using classroom
Darrell Greer
Northern News Services
Rankin Inlet (Feb 28/01) - A group of students at the Community Learning Centre in Rankin Inlet had a little traditional balance added to their course this month.
The 13 students enroled in the science and technology class were led by elders Moses Aliyak and Paul Sanertanut in building four iglus.
Course instructor Jim Shirley says the class runs from September to March, and is an upgrading program with an emphasis on science and scientific thinking.
He says the course is designed to prepare students for an apprenticeship exam, which is heavily weighted in the sciences.
"The whole point of the iglu-building exercise was to balance off the academic time we've spent in the classroom," says Shirley.
"Classroom learning can tend to be abstract and not very practical or hands on. We needed to balance that at this stage of the year with some actual experience and that's where the iglu building came in."
Shirley says he wanted to introduce some ideas into the program with the potential to broaden his students' thinking patterns and have them experience mechanisms at work in nature. He adds participants don't just learn how to make an iglu, they also learn about themselves.
"When you work with the elders to learn how to build an iglu, you learn about your limitations, strengths and weaknesses.
You also learn how to be patient, how to listen and how to observe. You can't have a more important learning experience because it's learning at many, many different levels."
Shirley says students benefitted from the traditional expertise of Aliyak and Paul Sanertanut, both highly regarded for their traditional land skills.
He says he's pleased two elders of their calibre were able to help.
"It's coming to the point where these kinds of traditional skills have become almost like sacred knowledge. Anyone who has the opportunity to take part in it is really experiencing something important, so we feel privileged to have had these two elders working with us."
