Land becomes curriculum
Tusarvik has deep cultural learning in school curriculum
Darrell Greer
Northern News Services
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
NAUJAAT
It can often be a case of role reversal when students and staff at Tusarvik School in Naujaat head out on the land as part of the cultural curriculum.
Tusarvik School student Christina Katokra has a moment of quiet reflection on the land earlier this semester in Naujaat. - photo courtesy of Julia MacPherson |
The vast majority of Naujaat students are at home on the land.
As such, they seize the opportunity to take the lead - especially with first-year teachers - in sharing their knowledge with whomever accompanies them on the trip.
Tusarvik starts its traditional-and-cultural familiarization early in the school semester by having each teacher accompany their students on a land trip.
The younger students spend the better part of a school day out on the land, while older students will often camp out overnight.
Vice-principal Julia MacPherson said administrators like to get every teacher out on the land with their students during the first few weeks of a new school year.
She said the trip is an early introduction to the cultural component of Tusarvik's curriculum.
"We like them to go boating or on a trip out on the actual land," said MacPherson. "This year's Grade 5 class, for example, went on a fishing trip that brought them close to one of the Thule sites we have in Naujaat. They were bussed to a spot at New Water Lake, where they went on a little walk before setting up camp with their guides and teachers.
"During the course of the day they fished, saw the land, and had a fire and some snacks and that's fairly typical of what one of our land trips would consist of."
Each land trip is connected to the curriculum of the specific grade involved.
MacPherson said there are a number of things older students are expected to achieve on an overnight trip.
She said the skills involved, depending on the age of the students, include jigging, ice fishing, placing a net under the ice or catching a caribou.
"The younger grades concentrate on whether there are berries or fish available in the area they visit, and how to build a shelter and a fire. These all connect back to their curriculum. Tusarvik's curriculum is one of the region's more deeply rooted in culture and tradition.
"It's amazing how attentive, enthusiastic and well-behaved the students are on the land, and they love to show first-year teachers everything they know how to do and tell lots of stories."
