Anti-Bullying

Flag of Ukraine

During the last week of March, my Social Studies students asked me about the recent developments in Ukraine.  They had watched several news reports on TV and listened to segments on CBC Radio and wanted me to clarify a few things.  The local radio station broadcasts CBC Radio news in English and Inuktitut.  They also wanted to know how I felt about the whole situation because I am Ukrainian.

            

Beginning in November 2013, protesters took to the streets of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, to protest then President Viktor Yanukovych's decision not to sign a political association and free trade agreement with the European Union.  He instead chose to sign a similar agreement with Russia, dubbed the Ukrainian-Russian Action Plan, securing $15 billion USD in loans and cheaper gas prices.  This angered the people of western Ukraine, seeing it as an affront to maintaining political and economical independence from Russian meddling.  When Yanukovych refused to reverse his decision, the protests only intensified and spread to other cities in western Ukraine, with people voicing their displeasure over corruption, a weak economy, lack of free speech, and Yanukovych's autocratic leadership.

            

The crisis escalated in the first two months of 2014.  Yanukovych quickly passed anti-protest laws and ordered the police in Kyiv to clear the encamped protesters from the city centre by force (ie. water cannons, rubber & live bullets).  Instead, the protesters fought back, erecting barricades, and defending their ground with sticks, bats, and petrol bombs.  They even attacked and occupied government buildings for days, demanding the immediate resignation of Yanukovych and his government.  Repealing the anti-protest laws and reaching an agreement with the political opposition to form a unity government in late February had little effect.  In the end, Yanukovych was forced to flee the capital, and later the country, when his presidential palace guards abandoned their posts and a warrant for his arrest was issued by the Ukrainian parliament.  A new interim president was elected by parliament and new presidential elections were set for May, 2014.  Unfortunately, this would not be the end of the crisis.  Russia became involved by sendingits military into the Crimean peninsula and annexing the land shortly thereafter.  There is now a constant threat of invasion of eastern Ukraine, with thousands of Russian soldiers, tanks, aircraft, and artillery stationed along the border.                  

Historically, Western Europe and Russia have engaged in a tug-of-war over the Ukrainian homeland.  The country is located just to the north of the Black Sea and is wedged between the European Union and Russia.  Russia, in particular, has a long history of exerting direct dominance and influence over Ukraine and its people, most recently when it was a part of the Soviet Union for 70 years.  The Ukrainian language and culture were heavily suppressed during this time but persevered and experienced a revival after the dissolution.  However, a split was created; Ukrainian is mostly spoken in the western part of the country, while Russian is the language of choice in the east.  Russian speaking Ukrainians hold strong emotional ties to Russia while Ukrainians in the western half of the country wish to keep the mother tongue and culture from disappearing.  They don't want it replaced by anything Russian.  This view is also held by many Ukrainian-Canadians who emigrated to Canada during the Second World War.

            

I did my best to briefly explain everything I've mentioned above to my students without confusion.  I stated that I was glad that Yanukovych was out of office but worried about the recent actions of Russia.  I wasn't glad that they invaded and annexed Crimea, even though the peninsula was given to Ukraine as a gift in 1954.  The constant threats of invading eastern Ukraine were also troubling.  If it were to happen, what would stop Russian forces from invading the western part of the country where my distant family relatives live?  I added that the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, was acting like a greedy bully, unsatisfied with the amount of land he already controls (17,098,242km²), lusting for more, and not wanting a former Soviet republic to act fully independent.  I hope a peaceful solution can be found, but at the same time, I wonder if another Crimean War is necessary to restore the balance of power.

            

My Social Studies students completed a What In The World? article about the topic on March 31st.  What In The World? is a current events resource published monthly by LesPlan, a Canadian-owned education company.  Each monthly issue contains a collection of the top national and international news stories of the previous month.                  

            

On the topic of bullying, April 9th was the Day of Pink, "the International Day against Bullying, Discrimination, Homophobia and Transphobia in schools and communities."  To celebrate diversity and to take a stand against bullying, everyone at Inuujaq School was encouraged to wear pink.  Unfortunately, my red dress shirt and tie was the closest to pink I had to wear.  Spirit Team Activities were held in and around the school after lunch.

            

At 1:30, everyone assembled in their assigned spirit teams in front of the school.  It was a bright sunny day, with some clouds in the sky, and a little windy.  Selected team members held up large colourful signs to rally their comrades.  Once the teams were formed, the round robin began.  There were five stations: soccer-baseball, relay games, untangle, talk with elders, and snack time.  Teams were allotted 25 minutes per station.

            

The first station my spirit team (Rabbits) went to was the soccer-baseball game out on the ice.  We would be playing against the Ptarmigans.  I watched the game on the sidelines, taking pictures and providing moral support for my team.  There was a lot of kicking, running, catching, and shouting.  The game was close but unfortunately, we lost by three points.

            

The next station for team Rabbit was the relay race; our opponents were the Eagles.  Team members had to run around a pylon some distance away while balancing a shuttlecock on a badminton racket.  It was exactly like an egg-and-spoon race but with different items.  I think if we used eggs, they may have been lost in the deep snow if ever dropped.  We played a few rounds and in the end, team Rabbit came out on top!

            

After visiting the snack time station, we headed over to the elder's room where students received a lecture on bullying, its negative characteristics, why it's wrong, and what to do if you're being bullied or if someone you know is being bullied.  While the elder spoke in Inuktitut, I did my best to pick out any familiar words.  I recognized the Inuktitut words for 'mother', 'father', 'teacher', 'school', 'sorry', and maybe a few others.  From this, I assumed she was advising students to not stay silent and tell their parents or a teacher if they're being bullied at school.

            

The last station was the untangle game where spirit team members randomly grab each others' hands and try to untangle themselves into a circle without letting go.  The team that could do it in the least amount of time was the winner.  We played two rounds against the Killer Whales and won both times.  For the third and last round, we tried one massive untangle with both teams but ended up with two locked circles.  After a quick fix, we were able to form one large circle.  We celebrated quickly because the bell rang just a few minutes after.  All-in-all, it was a very interesting afternoon. 
  

Spirit Teams on Ice.

And finally, family and friends have asked me several times about the cost of food in Arctic Bay.  Obviously, it is more expensive then down south, but to be honest, I don't really look hard enough to remember the exact prices of the majority of items on sale.  I just look, debate, take, pay, and go.  However, there are a few items that come to mind.  For example, a new DVD release costs $40 and a used DVD is only $15.  A 2-litre carton of milk is $7.50, soft drinks are $2 a can, bottled water hovers around $4, and a Delissio pizza costs $15.  A whole smoked ham from Best Value (think No-Name brand) is $20 while a higher quality ham can reach up to $45.  The prices I have listed are from the Northern Store.  You can buy the same items that are sold down south but you have to be prepared to pay for markup.  There are other options like Food Mail, or if you're a southerner like me, convince family members to send you care packages once in a while through First Air.

Drop The Pop

Source: HappyHolidays2014.com

The third week of March began with St. Patrick's Day, an annual cultural and religious holiday celebrated all over the world.  People wear green clothing, public festivals & parades are held, Christians attend church services, and alcohol consumption skyrockets.  In Canada, there are parades in Toronto, Montreal, and Quebec City, and the day is a public holiday in Newfoundland and Labrador.  In Arctic Bay, Nunavut, the Irish holiday has yet to reach the level of popularity it is down south.  I decided to observe the day by wearing a green dress shirt and tie to school.  I was only missing a shamrock pin . . . and a green hat . . . and a pot of gold.  Many teachers and students complimented my appearance.  Maybe I'll wear a costume next year.  There's a wee-bit of Irish in all of us! 

            

My Grade 10 English students began working on the grammar unit, starting with a review of the basics (ie. nouns, verbs, adjectives).  Even though my students have been speaking English for several years, it is still their second language and they need to practice writing and using verb tenses.  English can be a difficult language to learn & understand, especially when it comes to homonyms, homographs, homophones, and synonyms.  And don't get me started on tongue-twisters.  I set aside 4 weeks for grammar and sentence writing. 

            

Kindergarten poster.

My Social Studies students  began studying the "Resolving Disagreements" chapter of the Government and Politics module.  Disagreements between individuals and groups of people are a fact of life and there's no way around it.  This definitely applies to the political sphere.  The challenge is to work through the disagreement(s) and come to a compromise, or lobby the opposing individual(s) or group(s) to change their stance(s).  The chapter stresses negotiation, bargaining, and compromise.  Unfortunately, there are moments when politicians "lose their sanity", and let their emotions take over, leading to heated verbal and/or physical confrontations.  YouTube is full of videos of politicians from all over the globe behaving badly, shouting insults, spitting, and exchanging punches with opponents.  For me, it's like observing a room full of undisciplined kindergarten students.  I think all politicians must complete an anger management course before beginning their term of service, including those who are reelected.

            

Grade 4 posters.

For the remaining two weeks of March, my guitar students learned how to count and play dotted quarter notes and syncopated rhythms.  For added reinforcement, we clapped and tapped many different rhythms.  Once they felt confident, I introduced them to the Blues genre which uses a lot of dotted & syncopated rhythms.  They learned a few catchy blues riffs, set in the keys of E, A, B, and D.  As an added "treat", they had a duet test where they were required to play the first section of "Simple Gifts", a Shaker song composed by Joseph Brackett.  They all did very well on the performance test.   

            

Small rainbow. March 19, 2014

The week of St. Patrick's Day was also the week I had morning and afternoon recess duty.  Teachers are assigned recess duties for an entire week rather than a day per week.  This was my second recess duty in the new year.  My area of supervision is the high school area, making sure the smokers are not visible to the younger grades.  It was nice to spend some time outside under the bright Arctic sun and enjoy the fresh air . . . until it became full of second hand smoke.  In the end, I didn't have to deal with any disciplinary issues.

            

In 2003, the Nunavut government began a program called, "Drop the Pop," with the aim of encouraging "students and their families to consume healthier beverages and foods."  The program has since spread to the other two territories (Yukon and Northwest), and is regularly observed each year by all northern communities.  I'm not exactly sure what the statistics are for soft drink (aka pop) consumption in Nunavut (my Internet searches have turned up nothing), but from my observations in Iqaluit and Arctic Bay, it appears to be fairly high.  I have heard stories of locals drinking one to two cases of pop a day.  If that's true, I'm not sure how their bodies can cope.  (Here's an extreme example from Britain). 

            

My Internet searches did reveal that soft drink consumption in Canada has doubled between 1971 & 2001, and childhood obesity is becoming a serious problem.  Around one of every four children and youth in Canada are overweight or obese.

            

Inuujaq School got on board with the Drop The Pop campaign by handing out redeemable coupons provided by the Northern Store.  Students would receive a free single serving yogurt beverage.  The school also hosted a community breakfast and poster contest on March 21st, sponsored by the Northern Store.  Three judges would choose the best posters from two categories: K-9 classes and high school students.  Posters were judged on design and overall message.     

            

The community breakfast began at 9:30am in the school's gym.  The walls were decorated with anti-pop posters, explaining the dangers of excess consumption and encouraging onlookers to find healthier substitutes (ie. water, milk, juice).  The teachers arranged the gym in the early morning, placing chairs along the walls, setting up a coffee/tea/juice stand, and a line of tables where the food would be served.  We also prepared the food, cutting fruits, slices of cheese, laying out bowls of crackers, and cooking hard boiled eggs.  After an elder led everyone in prayer, the teachers began handing out plates of food to students, elders, and parents.  The food was delicious. 

            

I forget which K-9 class won for best poster, but I do remember the award for best high school poster went to Emily Kalluk.  She was awarded a gift certificate to the Northern Store.  At the conclusion of the breakfast, everyone helped with the cleanup before returning to their regular routines.            

Drop the Pop poster by Emily Kalluk

On a side note, March 21st also happens to be International Day for the Elimination of Racism.  When I attended school down south in Ontario, this day was heavily promoted and observed by teachers and students.  The day was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in 1966.  March 21st was chosen because on that day in 1960, sixty-nine people were shot by police in Sharpeville, South Africa, during a peaceful demonstration against apartheid pass laws.  This event is also known as the Sharpeville Massacre.  It's a shame that racism and discrimination still exist in the 21st century.  I thought the human race would have its act together by this time, but unfortunately, that's not the case.  There has been tremendous progress in the last few decades but we still have a few more hills to climb.  (Check out Stop Racism and Collective Hate.)  

Hoosiers

International Paralympic Committee Logo

The 2014 Paralympic Winter Games were held in Sochi, Russia, from March 7 to 16, two weeks after the 2014 Winter Olympics.  This was the first time Russia hosted the Paralympics, featuring 72 medal events in five sports (alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, ice sledge hockey, wheelchair curling) and the first appearance of snowboarding as an event.  Russia, the host nation, took home the most gold medals (30) and most medals overall (80).  Canada came in third place with seven gold, two silver, and 7 bronze medals. 

            

Ukraine came in fourth place, winning 5 gold, 9 silver, and 11 bronze, for a total of 25 medals.  In the Olympics, countries are ranked according to the number of gold medals won.  If there is an equal amount of gold medals, then the order is based on the number of silver, then bronze.  This system is known as the gold first ranking system.  If we were just counting the total number of medals, then Ukraine would be second behind Russia.  An interesting and surprising fact considering the current crisis between the two countries.

            

Even though the Paralympic Winter Games have been held since 1976, I still get the feeling that media coverage and hype are less compared to the "regular" Olympics.  I hold the same view towards the Paralympic Summer Games and they have been around since 1960.  Maybe it's just me.  In the case of Sochi, the games were overshadowed by Russia's military intervention in the Crimean peninsula of Ukraine.  Despite this aggression, Ukraine still participated in the Games, and won a substantial amount of medals.  Come 2016 & 2018, I'll pay more attention to the Paralympic Games.     

            

On Friday, March 14, two days before the conclusion of the Paralympic Winter Games, a different kind of game was taking place at Inuujaq School in Arctic Bay.  The Junior Boys Basketball team engaged in an intense and epic afterschool game against the Teachers.  It was a competitive spectacle that I witnessed firsthand.

            

Several weeks prior to the game, Pond Inlet extended the idea of holding a five-game junior boys basketball tournament at Inuujaq in late March.  The Pond Inlet team would travel to Arctic Bay by skidoo, overnighting on the land.  What many southerners do not know is the existence of skidoo trails between northern communities.  They are in frequent use by the Inuit because the cost of travelling is a lot cheaper than flying.  You just need to be prepared for the weather, have a qamutiq loaded with supplies & gas, a skidoo to pull everything, and knowledge of the trails.  It's the Arctic version of a road trip!       

            

Inuujaq School had the facilities to hold a basketball game, but no junior team.  Nevertheless, the idea was approved and a date was set.  Sean, a grade 6 teacher and coach of the senior boys basketball team, immediately went to work on putting together a junior boys team.  They spent many practices learning passing, dribbling, shooting, and how to work as a team.  Before the game against Pond Inlet, Sean organized a match against the teachers so that the boys could gain experience playing another team.  Think The Longest Yard but set in a school and the sport is basketball.

            

It wasn't difficult for Sean to find several teachers "willing" to play basketball.  He even got the school's principal to join the team.  Including myself, there were ten of us, enough to have two rotating teams of five.  Marlene, the Grade 1 teacher, was our Team Captain.  This game would be the first time I've played competitively in a very long time.  Sean had to give me a quick crash course in "Basketball 101" the day before the match. 

            

When the dismissal bell rang at 3:30pm, I changed out of my formal attire and went down to the gym wearing black pants, sports shoes, and a blue t-shirt with the Inuujaq School logo on it.  The junior boys team was already shooting hoops and doing last minute drills before the start of the match.  I picked up a stray basketball and shot a few hoops until the game started.  A crowd of students, full of cheer and carrying posters, assembled on the sidelines and on the mezzanine floor above the gym.  A small portable scoreboard, borrowed from the community hockey arena, would keep score and count down every precious second.

            

The game was an energetic and intense affair, with much running, passing, throwing, and scoring.  I got quite a workout from all the running; I should have worn shorts.  There were a lot of close calls, prompting loud groans & cheers from the audience.  We were all surprised when the game entered its third overtime.  In the end, the teachers came out on top, winning the game by two points.  I took plenty of shots but didn't score any points.  Both teams shook hands before posing for a group photo.  Then it was off to Sean's classroom for a pizza & video game party.  The store-bought pizzas were prepared by Amber, the student support teacher.  She also took plenty of action shots of the game with her digital camera.

            

Unfortunately, this would be the last game the junior boys team would play for the year because Pond Inlet had to cancel their trip due to a lack of snow on the main skidoo trail.  There are alternate routes but it would have taken them too long to reach Arctic Bay.  Nevertheless, the junior boys were glad to have played against the teachers and vowed to avenge their loss in the future.  On the flip side, the teachers vowed to defend their victory and enjoy the bragging rights that came with it.  As for Sean, he was glad that the whole affair went off without a hitch.

            

At the 2014 Arctic Winter Games in Fairbanks, Alaska, athletes from the nine circumpolar contingents participated in twenty sporting events.  Over two hundred medals, in the shape of ulus, were awarded to many deserving athletes.  One of those athletes was Donovan Qaunaq of Arctic Bay, who won a bronze in the Dene Games.  The Games concluded on March 22, but the male athletes from Arctic Bay did not return until the 26th.  That evening, they were driven to the Community Hall to receive a warm welcome from the community.  A large "Welcome Back!" banner had been prepared for their arrival and was prominently displayed in the hall.

      

When the boys stepped into the hall with their chaperones, the crowd-in-waiting erupted into applause.  The team posed for pictures in front of the large banner before shaking hands and answering questions from curious onlookers.  I personally shook the hands of each athlete and asked them how they enjoyed their trip.  They said they really enjoyed competing in Alaska, meeting competitors from all over the Arctic, and making new friends.  Names, numbers, and even team jackets were traded.  Their stories ended the same way; they couldn't wait for the next Arctic Winter Games in 2016.