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| Full Moon |
Preparing a final exam requires a lot of time,
effort, and planning. I didn't realize
just how much until I became a teacher.
I divide the process into three stages: research, writing, and
review. In the first phase, I go back
and review everything I've taught and decide what to include on the exam and
what to leave out. (You want to ask
everything but you can't because your students have other exams to complete and
doing so will overload their minds).
Once I have a clear plan, I move on to the second phase and write the
exam. I edit and change things as I
go. I also put together an answer key to
make marking easier and less time consuming.
The third stage requires me to create review lessons filled with activities
& handouts for students to complete and study. While planning these review lessons, you
don't want to give too much away, otherwise the exam just becomes a worksheet.
The
second week of December was all review for my Grade 10 & 11 Social Studies
classes. I had to work late into the
evening on the weekend to get everything ready.
The photocopiers in the staff workroom were my best friends. To maintain student interest I pumped out any
kind of review activity I could think of: word searches, crosswords, card
matching exercises, even jeopardy! The
variety appeared to go over well with my students.
The
Grade 10s wrote their final exam on December 11th and the Grade 11s wrote
theirs on December 12th. I corrected the
exams over the weekend and inputted the marks into the school's database.
My
Grade 12 students presented their Social Studies projects to a panel of judges
on December 11 & 15 after school.
The judges consisted of myself, the principal, and two Inuk teachers. The project replaces the old departmental
exam and students are required to pass the project, as well as the regular
class work to be awarded academic credits.
Each student was given twenty minutes to present their topic, essay, product,
and answer the judges' questions. The
product can be anything that enhances the project, like a video, community
event, website, grant proposal, model, or radio show. Most of my students did video and slide show
presentations.
A
variety of topics were presented, such as: global warming and its effects on
the Inuit way of life; the role of art in Inuit society; radio in the north;
and the military leadership of Joseph Stalin.
At the end of the presentations, I congratulated my students for
conquering their fears of public speaking, and thanked the judges for taking
the time out of their busy schedules to listen and mark the presentations.
Around
this time, an important news story from the north gained national attention,
prompting sharp criticisms and fierce debates in Canada's House of Commons. APTN produced a video news story called Wasting Away, which documented the food
insecurity problems of Nunavut. Since
northern communities are isolated and spread over vast distances, food is frequently
airlifted in. The cost of shipping leads
to healthy foods being raised to prices that are unaffordable for many Inuit
families. To beat the high costs, Wasting Away showed Inuit families in
Rankin Inlet scrounging for food at the local garbage dump, and calling the
local radio station, asking to borrow money.
Many parents go hungry for days because they give all the food they have
to their children. One of the main
reasons why parents send their kids to school is because of the breakfast
program.
Hunting
wildlife sounds like a reasonable alternative but it can be more expensive than
buying groceries when you factor in the costs of bullets, gas, camping
supplies, and of course, food to eat while you're out on the land.
The
current federal government implemented a program several years ago called
Nutrition North, designed to pay the Northern Store & Co-op to offset their
freight expenses and lower their prices for consumers. The Office of the Auditor General recently released a report stating that there was no way to determine if the $60 million dollar
program was being effective. This, along
with the APTN story, caused an uproar in the House of Commons with opposition MP's criticizing the federal government's lack of responsibility, oversight,
and compassion for the Inuit. The uproar
intensified when Nunavut Conservative MP Leona Aglukkaq was photographed reading a newspaper instead of answering questions about the problem. She later apologized for her behaviour but
the damage to her image was done.
Several local Inuit told me how shocked and disappointed they were upon
hearing about her antics.
I
see these outrageous prices while I shop at the Northern Store & Co-op in
Arctic Bay. There are hundreds of
pictures already posted on the popular Facebook group Feeding My Family and
more are added every day. Whenever
someone shares their frustrations over the high food prices, I tell them to
take (a) picture(s) of the item(s) & price(s) and post it/them to the
Facebook group.
I
have been told that going to the dump to look for food happens in all Nunavut
communities. I had known that people go
to the dump to look for spare parts and other items but food never crossed my
mind. Up here, the garbage dump is also
called "Canadian Tire" because you can find anything & everything
there.
The
scandal has led to many responses from all corners of Canada. Canadians are sending food to keep food banks
in the north well stocked and Nutrition North has received more money from the
federal government. Hopefully, the
program will be closely monitored by those in charge and food prices will be
lowered to more affordable levels. Companies should never be allowed to make money off the hardships of others.
Motivated
to do something about food insecurity, the high school students of the Inuit
cultural class began a Random Act of Kindness project. They planned and prepared several free lunch
feasts in the Home Ec room for local residents.
I was told that many showed up.
The local RCMP also got involved by contacting their superiors in Ottawa
and arranged for food and second-hand hockey equipment to be shipped to the
community. The non-perishable food and
hockey items arrived on December 11.
Kataisie, the cultural class teacher, was very pleased by the success of
the project and how the students took on most of the responsibilities. She hopes that it will continue in the new
year.
The
staff of Inuujaq School held a Christmas Potluck dinner on the evening of
December 12. Right after school, the
teachers rearranged the high school science class to look more like dining room. Decorations, lights, and a tree were also
brought in to add a more Christmas-like appearance. There were many dishes to sample; I was glad
that I had a small lunch that day. I was
able to stomach two plates of food. The
teachers who participated in Secret Santa that week found out who their Secret
Santa was and exchanged final gifts.
Everyone
went home with full stomachs & satisfied appetites.
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