Pilimmaksarniq 2015 – Part 2

The conference planners had made arrangements to have a school bus pick up the teachers from their hotels and drop them off at Inuksuk High School.  I chose to walk, preferring the fresh arctic air.  Walking was my main mode of transportation when I resided in Iqaluit two years ago, and from it, I learned that all the important locations were within walking distance. 

            

Brown Building where Frobisher Inn is located.

Breakfast was being served at the Frobisher Inn but I chose to sleep in.  I arrived at the high school at around 8:30am.  It was Tuesday, February 17th.  I proceeded to the  gymnasium for the morning announcements and opening keynote address.  Rows of tables and chairs occupied the middle of the gym.  Once everyone was seated, the conference began.

            

The conference would be conducted in English & Inuktitut.  Since many attendees were not bilingual, translators were hired to convey what was being said.  The translators sat in booths at the back of the gym and spoke into microphone headsets.  Their translations were picked up by small portable receivers that you could borrow for the duration of the conference. 

            

The morning announcements consisted of reminding participants to make sure their timetables were full, choose (an)other class(es) if their original choice(s) were cancelled, and to not throw out any leftover unwrapped food from the boxed lunches.  The leftovers would be donated to local homeless shelter and soup kitchen.  Unfortunately, some instructors would be unable to attend the conference due to travelling issues.  Air travel in the territories can be good or it can be really bad.  Mother Nature is the ultimate decider.  I have heard stories of people being stranded in communities for days & even weeks because they can't fly out or their plane can't land in a community because of adverse weather. 

            

Professor Dale Willows from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) was the first keynote speaker.  (OISE is part of the University of Toronto).  Her presentation was an overview on the Balanced Literacy Diet (BLD), "a framework that presents literacy concepts using the familiar terminology of a healthy diet."  The English language centered framework/program has been around for several years and currently caters (pun intended) to the Pre-K to Grade 6 Grades.  From the research & videos professor Willows presented, the BLD appears to be a successful program.  If you want to know more about the framework, check out their detailed website.

            

Everyone went to their respective workshops after a short 'Nutritious Break' that offered coffee, tea, fruits, and fresh muffins.  The snacks were prepared by the catering services of the Frobisher Inn.  The workshops would be held at the high school and Aqsaarnit Middle School.  A school bus was available to transport the teachers between schools.

            

The first workshop I attended was Adding Inuit Language & Culture to Classroom & School, facilitated by David Serkoak, a former principal of Joamie School.  The workshop focused on "how to incorporate Inuit language & culture in all aspects of teaching."  Participants also shared their ideas as well as life experiences.  The workshop was conducted in Inuktitut & English.  Many veteran Inuit teachers attended the workshop and shared stories of what education was like before the creation of Nunavut.

            

Take only one bagged lunch.  You're being watched.

Downtown Iqaluit.

After lunch, I walked over to Aqsaarnit Middle School for my next workshop.  I snapped photos of Iqaluit as I walked along the main roads.  I stopped at a nearby QuickStop convenience store to buy Tim Hortons donuts.  The workshop was titled, Writing Forward! Creative Writing Prompts for Teachers.  Sarina Candillo facilitated the workshop from Toronto, via video conference.  We did a lot of brainstorming and team activities.  I could see myself using a few of them for my English classes.

            

The last workshop of the day was Dyslexia: A Reading Disability not a Learning Disability.  The facilitator was Kenton Pennington, a Nunavut teacher who is dyslexic.  The workshop took place at the high school.  (This time, I took the bus from the middle school).  His workshop focused on dispelling common myths about dyslexia and how to handle the students with the disability.  I was glad he also taught us some basic methods on how to spot students with dyslexia.  Many people feel stigmatized and do their best to hide the disability.    

            

Craft Sale

A craft sale and coffee house was held at the high school later that evening at 7:30pm.  The entire gym was transformed into a large flea market with hundreds of people selling their crafts, prints, portraits, goods, carvings, Inuit drums, homemade clothes, and books.  The funny thing was that this craft sale was small in size.  The high school holds craft sales that occupy the gym as well as the entire ground floor of the high school.  The gym was swarming with shoppers.  It took time to walk around the gym and view all the merchandise.  In the end, I bought only one item: a sealskin tie with an inukshuk.  It was expensive, but worth it.

            

One of the many performers at the evening
coffee house.

The coffee house was held just outside the gym in the large high school foyer.  (The foyer is called Tisi and is a large square room with a stage in the middle).  The event was a talent show, giving visiting teachers the opportunity to showcase a hidden or well-known talent.  Most performers either sang a song or did a comedy routine.  If I had more time,  I would have prepared & performed a piano piece or two.  Two teachers from Inuujaq School performed for the audience.  The Grade 6 teacher sang a song and the high school Inuktitut teacher did a comedy routine.  I filmed both performances.

            

Usha James

Wednesday, February 18th, followed the same routine.  The keynote speaker was Usha James from The Critical Thinking Consortium.  The Consortium "is a non-profit organization [that] support[s] thousands of educators through face-to-face, online and print resources and services."  James's presentation focused on: how we critically think, how to assess thinking for students, and how to create thinking classrooms.  The best part of her presentation was her example of three students trying to solve a math problem: 4 x 7.  Student 1 says 28, Student 2 says 13, and Student 3 doesn't have a clue.  What made her example entertaining was the accompanying video she played.

            

The first workshop I attended that morning was Follow The Money, facilitated by Dominic Tremblay.  He showed us how to transform our classrooms into a mini-economy with a specific project.  The example project he used was getting us to build the tallest tower that could support a 1 kg weight.  The materials at our disposal were tape, straws, paper cups & plates, pencils and other things.  We had to buy these materials with play money or could trade them with other groups.  I was surprised by how many topics you could teach with such a project.  The topics included: borrowing, online shopping, taxes, buying supplies, the impact of counterfeit currency, and selling services.  Unfortunately, the tower my partner & I built wasn't the tallest.

            

In the afternoon, I attended workshops on effective presentation skills and Inuit social history.  I signed up for the presentation workshop because I wanted to strengthen my public speaking skills.  The technology and differentiation workshop would teach me how to incorporate more technologies into my lessons and keep them fresh & exciting.  Students today are heavy into digital technologies, so it's only fair that teachers find ways to incorporate them in the classroom.  Otherwise, you lose your audience.

            

Many teachers chose to go out for dinner rather than stay at the high school.  One of the good things about Iqaluit is that it has a selection of bars and restaurants.  Many of us teachers congregated at the Storehouse Bar & Grill, a pub/restaurant located in the same building as the Frobisher Inn.  Over the course of the evening, I met & spoke with teachers from all over the Qikiqtani Region, and learned what teaching was like in their communities.  I also shared my experiences of living and teaching in the north.

          

To Be Continued . . .

*My 100th Post!