Learning Plan
Read
Below is a link to an extended article from the Journal of American Indian Education on the history of Alaska Native schooling written by Carol Barnhardt in 2001. It is the most comprehensive published account of the recent history of education for Alaska Native people. Read the article and take note of events that continue to have significance in relation to the current context of Alaska Native education.
A HISTORY OF SCHOOLING FOR ALASKA NATIVE PEOPLE
Barnhardt, C. (2001). A History of Schooling for Alaska Native People. Journal of American Indian Education (Vol. 40, Issue 1, 2001)
Below is an article on the impact of boarding schools on the Alaska Native population, written by Diane Hirshberg.
boardingschoolfinal hirshberg.pdfReview
Two recent books have been published giving accounts of life and education in the Bering Strait region in the early 1900s from the perspective of Alaska Native residents. Both are highly recommended and can be purchased at Amazon.com.
Menadelook was an Inupiaq teacher in the Bering Strait region in the early 1900s who was also an avid photographer. He taught in many BSSD communities and documented life and susbsistence activities in his photographs of Diomede, Shishmaref, Shaktoolik, Kotzebue, Noatak, Sinuk, Nome, Gambell, and Unalaska.
More Than God Demands was written by a descendent of a woman who was adopted out from her family and raised at Brevig Mission. It sheds light on a period of history in rural Alaska about which there has been little documentation and analysis.
With your students . . .
Examine some historical photographs from your community or region (look in Menadelook, or visit the Alaska's Digital Archives and type the name of your community into the search bar. Use questions from the worksheet below to consider the images in the photograph. Or simplify the inquiry by asking "What do you notice?" and "What makes you say that?"
historical photographs.pdf
Reflect:
In Canvas, you will submit your completed chart and offer brief reflections on the following prompts:
How and why were the schooling options different for people of different generations in your family? What are some of the variables that influenced their schooling experiences and opportunities?
How and why were the schooling options different for people in rural Alaska communities than for people in most other areas of the U.S. in the past?
What are some of the reasons that it is important for teachers to know and understand some aspects of the history of education for the country, state, community, and families where they are teaching?
Try it, Part 2: Gathering local education history
Ask someone over 30 who grew up in the region a few questions about community or educational history. Write your questions down in advance. The interview can be brief (10-15 minutes) or as long as you and your interviewee want. Some ideas for questions are:
What do you think were two influential events that occurred in the history of this community?
Who do you think were two influential people in the history of this community?
What stories did you hear about earlier ancestors whom you never knew?
How many children were in the family, and where were you in the line-up?
Describe what your siblings were like. Who were you closest to?
What were your duties around the house as a child? What were the other children's duties? How did duties break down by gender?
What was school like for you? What did you like about it? What was hard about it for you?
Who were your friends at school?
Who were your favorite teachers?
What were your plans when you finished school? Education? Work?
What did your parents think of your plans? What did your friends think? What did your friends plan to do?
Other ideas for questions can be found in this document from the UCLA Center for Oral History Research.
Tips for interviewing from the Minnesota Historical Society Oral History Office can be found in the document below.
In Canvas, you will be reporting on the following information:
Who did you interview? Where did the interview take place and how long did it last?
What are two significant things that you learned about your community's history (educational or otherwise)?
Will this information impact your classroom practices? Why or why not?
De-brief with peers
De-briefing is optional in this module, but if you get an opportunity, share the information you learned with a colleague and hear about the information they gained from their short interview.
It would also be fun and interesting to share family educational history with your colleagues, either informally or during a formal gathering.