Native Alaskans have been in the community I live in and work for 10000 years! They have survived and thrived in a region devoid of luxury where life is anything but simple. I hope to capture the stories, religion, and values of these people through the voices of my students.
My students are 100% Yup'ik (Alaska Native) speaking, ESL, learners.
Their home is a subsistence village of 600 served by a school of 200 K-12 students. With little funding in a community of 100% free and reduced lunch, this project will provide hardware tools for one of the poorest regions in the United States. Hoping to encourage student participation and reduce truancy and apathy, this project lets them teach the world about what matters to them: Yuuyaraq "The Yupik Way."
My Project
My students are of a people group once discouraged from speaking their native tongue and forbidden from practicing traditional hunting, fishing, dancing and song, just to name a few. Currently my students are underperforming and lack interest in contemporary academics. Hoping to bridge the gap between the modern world and that of their ancestors, this project will be the culmination of the collection of cultural resources over several years and from numerous sources.
Many of the cultural practices of the community involve complex math, sciences, and even standards required for literature. By achieving both community and state-defined goals, I anticipate progress in leaps and bounds!
Being able to share the results of this project in the form of DVD with the community, Donorschoose (part of Thank You's), and state, my students will demonstrate the effectiveness of place-based education and share their world view with others
By capturing oral stories from elders in the village and retelling them by students, my hope is to reduce apathy and increase interest in our class.
It will involve the community in the school, something not often done. Sharing what we create in class, via DVD, will benefit us all and record these valuable stories and experiences forever!
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