Blah blah blah and Fa la la la la a long drive !

     

Well Merry Christmas to those that read my blog. I know the title would suggest that to get home for Christmas that is is a long drive, now for those that know I go home every other weekend so in reality its a simple 3 1/2 hour drive from the reserve to the my home in Thunder Bay, but the added snow, poor road conditions on the Atikokan to Kabigon stretch of Hwy 11, makes the drive feel longer, and the fact that in my mind I am already at home, it feels like the drive takes forever, for my body to catch up with my mind.
 The interesting thing is that the drive home always feels like it is never-ending, and yet the drive back to the reserve seems to be quick, I arrive here on Sunday afternoon in a time span that seems quicker than that drive home.

Time seems to stand still in some cases and then in others it tends to whip past without us noticing. Take for example this week. we have 3 days of "school" and these 3 days feel like they are crawling by at a snails pace. Of course the moment I get home the holidays will slip past in quite and rapid succession and before I know it I will be at the top of Flander's road ready for the twisting turns and steep hills of the drive to the reserve once again.

The one nice thing is I like this reserve, I like the school and the people I live and work with. So it isn't dread as I head back to work, jsut that longing for more free time. However, it is also interesting that once winter is over, that passage of time will not affect me as much either, as there is more to do when you can go outside and fish, swim or hunt. so perhaps it is just the winter Blahs that come with all the Fa la la's of the season.

But whatever it is, it is good to keep in mind to live everyday like there is an end in sight, that way time is never wasted no mater how quickly or slowly is passes by us. So from me to you Merry Christmas live everday like its the only day you have left! That way you get the most out of your living!

Parent Teacher Night?????

Well here I sit eager to  meet with the parents of my students, and not sure if I should be offended because no one has shown up. Although you can anticipate that some parents don't want to meet with the teacher, perhaps because they never liked school much when they were kids, or maybe because they are hoping if they avoid the meeting then everything will be okay...head in the sand syndrome!

But upon reflection I think it may be because the principal neglected to send a note home to the parents to tell them we were having such an evening.

Either way, I am catching up on some of my marking , even though the marks are not needed until the next report card in March. I just like to be on top of things is all. And besides I know most of the parents we have met on other occasions and if ther is a problem with anything we know we can get in touch in the community. That is one of the bonus of living in a small community.

 Information that really needs to get somewhere usually does.

So I will relax do my marking and maybe tomorrow I can sleep in a bit longer because there is no rush to get here to do anything in the morning. Yes you must find the silver lining in everything.

And so it begins my friends, that incredible battle between Fall and Winter. As winter ties to sweep in covering the ground in its cool blankets of snow, and Fall not ready to let go tries hard to melt the snow, as it falls, where it lands. Like two little boys fighting over who will be first in line. But no matter how lovely a picture I create with my words the fact remains it’s a tricky time of the year.

Parents’ send kids off to school with hats, mitts and winter coats, and by recess time they shed them and run around in their t-shirts. The next thing we deal with is the running noses, sneezing and the “almost cold” where yes they are coughing and have a runny nose, but they still feel generally okay.

As adults its a yucky time for everything, no longer can I hang my laundry on the line, or jump in the car without having to scrape a hard film of ice from the windshield. As teachers we have to force the kids out at recess on the colder days, and they often try to find ways to procrastinate with the dressing process. We start then 5 mutes before to ensure they have enough time to put everything on, but they we are taking time from their learning. Oh yes indeed there are those days when they are driving us crazy and we say who cares about those extra 5 or 10 minutes.

Worse yet are the indoor recess days. Often the time at recess and the before and after school time are likely the only times many kids will spend outside. For many they get home and get out the Xbox or Play station and fresh air and sunshine are soon forgotten.

Here in the bush the kids are the same, coats thrown on the picnic table as they race about in the cool air playing tag.

So all I ask is for Winter and fall to figure it out quickly. Is it Winter or is it Fall, stop fighting and pick a season boys. Who is it going to be.

The Sweat Lodge

A place of healing, the elder had told the children yesterday during the cultural teaching workshop. This is true, of course in my culture we simple call it a sauna (pronounced- sow na) in that thick Finnish accent of my relatives. But there are similarities. The Finlanders also make use of the sauna when they are ill. Often times we have cutting the duration of colds in the sauna, soothed our achy muscles and used t to help heal other ailments.

However the sauna does not have the spiritual qualities of the sweat lodge, and yet, there can be other similarities drawn from the sweat lodge and the confessional....oh bet you did not see that one coming. I recall the anxiety that came with waiting to head into that small dark room to unburden my soul by confessing that I called my brother a dooty head, or sad a swear word. Then to step outside the door feeling brand new, reborn as it were.

So too the sweat lodge, as the elder taught, is symbolic of the mother's womb. The drum is her heart beat, and when we emerge from the lodge, it is like being born again, our burdens lifted from our souls. The buring of sage, tobacco and sweet-grass, not unlike our own catholic rituals of burning  incense. The idea is the same, as the smoke rises our prayers are lifted with it.

I believe that as we look to one another we should notice the similarities that are there. These similarities occurred independent of each others culture and yet they are there. We are more alike than we realize.

Examine the pictures closely and you will see similarities. Traditionally for both you are suppose to go in "au naturel" the same way you were born into the world, but as time has passed we allow some covering for modesty sake.

accept the changes, embrace the the fact we are PEOPLE, more the same than we realize.

Thunder Bay Park Jobs step aside!

So I was sitting at my desk working when the classroom began to vibrate. I could hear a helicopter somewhere above the school. This puzzled me as the helipad for the air ambulance copter is quite a ways from the school.

But I learned something today. If you have a helicpoter you can park where ever there is some open space to do so......well not really.

This is the view from my classroom window and yes this pilot decided to land in the open space where the old school once stood. No he is not suppose to, the road coming into the community is right there and this was an extremely dangerous thing to do. So I guess similar to Thunder bay park Jobs, this is Lac La Croix Park Jobs....

I guess when you are and hour and 15 minutes from the main highway, people tend to do as they please and not think about how foolish or dangerous these things can actually be. In fact,  along the right side is a road that rund down along there, and the copter is dangerously close to it, anyone on that road could have been hit by the blades are all the cr@& that whipped into the air as he started to land.

So an important thing to remember is look up, there is danger from above.

Short Weeks are common

Indeed after arriving at school spending 15 minutes in the main hall doing the smudge and informing students about our field trip this week in Fort Frances, the Native Language teacher also notes that there will be no school on Friday in commemoration of the signing of Treaty #3.

So then I ask myself, do I want to go back to town again this weekend and next weekend????? Oh the pondering but I have firmly decided i can best use this extra day off to get my classroom back in order. There will be other short weeks here in the community, and I will be able to take the opportunities to head home then.

I think the teaching staff was more excited about the news than the kids. Honestly these guys love being at school. 2 students are actually saying that we should not go on the field trip as we would miss too much class work....ahhh precious.

I believe these students are thrown off when school is closed  for different reasons power outages, broken water pipes, -50 C weather or after a death in the community. The latter of these is a bit more disruptive because of the time lost and the emotions of those affected. The school closes for 2 days the wake and the funeral day, but the students need to understand that this time is used to honour the deceased community member and show respect for the family.

We find this odd in our large communities, as we are not as close and connected to those that live around us, our families are often far flung and we are disconnected from some, but here the entire family lives here or in the neighbouring towns of Fort Frances and Atikokan, the loss of one person is felt by everyone.

Although it makes it a challenge to get kids back on track when we have short weeks for whatever reason, its all apart of teaching here in the bush!

Only in the Bush

Well here is something unique to lac La Croix, Pay day Friday, or as the locals say with excitement "Half Day Fridays".

      Now there is a very good reason for this. If you recall the community is 76KM in from the highway and then another hour from Fort Frances Ontario. The community members need to take their pay cheques and head to Fort to deposit, or cash them, then do their grocery shopping. Because there isn't a store here in the community.

      So the big question you hear from community members on Wednesday and Thursday, "are you going into town on Friday" Not all of them have vehicles and many do not drive. SO they begin to plan their Friday carefully.

       Now for me I don't go to Fort I head home to Thunder Bay, a 3 hour drive, and then I lose an hour going as Thunder Bay is an hour ahead, until Daylight savings time. Its  a long drive, but it makes it easier to work away from home.

      So now the big question is will I even have any students this morning, If I don't then I get to leave shortly after 9 am, and that has be just as excited as the locals about Half Day Fridays!

Teaching in the bush!

Now for those that are familiar with my Webequie Blog, will know that was a very remote reserve, a fly in and definitely in the bush. But I am now in Lac La Croix First Nation, not a fly in but the drive off the main highway is just over and hour, mainly because it is a dirt road with more twists and turns than a colonosocpy.

Anyway, I was amazed yesterday when we had to cancel recess. It was 28 C out, and it was an incredible beautiful day. But there were hundreds of wasps on the playground and the kids were getting stung, so we had to have indoor recess. Today thankfully there is a nice breeze that is keeping the wasps away. although my EA and I just googled it, and bright colours attract the wasps so I am send a note  home suggesting that parents avoid bright flashy colours until the frost comes.

But that is the perils of teaching at a school that is in the bush. The community is at the bottom edge of the Coquette Park region. We are deep in the bush. We have Hydro here and of course the road that takes us back to the city life.

We are in a sense very isolated. If there is an emergency here we must have air ambulance come. Like I said its a long winding road. 76 km of dirt road that it is impossible to go more than 60km for very long. However, the bush also has something that the city schools don't have. Unique field trips. Just a few moments a go Mak (pronounced Muck) informed me that our field trip next Wednesday  is we are heading into Fort Frances to learn to filed dress a deer. I know most children in Thunder Bay would faint, but its part of life here and the skill is important to have.

I do have to say that I enjoy deer meat, and I am looking forward to learning this skill. My EA has also told me we will be taught how to clean ducks and other game birds. There are some days when I am surprised that I get paid to do this job, because there is always something so cool happening for me as well, not just my students.
I really am looking forward to the Spring Field trip when we get to go on a fishing and canoe trip. I am heading to Thunder Bay this weekend to find my gear, I might even fish from the shore in front of the teacherage next week, just to get the feel for it again. Whoever said you can't have your cake and eat it to, obviously didn't have a job like this one.
Cheers everyone, talk to you soon my blog hogs!