Lighting the Fire 2009

It's so hard to believe that there's only about 1 month left before summer break. It's crazy-on one hand, I really need the break, but on the other hand, I'm really going to miss my students over the summer!

Right now all the teachers are at a conference put on by MFNERC called Lighting the Fire. I wasn't looking forward to it initially. Based on my subject area, I sometimes come away very disappointed but not this time. Instead, I've been really blown away.

The first workshop I took was about finding funding outside the box. We were taught how to write proposals and business plans, as well as learning about various grants that are available. The presenter was extremely inspirational. He works at Peguis, and has brought in hundreds of thousands of dollars for their community.

Today, I attended a whole day workshop about bringing theatre into the school programming. Wow. I'll add her name in later, but she's well respected in the native community. Her mother also came, who is quite the inspiration herself (a professor at University of Toronto with a doctorate in sociology, an actress, and an established writer/novelist). Both of them together had so much knowledge to pass on. It was simply incredible. I am so tired...the class wore me out, but it was amazing.

I have one day left and that's tomorrow, so I'm hoping the pattern will continue!

I went out for lunch today with one of the teacher's, and we had a great time...I love Dolly. She's like a breath of fresh air, and one thing she said to me was that she admired the strength I have and she can see it within me. I needed to hear that. It meant the world as I've struggled to find my place in amongst some of the teaching staff at the school. I don't fit in a box to put mildly and while I wouldn't refer to my teaching style as radical, it could be considered by some as such. It was just so nice to sit and chat and talk and laugh our asses off!

Unbelievable Roads

So, this is my first year of ever experiencing roads like this. It's crazy, deadly, and unfathonable that in this day of age, we have roads like this. Where I work, there's no pavement, except for the school parking lot and maybe a block stretch from the school to the main road. For the most part, i would estimate the main road to be a couple miles maybe of clay-like dirt. Where's the gravel? Good question....the roads haven't been well maintained, and if there is any gravel left, there's very little of it.

I should point out that because of the roads, we haven't had school Wednesday and Thursday of this week. I'm kinda scared that they'll try to make us go tomorrow. The roads are super scary, and I don't want anyone to get hurt.

I've been able to get my hands on some pics and thought I'd post them for you all to see.

Another Tragedy

There is so much sorrow, so much tragedy out on the reserve. Earlier this year, we lost a little girl from our school in a house fire. Today, another house fire claimed the life of a little boy in kindergarten. Do you know how common it is to see the flag at half mast? We just had three deaths, with the last being buried last week-a brother of a coworker, a son of a coworker, and a baby (my student's nephew). Deaths seems to come in three, and it's a firm belief out on the reserve. So we can honestly expect two more.

These people are some of the strongest I've ever seen-I've never seen so much tragedy in my life. I have a hard time grasping it at times, but they deal with it on a daily basis. You have to understand that when one person is affected, all are affected. People are all interconnected, and it affects everybody. I know it's taken a toll on myself, but imagine the toll it's taken on the people out there? This is their daily life, 24/7.

Privatization

Well my friends, you've obviously realized that I've now made my blog private. By making it private, I can also be a bit more descriptive of what's going on and where I am, but that's not the true reason. Without going into details, lately I've been feeling like I need to be a little more careful with whom I share things.