Up the Hill: First Week of School

My first day of school was Monday, and here I am Thursday night to talk about it all. I've been a little behind on the postings and it's partially do to the fact that I've been so busy with the new job. I'm a high school English teacher by trade, but teaching in bush Alaska is not exactly like teaching at a high school in the lower 48. In fact, that is a major understatement.

First of all, there's one school in Tunt that services all children kindergarten through grade 12. There's about 140 students in the entire school. I had twice that number in my graduating class of high school alone. Out of the 140 students in the school there are a little over 30 high school students. There are only two high school teachers, including me. The entire high school education for these students is provided by two teachers. And, yes, that means I am teaching more than just English literature.

I have eight classes in all. Seven of them require different preparation work, which means I'll be very, very busy this year. I'm teaching Pre-Algebra, Literature I, Literature II, Writing I, Writing II, Alaska Studies, and two art classes. I'm not too excited about the math (at least it's only Pre-Algebra) and I'm unsure about the Alaska Studies (after all I've only been here a few weeks). It may be the toughest job I ever have, but it will only make me a better teacher in the end.

My classroom was a narrow, windowless room, void of anything when I arrived. It remains narrow and windowless, but I did my best to brighten it up before the first day. I went scrounging around in the attic for supplies and posters. There wasn't much of anything so I had to make a few things from scratch. I drew pictures of famous authors and put their quotes and faces on my wall (sorry if this sounds cliche, but I like it). I'm not the best artist, and I think my Charles Dickens face look a bit like Saddam Hussein when they found him in the spider hole, but I'm leaving him up anyways. The other problem was the fact that it had only three walls and no door. There was just a wide open hallway in place of the fourth wall. I fixed this problem by taking three book shelfs and converting them into a makeshift wall.

My students are friendly, but for the most part introverted. They have been respectful so far. They call me Patrick, not Mr. Merrigan, or not even "Mista," like the kids in Pawtucket called me. Calling a teacher by their first name is customary here. It is not a sign of disrespect and most teachers do not have a problem with it. I'm comfortable being on first name basis with my students, especially considering I'm an outsider coming into their community.

I spent Monday passing out syllabi and going over the expectations I have for the year. We have eight 45 minute periods, but there is no bell that sounds when students are to switch classes. I simply say, "Okay, time to switch." Sometimes that means two or three kids switching rooms and the rest staying. It's pretty hard to mess up your schedule when you should be in one of two rooms. Overall, it's been a pretty smooth four days. I'm a little overwhelmed by the amount of work and by the fact that for some of these students, I am the teacher for 80% of their high school year. It's a large responsibility that I take very seriously.

One of my goals here is to emphasize higher education. I found out that the percentage of students that go to college from this school is 1%. Strictly from a statistically perspective, it is unlikely that anyone of my students will go to college. I'm hoping I have a few outliers, or perhaps I can help some get started in that direction. I hope to share my teaching successes and failures on this blog all year. It's a way I can document this part of my life and hopefully look back on it someday with pride.