Graduation Program

Our curriculum is based on mastery of benchmarks. Students progress through the grades as they master the skills and content at every level rather than when they've sat in class for a certain amount of time. After being here for just a couple of months, my partner and I realized that the school couldn't be set up any other way. Students are transient in ways we don't see in the Lower 48.

The airline that is so poor at delivering mail and packages is also the only way to leave the island--or to return. In October, one of the grandmothers had a medical appointment in Anchorage, but she wasn't certain when she'd be leaving. She was taking two of her granddaughters with her. She hoped to tell me ahead of time, but in the event, I only got about an hour's notice to prepare assignment packets for both girls. I was a bit confused about why the girls were going along. Someone finally explained to me that the grandmother wanted to have the girls seen at the clinic, too, and would wait until the appointments were done before returning. The girls missed two weeks of school in order to see a doctor! Such things are common, and keep kids out of step with their peers. Besides, the most we have at any grade level is 2 students!

The stockings were hung by the chimney
with care

Students will also leave for a semester (or two) and then return. Atka is "home," but they have relatives all over Alaska who will care for them for awhile, allowing them to attend bigger schools with more resources. They always come back, though.

One of these roving students returned in September to attend our school for his senior year. He only needed 2 1/2 credits to graduate: Health, U.S. History, and something in Social Science. I'm teaching Geography this year, so he joined the rest of the class for that course while I gave him completely individualized courses for the other two. We planned his studies so that he finished just before Christmas.

The District pays for everything associated with the commencement ceremony, including a meal for the entire community. The graduate gets to choose the menu, within limits. This year it was burgers and hot dogs. (You can't imagine how wonderful a grilled hamburger on a fresh, soft bun tastes when you haven't had one for 4 months!)

Since we were holding Commencement on December 19, my partner and I decided to merge that event with a little Christmas music program. Apparently, the whole village turns out for the holiday program, too. Given that there's nothing else to do here, I can understand that. However, we ran into a little problem, one that may take a long time and a lot of diplomacy to fix. If you know me well, you know that neither patience nor diplomacy are strengths for me.

There are people in Atka who truly, honestly, do not see a distinction between "school" and "community." To me, the distinction is quite simple: if the teachers are required to be present, it's a school event. If not, it's a community event. Teachers organize the Family Movie Nights; they're a school event. Someone else organizes pot luck dinners (and we don't have to attend); they're a community event. However, I can understand why the other perspective exists. There isn't enough going on here to compartmentalize. The problem comes when religion enters the picture.

I have always been a fervent supporter of the separation between Church and State. In many instances when this comes up, the rights of students to opt out are protected, but rarely do you read about the rights of teachers to opt out. For me, it's irrelevant whether or not I happen to agree with the religious doctrine being taught; it still doesn't belong in school.

For the program, my primary students sang "Jingle Bells," "Rudolph," and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." My secondary students, who've been learning to read music and play the recorder, played "Soft Kitty" as a 2-part round and "The Dreidel Song." I chose the former because it made them laugh; I chose the latter because it was the first piece of music they had to read in our music theory text. The highlight of the program was the secondary students reciting "A Visit from St. Nicholas" while the primary students acted it out. I kept it as secular as possible. My partner designed the scenery and costumes, but she totally can't sing. There's no way she could direct or lead a holiday program!

I don't expect to teach Music next year, though it's a possibility. I hope to offer the secondary class a vocational arts class, with segments on sewing, cooking, and small engine repair. The primary class *may* get fine arts again, but their curricular focus in Music is learning songs that every child should know, and they already learned the aforementioned secular Christmas songs. It makes sense to me that our programs would take place at the end of the semesters to highlight what the students learned during the previous semester.

I am already getting not a little pressure to commit to doing a Christmas program next year. There is precedent for an end-of-semester program; our sister school didn't do a December program, but is doing a January one. The pressure is based on the idea that school and community are one entity, and the fact that *every*one in Atka is Russian Orthodox, except the 3 outsiders .

I want to be responsive to the needs of the community, but I don't want to put on a holiday dog and pony show. I've let a lot of things that offend me slide by because they don't require me to *do* anything, like having religious icons decorating the school. I don't want to make a fuss just for the sake of being right. I also don't want to be hassled for doing what *is* right.

I'm now a donor and member of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. I may need help in drawing lines, both in having support and in knowing precisely where those lines should be drawn.