"We
comforted each other and helped each other."
Four
years of work paid off last Friday when seven women from Sanikiluaq
became full-fledged teachers.
To
a bilingual recording of "We are the world," Lucy Mary
Qavvik, Isabel Takatak, Caroline Alariak, Mina Rumbolt, Mary Kavik,
Dina Kavik and Lizzie Kavik, all wearing caps and gowns, proceeded
to the stage at the school gym with Premier Paul Okalik, Education
Minister Ed Picco and various Nunavut educators, as their friends
and families looked on.
In
the front row were Mina Rumbolt's sister, her husband and her son,
each armed with cameras to record the ceremony.
Meanwhile,
Mina's mother, elder Louisa Ippak, tended to a qulliq.
"Graduation
Day is a day of joy, a time to honor our students," said Annie
Appaqaq Sr., the president of the local district education authority.
The
women were there to receive Bachelors of Education degrees, earned
through the Nunavut Teacher Education Program.
NTEP,
in partnership with McGill University, offers a community-based
program that prepares Inuit to become teachers in Nunavut schools.
NTEP
offers two programs, a three-year Teaching Diploma and the four-year
Bachelor of Education Degree. Currently, these programs are being
offered in Taloyoak, Clyde River and Arviat.
The
programs' emphasis is on training primary and elementary teachers,
with the focus on practice, and the theory learned in courses is
quickly put to use in the classroom.
Picco
reminded those assembled that since 1979, NTEP has produced 200
teachers, 105 with bachelors' degrees, and has been "a tremendous
success."
Although
the training was offered in Sanikiluaq, studying for years wasn't
easy, the two class valedictorians said.
"It
seemed like it went on forever," Lucy Mary Qavvik and Isabel
Takatak said.
The
four years were marked by a lack of money, technical problems with
computers, homework demands and personal problems.
"We
comforted each other and helped each other."
Elders
offered support, traditional knowledge and courage.
"We
want to be role models - the best teachers we can be," the
two said.
Valentina
de Krom from McGill encouraged all the new graduates to set new
challenging goals, and consider further advanced study towards a
master's degree or a doctorate in education.
NTEP
teacher Noel McDermott, speaking in Inuktitut and English, underlined
the importance of using Inuktitut.
"This
is a difficult time for Inuit. There is pressure on all sides for
students to use English," he said. "There is so much wrong
if Inuktitut isn't used at home and at school. I believe that children
should be taught and learn in their own language."
Mary
Kavik received the Rebecca Idlout Memorial Award for her academic
excellence, while Dina Kavik received the NTEP leadership award
for her leadership skills.
Then,
with diplomas and flowers in hand, the graduates posed for photos
and shook hands with everyone present.
Later,
everyone gathered in the arena for a community feast of country
foods.
Smiling
in her new McGill T-shirt, grinning grad Isabel handed out mugs
with the STEP logo for the Sanikiluaq Teachers Education Program,
a program which the new teachers claimed for their own and renamed.
Next
year, Isabel, along with her fellow grads, plans to start her career
as a teacher at Nuiyak School.
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