Patti Lloyd, a dedicated educator in rural Alaska, and her husband Rod share their invaluable insights from teaching in a community where culture is deeply rooted and the environment is unique. They discuss the importance of listening to students and adapting lessons to connect with their lives outside the classroom. Patti and Rod emphasize the joy of learning from village elders and fostering genuine community relationships. Their stories highlight how effective teaching methods can resonate with students everywhere, demonstrating that education thrives on connection and cultural relevance.
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question_answer ANECDOTE
Caribou Counting
A student struggled to count using traditional classroom objects like dinosaurs.
He easily counted caribou, a familiar animal in his Alaskan village, leading to a caribou-themed counting unit.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Focus on How You Teach
Prioritize teaching methods over specific content, especially in new environments.
Immerse yourself in the community and listen actively to students' perspectives.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Listen Actively
Teachers should listen more and talk less.
Be quiet and pay close attention to what your students are communicating verbally and nonverbally.
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Today on Beyond My Years, host Ana Torres takes you to the northernmost region of Alaska to sit down with Patti and Rod Lloyd. Patti and Rod are longtime educators in a rural school district where caribou outnumber people, the village is only accessible by plane, and the indigenous culture of the Iñupiat people goes back 10,000 years. They teach Ana about how they make the content matter by connecting it to student life outside of the classroom, the honor of teaching where children are the most valuable part of the community, the importance of listening more than you speak, and they offer advice for teaching responsibly as an outsider. They also share stories of how the first week of every school year is spent connecting to the land and having the village elders teach about their culture, emphasizing the joy to be found when you open yourself up to what your students have to teach you. Throughout the conversation, it is clear that despite teaching in a unique landscape, the lessons that Patti and Rod have learned are applicable to teaching any student anywhere. Taking all those lessons back to the classroom, Eric and Ana discuss the benefits of building genuine community relationships, making learning culturally relevant, and the importance of focusing on effective teaching methods.
Quotes: “I wish I could go back and tell myself, ‘Don't be so concerned with what you're teaching but how you're teaching it.’ Really get into the community.” —Rod Lloyd
“We’ve just got to be quiet enough, long enough to hear what our students are saying—or not saying.” —Patti Llloyd
“I know teaching now is a very high-pressure situation. There is so much pressure on us and so much to do, but we can't forget to take that time and enjoy it because if you enjoy it, your kids will enjoy it.” —Rod Lloyd
Beyond My Years