The Trip

We thought that we might not be able to go all week but finally on Thursday, we got our field trip number and a bus and driver and it was confirmed. Friday, we could go to Edmonton with 15 of our students (who were a little bit reluctant to go to the Dreamcatcher conference).

Friday morning, we gathered at the school. Eight of the 15 students showed up - the best 8 I think. The bus arrived and we were off. One student, who is 18, was off to Edmonton for the very first time. It was his inaugral trip to a place with buildings over five stories high, with public transit, traffic etc. This made the trip so much more interesting and fun.

The high school students were off to the Dreamcatcher conference in Edmonton. This is a conference designed for aboriginal youth with cultural and other sessions. They had a chance to hang with aboriginal youth and listen to aboriginal speakers. They had a chance to feel pride in their ancestory and hope in their future. All we did in Edmonton was this conference and a movie at the theater. No mall, no shopping, no swimming pool (and yes I am sure we will hear complaints about this.)

It was interesting to see the reaction of my students to the city. Another teacher and I often talk about the lack of natural print in the environment of my students - there is no billboards, no magazines, no signs etc. As a kid, I remember driving down the road, reading the signs that I saw out loud. That is what the teens in the bus started to do. "Totem Building Supplies." "Walmart" "Go Logo Wear" etc. Then one of them started talking about how this was the most traffic that they had ever seen (It wasn't even rush hour.) We had to explain how to use crosswalks and cross walk lights. (So can we cross if the hand is blinking? What do the numbers mean on the side?) Riding the elevator in our hotel was a treat (I am surprised that they didn't fight over who would push the buttons) I had to explain how to go down on the escalator. One of my students exclaimed, "I feel like I am in a movie." The only city experience that he had had was seeing one on movies.

I am so proud of my students and their behaviour in the city. They were the best students at the conference. It was fun hanging out with them instead of telling them to get their math work done. On the way home, I was able to have a wonderful conversation with one of my students about faith and christianity and God. Mostly we talked about Christian history. "No the Bible wasn't originally written in King James English. It was written in Greek and Hebrew." It pains me that most people here think that they need to read the KJV version of the Bible. Most of them are on the verge of illiteracy and at times the Bible is tough enough to understand. Christ came to speak to us in our own languages. He came to take some of the mystery away (bu adding on layers of mystery). And yet for many here, the mystery still remains and the knowledge of Biblical matters rests with the preacher and leadership. It raises my ire.