Education will lead to more professional opportunities
Nunavut’s Next 25: Readers reflect on what’s in store for territory’s next 25 years
College and university educations, like those provided by Nunavut Arctic College, will be important if Nunavut is to develop more professional jobs like nursing and teaching, says Sanirajak high school student Abigail Allianaq. (File photo)
To mark the 25th anniversary of the creation of Nunavut, Nunatsiaq News asked readers to describe what’s in store for the next 25 years.
Abigail Allianaq
My prediction is that over the next 25 years, Nunavut will change a lot, just like it has over the last 25 years.
For instance, I think that in the future more Nunavummiut will have professional jobs like nurses and teachers, etc. For this to happen, we young Nunavummiut will have to go to college and university and study very hard. But we can do it!
Another thing that I think is going to change is the housing system. I am very excited about the Nunavut 3000 program because in Nunavut there are too many crowded houses. If we want the next generation of Inuit to be healthy, then we will need bigger and more comfortable homes.
I want the school system to be better for our future generation, too, and I want more Inuit to become teachers. We want all the communities to have healthy, loving schools, and I think that can only happen if we have more Inuit teachers.
Finally, the grocery prices are sky high everywhere in Nunavut. Nunavummiut deserve more reasonable prices at the stores. I think baby supplies like diapers, milk, and formula should become tax exempt or subsidized by the government.
Nunavut is, and has always been, a great place to be. I think it will still be great in 2049.
Thank you very much for your time and consideration.
Abigail Allianaq is a high school student in Sanirajak.
Education is key. Key to opening Doors. Doors to your business. Doors to your home. It’s an open door to the big world with millions of opportunities.
💯
Education is the future of nunavut. Not mining, not snowmobile racing, not handouts, but a good old fashioned academic education.
Hooliganism on school busses is a symptom that things are not going well for young people. So is the fact that there are no home-grown doctors, dentists. accountants or engineers. And that Baffinland has only 15 percent Inuit employment, mostly in low-tech jobs.
To start with, there’s an attitude problem arising from failure to address this two-part question: 1. Should education enable youth for equality of opportunity in the high-tech economy? Or 2. For some kind of presumably modified traditional lifestyle? There’s only one acceptable answer. It’s Number 1, and it can and must be supplemented with learning traditional skills—as happens with all kids growing up on a farm.
Here are some requirements for parents and schools. 1. Parents must read to their children in early childhood and engage with them in activities. 2. Every student needs to participate in at least half an hour’s exercise class. 3. There needs to be after-school supervision of homework, and after-school organization of activities such as games and sports, music, carpentry, small engine repair and maintenance. 4. Most important is that young people do not need smart phones. Social media and screen time use needs to be cut sharply—ideally close to zero for young children.
Education for Inuit (and Indians) has always been dumbed down, featuring the bigotry of low expectations. But as has happened in some Asian countries, the school system can and must do the heavy lifting. That includes engaging with parents. Coming back to where I started, motivated and inspired youth are a pleasure to be around, even on a school bus.
These goals are lofty indeed considering the current state of Nunavut Arctic College! Low enrollment, lack of teachers, high enrollment fees and classes that nearly 100% on distance learning (on line). NAC needs to up its game if we hope to achieve educational success in the next 25 years!