the kids from nowhere:
The Story Behind the Arctic Educational Miracle

Study/Discussion Guide

General

• What does this book tell you about goal-setting?  
• What are some myths you found not to be true about Alaska?  
• What are some results of Western cognition, which is based on literacy?
• What are some results of indigenous cognition, which is based on oral traditions?
• (This question is beyond the scope of the book.)  Which type of cognition – Western or indigenous – do you think Asian cognition is closest to?  Why?

The Family

• What problems did Meredith encounter in the village?  How did she adapt?   What became of her as an adult?  Do you think her life in the village helped her in later life?  How so?
• What problems did Gretchen encounter in the village?  How did she adapt?   What became of her as an adult?  Do you think her life in the village helped her in later life?  How so?
• What were some of Mary’s concerns, as an educator, parent, and wife?  
• What emotional factors do you think drove George throughout the undertaking?
• George and Mary eventually divorced.  What are some factors from the two-year period that the book portrays that may have contributed to that?

The School

• What are at least three ways that the Gambell school differed from your school?
• Other teachers at the school exhibited a variety of attitudes toward the Kids’ efforts.  What attitudes did each of them show?  In particular, look at the following people –
• Gerald
• Lars
• Lawrence
• Mr. Dan
• What did George do differently regarding instruction?
• What was Lobert like?   How did the Future Problem Solving Program help him even though he was not on a team?

The Teams

• What were some educational obstacles that the Kids had to overcome?
• What were some emotional obstacles that the Kids had to overcome?
• What advantages did teams from other schools have?
• What lessons about Eskimo life did the Kids learn to use in their quest?
• How did local living conditions influence the Kids’ efforts, both adversely and positively?
• How did the Kids’ preparation differ from that of other students in the competition?
• How did Bruce contribute to the teams’ efforts?  What reservations about the Gambell program did he have?

The High School Team

• What was Merle’s central problem regarding education?  How did he change?  Why?
• What was Boone’s initial attitude?  How did he change?  Why?  What became of him as an adult?
• What was Marshall’s main problem regarding education?  How did he change?  Why?
• What was Allana’s main problem?  Why did she join the team?
• What was Londa’s main emotional problem?  Why was she interested in Future Problem Solving?  Did the program help her in more fundamental, lifelong ways?  If so, how?

The Junior High School Team

• What was Kasha’s main problem regarding education?  How did she change? 
• What was Romie’s main problem regarding education?  How did she change?
• Did Bess have a problem regarding education, or was it the result of George’s misinterpretation of her emotional state?
• What was Alvin like?   Do you know anyone like him?  
• What educational problems did Meredith have regarding the competition?
• What was Puffin like?  Why did she quit the team?

The Elementary Team

• What problems kept the elementary school students from succeeding in Future Problem Solving? 

The Results

• The Gambell teams have enormously influenced education in Alaska.  Why do you think that is true?   What lessons from them might you apply to your school?

Suggestions for Further Reading

Barnhardt, Ray, and Anguyaqaq Oscar Kawagley.  Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Alaska Native Ways of Knowing  Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 36 (2005).  1: 8-23.

Fienup-Riodan, Ann.  Eskimo Essays: Yup'ik Lives and How We See Them   Rutgers University Press, 1999. 

Fienup-Riodan, Ann.  Wise Words of the Yup'ik People: We Talk to You because We Love You  Bison Books, 2005.

Goody, Jack.  The Domestication of the Savage MindCambridge University Press, 1977. 

Jolles, Carol Zane.   Faith, Food, and Family in a Yupik Whaling Community  University of Washington Press, 2002.

Langdon, Steve J.  The Native People of AlaskaWizard Works, 2002.

Lopez, Barry.  Arctic DreamsVintage Press, 2001.

Nisbett, Richard, Incheol Choi, Kaiping Peng, and Ara Norenzayan.   Culture and Systems of Thought: Holistic vs. Analytic Cognition  Psychological Review, 108 (2001).  291-310.

Ong, Walter J.   Orality & Literacy: The Technologizing of the WordRoutledge, 1982.

Scollon, Ron, and Suzanne Scollon.  Scollon, Ron, and Suzanne B.K. Scollon.  Literacy as Interethnic Communication: An Athabaskan Case  Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, 1979.

Some Selected Works by George Guthridge

The Bloodletter.   Northwest Books, 1994.   Offbeat western.

The Madagascar Manifesto (with Janet Berliner).   Mainstream novels.    Meisha Merlin, 2002.  Paperback and hardback omnibus edition of the next three books:
Children of the Dusk (with Janet Berliner).  White Wolf, 1997. Winner, Bram Stoker Award, Year’s Best Horror Novel.

Child of the Journey (with Janet Berliner).  White Wolf, 1996.

Child of the Light (with Janet Berliner).  White Wolf, 1995.

Exotic Locals.  Short story CD collection.  (With Janet Berliner.)  Lone Star Publications, 1997.

The Death Mask of Pancho Villa (with Carol Gaskins).  Young adult.   Bantam, 1987.

“Mirror of Lop Nor” (novelette).  In Immortal Unicorn.  HarperPrism,1995.  Finalist, Nebula Award.

“Chin Oil” (Short story.)  David Copperfield’s Beyond Imagination.  HarperPrism, 1997.  Semi-finalist, Bram Stoker Award.