Motivating Learners in Northern Communities

• Main Author: Swanson, Sharon
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: UBC Faculty of Education 2021
• Subjects: Moose Factory; Moosonee; James Bay
• Online Access: http://ojs.library.ubc.ca/index.php/CJNE/article/view/196339; https://doi.org/10.14288/cjne.v27i1.196339

The ideas presented in this article are based on insights and understandings that have evolved while teaching in the Literacy and Basic Skillsprogram for the Moose Cree Education Authority in Moose Factory, Ontario. Moose Factory is located in the district of James Bay, and its nearestneighbor is Moosonee, which is about three miles away. Moose Factory isan island community approximately three miles by two miles and sits 18feet above sea level, with a population of 2,500. These isolated communities are accessible by plane, train, boat, or snow machine dependingon the season. To get to Moose Factory from Moosonee, you need to boarda water taxi during the summer months. An ice road connects these twocommunities during the winter months, while during freeze-up andbreak-up community members use helicopters to travel back and forth.Although means of travel are unique to the area, the purpose of the MooseFactory literacy program is not unlike those in Southern communities.