EJ Dorsey, Teacher, Kuinerrarmiut Elitnaurviat

EJ Dorsey teaches secondary science to 9-12^th graders at Kuinerrarmiut Elitnaurviat in the Lower Kuskokwim School District. Mr. Dorsey’s classes attend school in-person two days a week in two separate cohorts, with one student-free deep cleaning day. Many students and teachers do not have internet at home, so remote learning must be entirely analogue. And while this year is proving to be challenging and a bit messy… his students are still learning, having fun, and moving forward! 

As a new teacher in a large rural district, Mr. Dorsey strives to bring the Alaskan culture and lifestyle into his teaching to make his lessons relevant and engaging. For Biology classes, the parts of the cell can be made analogous to school, home, and village life components. In Physics, the class can discuss which vectors show the motion of a Native Youth Olympics athlete, or how caribou and moose hunting can provide examples of precision and accuracy. These real-life examples help the lessons stick and can be easily referenced as examples later in the school year! 

In Mr. Dorsey’s experience, he’s found there is nothing a student loves more than being able to correct their teacher! Or, to feel like they can TEACH their teacher. Mr. Dorsey likes using the concept of knowledge exchange in his classroom. He believes that students have just as much to teach him as he has to teach them. By keeping those pathways open, a culture of trust and interaction is established, which makes learning easier. The collective willingness to try new things leads to success in the classroom. Mr. Dorsey loves when his students come to him with a "guess what!" or "hey did you know?" – because those conversations are the best avenues for learning. It’s excitement and fun, rather than innate talent, that is the foundational steppingstone towards learning. 

The photo of Mr. Dorsey illustrates how he draws his class diagrams. Mr. Dorsey CAN draw decent pictures - he CHOOSES not to, because a silly moose gets students laughing, and laughing students are more engaged, and engaged students learn! 

Mr. Dorsey has a great outlook for this unusual year. “The bottom line, I think, is that this year is going to be a mess no matter how much planning we put into it. And that's okay. The challenge now is to lean in and embrace the mess, because messy fun creates many opportunities for learning, where messy misery does not. If we work with the chaos instead of against it, we'll have a year of learning unlike any other.” 

Thank you, Mr. Dorsey, for bringing fun, excitement, and relatable lessons into your classroom!