About



I love teaching.
I love Alaska.
Combining the two? Genius.

It's always been a dream of mine to go to Alaska, and after teaching a year in Tennessee, I decided to make that dream come true. I accepted a teaching position for grades 7-12 in language arts and social studies on a small island named Little Diomede, located in the Bering Strait. The island is 2.5 miles from Russia's Big Diomede Island and a half-mile away from the International Dateline. It is 50 miles south of the Arctic Circle. Diomede is known locally by the Inupiaq Eskimos as Inaliq. There are approximately 100 people on the island. If rocks are the bones of the earth, then Little Diomede Island is the shoulder. To read about my experiences in this remote village, go here.

After teaching there for a year, I took a semester off from teaching while living in Maryland with some family. Then, the Alaska itch returned. I knew I had to go back. I accepted an 8th-grade Language Arts teaching position in Barrow, Alaska, the northernmost town in Alaska (and therefore the United States). Barrow's population is approximately 4,200, and it sits roughly 320 miles above the Arctic Circle.

Oh yeah, in the summers, I study the Great Books at St. John's College, where I am working towards my master's of liberal arts.

5 comments :

Unknown said...

Came across your blog because I was searching for the beautiful "Think before you Speak" sign. I am finishing my Master's Degree for School Counseling and would love to have this sign to hang in my office-of course I want it to look identical to yours. I was wondering if the letters were decals or if someone very talented sketched them. Anyway it was nice to come across your blog and I enjoyed reading about your passion for teaching!

Love your blog

allcedars said...

Thank you! :) The letters were painted on the wood. The background for the letters is newspaper, I think.

You can buy the sign here:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/104617013/before-you-speakthink-classroom-wood?

Portia said...

I love your "Studentisms" Meredith. Also, what a great blog design! How did you create the tabs toward the top of your blog?

allcedars said...

It's one of the features on blogspot. You can add "pages."

Unknown said...

You have the coolest blog! I'm fascinated with everthing Alaska and especially the remote villages that you describe so well.

Your passion for teaching is obvious and your students love for you in return must be so rewarding.