Donald Clark, a longtime resident, teacher and principal in Rankin Inlet, recalls back to school as an exciting time in his household.
Clark, who raised two daughters and a son, said it always nice to get back and see the students again.
"I think most of my kids were excited to get back to school and see their old friends," said Clark. "With summer holidays over, there were lots of activities going to be starting at the schools, so, yeah, they were always pretty excited about the start of the school year.
"Our family went down to Cape Breton, N.S., every summer so our kids could get to connect with their grandparents."
He said everything was ready to go for most of the kids coming back to Rankin Inlet for the school year, so he never found the commercialization of going back to school to be a big thing in Rankin Inlet during his time in the community.
"Most people in Rankin nowadays are living from paycheque to paycheque trying to just survive. Maybe, in the past, if they got a chance to go south for the summer holidays they would take advantage of any sales they ran across while there, or they'd order a bunch of new stuff in. I don't find it like that these days. Money is a little tighter and people can only do what they can do."
Clark said he really enjoyed his time spent at Alaittuq High School when the school was only for Grade 9 to Grade 12. He said that was his favourite time teaching in Rankin Inlet.
"During that time, I really enjoyed the age group we had to work with, as well as the smaller size of the building and the closeness of the students at that time.
"A lot of that has to do with who the students are being with every day. If the teacher is enthusiastic and really wants to be there, then the students will follow right along.
"But, if they're not met with that energy and enthusiasm to be there, then that's what you're going to get back from the students. So much of it depends on the staff and the leadership of the school, and if they're in it for the right reasons or not."
Clark said he thinks no matter where you go, the majority of children are almost always excited about starting back to school.
He said when all is said and done, they're happy to see all their friends again and get back in the school routine.
"A lot of the students really might not have that much contact with some of their friends over the summer holidays with vacations and all the other activities going on. So, I have to say going back to school is always an exciting time for most of them.
"Nowadays, as well, the kids have so much technology at their disposal — teachers have to have a big bag of tricks to keep them interested and motivated.
"Things may have shifted in that regard and some teachers might be more apprehensive about the start of the school year than the kids themselves.
"It's a changing world out there, but I think back to school is still a pretty exciting time of year for everyone involved."
