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The Kids from Nowhere | 
 enlarge | Author: George Guthridge
Publisher: Alaska Northwest Books
Category: Book
List Price: $16.95
Buy New: $10.31
You Save: $6.64 (39%)
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Rating:  20 reviews
Sales Rank: 65787
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 326
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.9
ISBN: 0882406515
Dewey Decimal Number: 372.916434
EAN: 9780882406510
ASIN: 0882406515
Publication Date: October 1, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new item. Over 4 million customers served. Order now. Selling online since 1995. Few left in stock - order soon. Code: I20090102032137S
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Product Description
From the world-award-winning writer comes the gripping, true story of a group of Alaskan Eskimo students who, despite nearly impossible odds, achieve one of the most stunning educational feats in the history of American education. In 1982, George Guthridge brought his wife and two young daughters to Gambell, Alaska, a small village on the edge of the remote blizzard-swept St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea, one of the harshest and most remote places in Alaska. Guthridge was there to teach at a Siberian-Yupik schoola school so troubled it was under threat of closure. For its own reasons, the school district enters the students into one of the most difficult academic competitions in the nation. The school has no computers and very few books. The students lack world knowledge and speak English as a second language. Still, George resolves to coach them to a state championship. But the students have an even greater goal of their own. Hilarious, disturbing, densely atmosphericand packed with surprises at every turnThe Kids from Nowhere is a powerful, poignant story that will make you want to cry and cheer at the same time. Similar to an Alaskan Stand and Deliver, this is an inspiring story of triumph over adversity that provides a fascinating view of a remote Alaska Native village.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 15 more reviews...
Teaching Inspirtion December 7, 2008
Anyone who has a passion for teaching at any level cannot help but be inspired by this book.
Great Book October 28, 2008
Since I was a teacher, I could identify with the frustrations and the successes. I also own ivory carvings done by Qay (Boone) so it made the story personal. I recommend the book highly.
Required Reading for Teachers August 21, 2008
I picked this book up while visiting my daughter in Alaska. As an educator from a very small midwestern district, I could relate in so many ways to the sutle communication styles and cultural secrets of these students. Many of us teach on "islands" where financial and social poverty play a huge role in our day to day contact with students. I could not put this book down. In so many ways I saw many of my own students in the characters, and quite unfortunately, saw some of my teaching peers in the negativity of certain Gambell staff members. I will share this title with my collegues and intend to reread it myself. It is a wonderful and inspiring novel for all teachers in remote areas.
Kids Can Learn October 5, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
In the 1980s an amazing thing happened. Siberian Yupik kids, who lived on a remote island in the Bering Sea and who spoke English as a second language, won national academic competitions. Their teacher was a writer who took the teaching job in order to support his young family and writing, but the experience turned him into a dedicated teacher as well as award-winning author. The Kids from Nowhere is his story of teaching junior high and high school students in Gambell, Alaska.
George Guthridge went to Gambell to teach in 1982. His students were Siberian Yupiks, who called themselves Eskimos, who got their water from the village's tank, and who missed school to participate in the subsistence activities of their families and community. Located on the northwest corner of St. Lawrence Island, Gambell has a view of nearby Russia on the rare clear day. When he arrived, the Gambell schools had discipline as well as academic problems, and teacher turnover was very high. The school district was considering closing the high school.
Coming from the "outside"--outside of Alaska, Guthridge had much to learn. He learned about Eskimo culture, teaching methods, public school politics, and academic success. His story is also the story of the kids he coached. These kids had the typical Eskimo shyness. Guthridge learned to read the raised eye brow that meant yes, and the lowered brow that meant no. He learned to listen to the silence exchanges among the students--and the discussions in Yupik.
Guthridge was assigned to coach Future Problem Solving at the elementary, junior high, and high school levels. Initially, he did not know what Future Problem Solving was. It is a method of solving a problem set in the future, and a program to teach youth problem-solving skills. Given an assigned topic, the students were to identify at least 20 problems that could go wrong, chose one of the problems, solve it at least 20 ways, develop criteria for evaluating the solutions and then evaluate their solutions, identify the best solution, and write an essay about the solution. In competition, all this had to be done in two hours.
Guthridge's challenge was to teach assigned Future Problem Solving topics like nuclear waste and genetic engineering to students who had seen neither a tree nor an escalator. At times teaching was frustrating, very frustrating. Gradually, Guthridge began to apply the tools of writing to teaching. He developed the "what because why" format to focus on the relationships inherent in any topic. He kept repeating to the students, "Original thinking is precise thinking," and he placed emphasis on research. He ignored grade-level complexity, and he borrowed techniques from Superlearning and educational philosophers. He also had to teach competitive strategies to kids in a cooperative culture.
He also remembered that he was coaching and teaching kids for life. He sent a smelly sock home with any student who insulted another student. The kids were to participate as a team and support each other. In the end, both the junior high and high school teams won national championships.
Guthridge tells his story with grace, modesty, cultural sensitivity, and skill. He stayed in Gambell for six years. He now teaches through the University of Alaska's campus in Dillingham, Alaska, and he continues to write short stories and novels. With full respect for cultural differences, Guthridge reminds us that kids can learn--even "the kids from nowhere."
 Inspirational true story September 8, 2007
You can almost hear the "Rocky" theme as you read the final pages as these Yuupik kids do the impossible!
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