Understanding Narrative Inquiry Through Personal Experience.: Administration & Teaching in Nunavut, Canada

By Kurt C. Donald

The author describes four narrative stories from his personal and professional experience during his career as an educator in Nunavut, Canada. The author shares these stories as a way to further understand self and how to show empathy from a personal and professional perspective.
The author’s credentials include both a Bachelor of Arts degree and Bachelor of Education degree from Mount Allison University in Sackville, NB. In 2019 he received his Masters in Edcuation in Inclusionary Practices from Crandall University in Moncton, NB. He is also a current PhD student at Cambridge University in Boston, Mass. studying Educational Leadership.
The author is currently a middle school mathematics teacher in Baker Lake, Nunavut. He enjoys reading and learning about contemporary trends in education and the issues that are part of education from a Canadian context.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Apr 6, 2022
• ISBN: 9798765226872

Kurt C. Donald

My positionality when authoring these stories come from who and what I am as a person and researcher; this identity includes respect, trust, kindness, love, and integrity. Contributions to these stories include a strong sense of open-mindedness, willingness to learn from these events as they transform and inform my life, as well as a yearning to share these personal stories and knowledge with others. I wanted this book to paint four distnct pictures with words that captivate the reader and bring them into my personal experience. I want the stories to reflect what others may endure in their own personal lives and to let them know that they are not alone, that we are all part of these experiences as we live our lives.

Book preview

UNDERSTANDING

NARRATIVE INQUIRY

THROUGH PERSONAL

EXPERIENCE.

Administration & Teaching

in Nunavut, Canada

Kurt C. Donald (M. Ed.)

Copyright © 2022 Kurt C. Donald (M. Ed.).

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Balboa Press

A Division of Hay House

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.balboapress.com

844-682-1282

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 979-8-7652-2686-5 (sc)

ISBN: 979-8-7652-2687-2 (e)

Balboa Press rev. date: 04/06/2022

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

Losing My Dad During My PhD Journey While Teaching in Nunavut

The aftermath of the death of my father and life goes on – Concluding Thoughts

The Suicide That Changed My Life Forever

The aftermath following the suicide of one of my students: How this changed my life both personally and professionally forever

Experiential Cultural Learning: Out on the Land My Observations as a Participant Observer

References

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DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to my late father who passed away suddenly on November 17th, 2019, at the Saint John Regional Hospital in Saint John, NB. My father was the most kind-hearted, giving, and loving father any son could ask for. When I think of my dad, I am often reminded of the song by Zac Brown Band called My Old Man. That song resonates with me and is everything that I ever saw in my father.

I also would like to dedicate this book to my mother who has been through a lot of traumas since the passing of her husband. She loved her husband with all her heart and being. They were each other’s first loves and were married for over 60 years. There is not a day goes by that she does not think of him.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to dedicate this book to my current supervisor, Mr. Chris Snow who is the principal of the school that I currently work at in Baker Lake, Nunavut. Without him hiring me for this position I would not have had the experiences that I have had working with the amazing Inuit and non-Innuit staff at the school, not to mention learning the Inuit culture from the students that I teach. Mr. Snow’s guidance and leadership has helped me develop and hone my skills to become