And then that teacher leaves, and that hurts. So maybe he'll give only nine-tenths of his heart to the next teacher. And after four or five teachers come and go, the child's afraid of getting hurt again. He's not so open anymore. When small-town teaching is a good match, though, the benefits extend to teachers, students, and community members.
Kids can participate in all the activities in school here.
It's not like the big suburban school I attended, where you were either a jock or a brain or in the band, with no chance to overlap. In Dillingham, either everyone participates or the activities just don't happen. High school students involved in athletics or student government gain exposure to a wider world, traveling by air to competitions and events across the state. Most of these kids have been playing together since they were in diapers. Students know their teachers in and out of school, whether as neighbors, through church, or just bumping shopping carts at the grocery store.