Could there be a more exciting time to include Alaska and the Iditarod in your curriculum?  Many of you know that Alaska is preparing for its 50th anniversary as a state in 2009, but the big news of this Labor Day Weekend is the announcement that Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is the Republican Party’s choice for vice president.  With that announcement all eyes turn to Alaska.  Everyone wants to know about this candidate who is the first GOP woman on a presidential ticket.  Where is she from?  What are her views?  What is her background?  Here are a few interesting bits of information about Sarah Palin for Iditarod followers. Before Palin was governor she was the mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, which is where Iditarod Headquarters is located.  In June of 2007 Governor Palin attended the festivities on Musher Sign Up Day at Iditarod Race Headquarters.  And the governor’s husband, Todd, loves to race through the snow, but not on a sled.  He prefers to ride a snow machine (or snow mobile for those of us who live in the lower 48).

Of course with thoughts turning to Alaska many of the political controversies of that state hit the airways.  As I listened to All Things Considered on my favorite National Public Radio station, the topic of global warming came up.  Margaret Williams, Alaska’s director of the World Wildlife Fund, shared her observations of how melting Arctic ice is currently affecting polar bears.  Later in the day questions arose about the pros and cons of drilling for oil in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).  ANWR consists of 19,049,236 acres in northeastern Alaska often referred to as the North Slope region.  The refuge supports a greater variety of plant and animal life than any other protected area in the Arctic Circle.  This controversy has been going on since the Carter administration.

 

As we all begin a new school year these political issues give us a marvelous opportunity to educate our students.  Without giving our own political views we can use these topics to educate young people on the importance of researching issues, weighing the pros and cons, and forming an educated position.  So with these issues in mind, I give to you three lessons on Alaskan animals.  I hope you can plug these lessons into your Iditarod studies this year and, as this Labor Day Weekend is the symbolic end of summer, let me wish you a happy and productive 2008-2009 school year!