Issue link: https://takingitglobal.uberflip.com/i/1542824
R. Adeboye, C. Flewelling,V. Ogbole, E. O'Sullivan 37 Cooper's study of re-engaging Indigenous high school students offers a concise and compelling summation: Teachers have the power to build a student up or to bring them down with their use of words, actions or inactions, and demeanour in a classroom. Teachers set the classroom culture for tolerance of different viewpoints, beliefs, and learning styles the very first day they teach and this tolerance or intolerance is reinforced throughout the school year till it becomes a part of each and every student. This is where racism is bred, intolerance to differences nurtured, and self-esteem shattered. It is also a place where students can be taught to question their beliefs, learn to tolerate differences, and accept others for who they are. As a teacher myself, I can tell you that knowing the impact I have on my students is overwhelming but it is also fulfilling. To know that I have successfully developed a classroom culture where we are all learners, accepted, and considerate of others makes me feel like I am doing my job right. (Cooper, 2012, pp. 74-75) Evaluation Question 4: Is the program being implemented as intended? Implementation Assumption #1: Sessions Provide Otherwise Unavailable Educational Opportunities Connected North staff and Content Providers described the program's core value as providing access to expertise, cultural knowledge, and specialized content not accessible in remote communities. Teacher interviews and survey responses reinforced this view, emphasizing how Connected North filled gaps in their own skills and knowledge and in school programming, and how it offered a unique service unmatched by other options and not realistically replicable by teachers on their own. Connected North Staff and Content Providers Connected North staff and Content Providers both highlighted how the program gives students in remote or under-resourced communities access to experiences, expertise, and content they would not have otherwise. They emphasized not only how the model massively expanded the sharing of knowledge, but the efforts they undertook to make sessions as comparable as possible to in- person experiences. For example, one Content Provider described how they found it a challenge to adapt sessions that were designed to be face-to-face and land based; but that providing a hands-on kit helped them approximate the original experience, "so they get the smell, they get the taste, they get to make,