After 32 years of teaching in the Kivalliq region, Trudi Bruce is retiring come June.
She’s been in the profession long enough that some of her former students now have children of their own attending Rankin Inlet’s Leo Ussak School, where Bruce is vice-principal.
Her daughter Kayla earned her bachelor of education degree and is teaching at Simon Alaittuq School in the same community.
“I was super proud,” Bruce said of her daughter’s academic achievement and career path, adding that they periodically exchange thoughts and ideas about their work.
“But I’m going to be honest, sometimes I feel like I’m learning more from her than she is from me,” she said. “She’s very current and up to date… our conversations contribute to my professional growth and I’m sure they contribute to her professional growth as well. We have that in common so it’s fun to have those conversations.”
She hopes Kayla finds her career just as fulfilling as she has, loving coming to work every day.
“Just being there in the classroom connecting with the students. The little kids are enthusiastic, it’s absolutely fun,” Bruce said of her experience. “I have had the absolute pleasure of working with so many amazing teachers. That’s kind of been a highlight, that collaboration and cooperation.”
However, having witnessed some of her colleagues leave for other sectors, she said she wishes that her daughter will be “fully supported to ensure her success” as a new teacher, in terms of class size and being provided adequate resources.
Her step-mother was also an educator, an influential figure she refers to as her “inspiration.”
“So there’s three generations as teachers,” she said.
Stayed far longer than planned
Bruce’s teaching career in the North began in 1991 after she earned her bachelor of education from the University of Manitoba. Her intention at that time was to spend 10 months in Rankin Inlet, but then she met the man who would become her husband and settled down to start her own family, although she spent time leading classrooms in Baker Lake and Coral Harbour as well.
She’s admittedly observed a decline in Inuktitut over the past three decades. In the early 1990s, Inuktitut was the first language for many of her students. Today, she said it’s generally their second language.
“Ideally, it would be wonderful to have students speaking Inuktitut more,” she said.
On the other hand, she said there are many Inuit educators at the school who are making important contributions.
“It’s great to see this young generation coming in and teaching. They’re very good at it and it’s exciting,” she said. “To see that happening is amazing.”
Bruce, who earned the Excellence in Teaching Award through the Nunavut Teachers’ Association in 2018, knows her life is going to change significantly when June rolls around and her retirement is official.
“I will admit I’m nervous because essentially all I’ve ever done is go to school. I went right from high school to university, from university — I was 23 years old — I came up to Rankin Inlet and started teaching, so I’ve never done anything but work in schools as a student and as a teacher,” she said.
“Yesterday I was in the hallway and it was dismissal time. The bell went and the kids were all coming out into the hallway and it’s always just a little bit chaotic… and I was standing there and what occurred to me was that I’m really going to miss this.”
Her daughter has plans for her mom to come and volunteer in her classroom in the years ahead as Bruce will remain in Rankin Inlet.
Because she derives such joy from teaching others to read and write, she may volunteer to assist adults with upgrading those skills, she muses.
In her letter notifying her employer of her impending retirement, she wrote, “This job and this place has given me a wonderful life.”
“It’s definitely been a good ride,” she said.
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