(LAKE OSWEGO) — Joshua Purkeypile’s first teaching job was anything but ordinary.
At 25 years old, after graduating from the University of Oregon with a graduate degree in teaching, he took a job as a teacher in Alakanuk, Alaska.
“That experience didn't just make me the teacher I am today, but it really made me the man I am today,” said Purkeypile. “If you know where the Yukon River hits the Bering Sea, that’s where I was for six years — my first six years of having a job teaching. It’s hard to explain to people here in LO. It’s about as opposite of LO as you can get.”
A Yupik Eskimo fishing village of around 700 people along the Yukon River Delta, Alakanuk provided Purkeypile a crash course in teaching in a remote corner of North America.
“I found it really rewarding because I think it was a great experience to be the minority for once. I was still in a position of power being a teacher there. That was kind of a big thing in the village. Everybody knows you, but I tried to get out there and do things like fishing and hunting,” he said. “I feel like I earned their respect doing that and getting out there and doing those things because it was really easy for teachers to just go to school, home, school, home and not really experience Alaska, and I feel like I really did. I had my own snow machine. I got out there with guys. I became really good friends with the natives. I climbed Denali one summer.”
In 2011, Purkeypile moved to Portland with his then-future wife and took a job in Lake Oswego. After teaching for one year at River Grove Elementary School, he started at Oak Creek Elementary School, where he’s taught second grade ever since.
“I think everybody has a certain age that they do the best with, and the first and second grade age just seems to be that age (for me). They still look up to you. They still listen. They still have that wonder. They're moldable. They're still teachable. They haven't figured out everything yet,” said Purkeypile. “Second grade is such a big year. I’m teaching reading, literacy and seeing their love of reading grow.”
Purkeypile grew up along the Rogue River in Shady Cove, Oregon, just north of Medford. He mused that moving to Alaska may have stemmed from growing up surrounded by nature.
“I grew up having parents that really advocated for me and wanted the best teachers for me,” said Purkeypile. He found his passion for teaching in college, and now he sometimes wishes he could have the same wide-eyed attitude he started with.
“I wish I could be what I was and have that patience. You know, I kind of told myself going through college that I never wanted to change who I am. I wanted to be the best that I could be as a teacher, and I'll give it every day, and I felt like I've done a pretty good job of that,” he said.
The perspectives he’s brought from Alaska aren’t lost on his students or his colleagues.
“He’s very thoughtful and intentional about his work,” said Barb Keeton, the principal at Oak Creek Elementary School. “He understands that relationships and connections matter. Josh just stays focused on getting the job done. He doesn't get mired in any of the things that can derail you from that.”
When it comes to connections with students, Purkeypile said it’s about staying humble and remembering some of his challenges as a student.
“Just showing some humility to these little munchkins who are going to be ruling this world someday,” said Purkeypile. “I couldn’t think of doing another profession, and just having these kids jabbing at you all day keeps you on your toes.”
While Purkeypile doesn’t like to “toot the Alaska horn” too much, he knows its impact on him and doesn’t think second graders are too young to miss out on that perspective.
“Just trying to be able to bring the perspective and insight to kids; we have a lot to be thankful for. It’s a big world out there, and I try to show them that. Even though they are in second grade, they're very receptive to it, and it’s never too young to start,” he added.
Purkeypile said he hopes to balance “work hard and play hard” in his classroom and that second graders respect that. He also said second grade is a pivotal age for reading development and students seeing themselves in their work.
“Kids are having that a-ha moment of, ‘Holy cow! I can read this book by myself now.’ That’s a pretty cool thing to see in a kid’s eyes,” said Purkeypile. “You know the old cliche, ‘You guys are the future.’ I try to teach them to be good problem solvers. That was something else I experienced in Alaska. We had problems all the time. Are you going to jump in there and be part of the solution? That’s what we need these days. We need problem solvers.”
Quick from teaching first and second graders, Purkeypile is quicker to praise what his students have taught him over 19 years.
“What do the kids teach me? Everything. Where to begin? How to be a humble person, how to be caring, how to be patient, how to — I mean, how to be a better teacher.”
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