Today Kaltag was in the process of switching things over to prepare for the mushers to come back through a second time. It was a beautiful, chilly day with lots of sunshine. You might have noticed that my GPS tracker didn’t move for a while, but that’s okay! I have spent extra time in Kaltag and had the chance to take in some of the smaller parts of the race that I didn’t expect. I have mentioned before how much I enjoy meeting new people, but it’s been really neat to see the connections that are made between volunteers at every checkpoint. It’s not just a random group of people that get thrown together, because everyone shares the interest of Iditarod; however, everyone is just different enough that conversations are made easy. We all have different backgrounds and come from different places. In Kaltag alone, there were volunteers from various states, Australia, England, and South Africa. Now I’m finishing the day in Unalakleet!
I received an email today from a teacher in Massachusetts who has been following the race with her students. She has noticed, as many of us do, that students tend to get most excited about the “front of the pack” and tend to lose interest in the mushers who aren’t winning. I always talk to my students about perseverance and how each musher has a different goal, which isn’t always to win first place. Some mushers want to give their dogs experience, some just want to cross the finish line, and of course there are many who are shooting for the top 5 or the top 10. She asked if I had any good lessons on the widow’s lamp or the red lantern. First, let’s clarify the difference. The Red Lantern is awarded to the last musher to finish the Iditarod each year, but the Widow’s Lamp is lit in Nome at the start of the race and stays lit until the last musher comes off the trail.
Lesson Idea: To get students thinking more about the meaning of each lantern and how symbolic they are to Iditarod history, print out a basic lantern outline, and have students brainstorm a list of symbols specific to the race, mushers, checkpoints, etc. Then they can fill in the lantern with different symbols that they think are important to the race. Students could focus on the race overall, or focus on the attributes of either the Red Lantern or the Widow’s Lamp. The Red Lantern can represent commitment, determination, and perseverance. The Widow’s Lamp can represent loyalty and hope.
Questions? Comments? Want to share student work? 🙂 Email me! emailtheteacher@iditarod.com
