Through connections with Alaska, teacher candidates at Kutztown University not only have the opportunity to tutor and send letters to enrich the children of Alaska, but can have the opportunity to student teach in remote parts of Bush, Alaska. However, teacher candidates at Kutztown must reach the following goals in order to qualify for student teaching in Alaska.

In order to qualify for student teaching in Alaska the following prerequisites must be met:

• Has been a distance tutor for one year
• Interview with Lake Peninsula School District conducted before being selected to student teach
• Understanding of cultural differences in Alaska

When student teaching in Alaska, students from Kutztown University found some interesting information regarding the Alaskan culture:

• Everyone is somehow in someway related
• News travels very fast throughout the villages
• It is a quiet culture that sometimes takes time to let outsiders in
• For fun, students love to hunt and be outdoors, contrary to the lower 48 where students enjoy playing video games
• After high school, most continue to live in the village and become fishermen
• Schools are a learning environment, as well as an area for community events

Through participating in cultural traditions in Alaska, student teachers found how impactful culture can be through the following ways:

• Participating in a native dance
• Teachers gained insight into the culture of the students
• Through shared experiences, Alaskan students felt their teachers were interested and cared about their heritage
• By showing respect for the local culture, teachers would earn the opportunity to learn more about other Alaskan cultures

Not only did the student teachers from Kutztown University get to experience learning about different cultures, but the students from Alaska got to hear and be exposed to cultural differences found in the Northeastern United States. Some of these differences included:

• Some students had no concept of a school bus-often rode four-wheelers to school
• Pizza delivery was an unfamiliar concept to students that had to be explained
• Some Alaskan students did not realize that it was common in the Northeastern United Stated to make direct eye contact when talking
• Some Students were not familiar with introducing themselves on the phone either