"It's a Good Day to Be an Adult and an Eagle."
(Note: Some students took notes. Others wrote down your jokes. While I stopped teaching in 2023 (journalism, speech, Indigenous studies, and film history), a piece of my teaching career continued “up north” with one of my former Eaglevision anchors, who also discovered that the consolation prize for not being a gameshow host is a rewarding gig as a teacher. )
Ladies and Gentleman, who wants to play a game?
First, let’s meet our bachelor, Chandler See. Professor See is a Speech Communications instructor at Leech Lake Tribal College in Cass Lake whose current relationship is with his “fishing boat named Dale” and claims “I’ve had more first dates than second dates.”
Let’s SEE how well you know Chandler.
Question #1: Chandler decided he wanted to be a game-show host after roasting football coach Dusty Drager in a pepfest (a joke about McDonalds?). In describing himself back in his high school days, Chandler referenced this popular 70s Sit-Com. Which show best described his high school attitude?
Happy Days
WKRP in Cincinnati
One Day at a Time
MASH
The answer? While Chandler certainly might’ve “mashed” a few wide receivers as part of the 2016 state football team, and credits working on visual poems as some of his “happy days” in the classroom, he didn’t develop an interest in communication until much later. Let’s hear the correct answer from Chandler. “Oh gosh, in high school, I was probably thinking about what’s for lunch and if I could work a movie quote into that. High School Chandler was just living one day at a time and was having a blast and was a pretty simple creature.”
Question #2: In recollecting his favorite moments from high school, Chandler credits FFA as “a really good experience for me.” However, he almost didn’t join the program because of a movie. Which movie negatively influenced Chandler’s perception of FFA?
Children of the Corn
Babe: Pig in the City
Napoleon Dynamite
Chicken Run
The answer? Let’s hear it from the horse’s mouth: “Napoleon Dynamite made me think: ‘I will never be in this organization.’ It was really cool. Any speaking opportunities I had I did because it was fun and I enjoyed it. Now I teach speech, so it's just become really full circle.”
Question #3: After graduating from Maple River, Chandler attended Bemidji State University, where he got his bachelor’s degree in journalism so that he could “become a news anchor.” As the first person in his family to graduate from college, Chandler expressed pride in the accomplishment yet credits his family members for being the hard workers. “I watched how hard my mom (Tricia Pemble) worked. She stressed on my brother (Payton) and I how big education was, and I got to see that in kind of real time. So that was a big motivator. I mean she's the hardest worker that I know, and my brother is right behind her, so that was a big one for me. I don't have nearly the work ethic that they do.” In classic Chandler See humor, he then insulted himself by comparing himself to this Disney movie character:
Flounder from The Little Mermaid
Mike Wazowski from Monsters Inc.
The Turtle from Finding Nemo.
Genie from Aladdin.
The answer? While Chandler floundered to do homework during college, and was a genie behind a microphone at BSU sporting events, his eye was opened to speech communication in his final term. Before that: “I'm going to give this my best shot and wherever I end up I end up.” Yes, he compared himself to Crush the Turtle.
Question #4: Chandler described his Master’s program as a challenge, “The first two months were a very, very, steep learning curve.” His struggles centered on the fact that his Master's program was through online learning. “It's definitely a balance trying to figure out online education. You're sitting at your kitchen table and it's you. You gotta figure it out. It's not due till Sunday, but I can fish Monday through Friday? Horrible, horrible attitude!” After gaining his degree, Chandler suddenly found himself an English teacher without a lot of tangible experience in education or English. To double your point total: Which high school teacher did Chandler model himself after?
Norm Preston
Mike Sheely
Jason Willis
All of the Above.
The Answer? “When I first started teaching, I was just doing my best Willis impersonation, which is such a ripoff. It was a combination of Willis, Sheely, and Preston all rolled into one. Anybody that's had those three teachers is like ‘Oh my gosh, those poor students, and Chandler's the one delivering that?’”
Question #5: As a teacher at Leech Lake Tribal College, Chandler describes his new position as “Super eye-opening. There isn't a ton of diversity in southern Minnesota.” While he admits that there are definitely struggles in the reservation community, he sees it much differently than how the media portrays it. “The thing that I find both kind of most frustrating and eye-opening is that there are way more positive things happening there and it's really frustrating to see an area defined by their problems.” While his co-workers went above and beyond establishing a bond with him, he also found himself at the receiving end of “rez humor.” Chandler explained, “I was helping in the kitchen for an event, and I dropped a bowl of salad and it spilled everywhere. One of my coworkers said, ‘What do you know? White guy screwing it up for us again.’” Moments before the straight-faces turned to laughter, Chander found himself ready to apologize for:
Making the mess
Manifest Destiny
Custer
Being clumsy.
The answer: “No, no, no, I'm so sorry. Chandler was about to start apologizing for Custer; he really was.”
Question #6: According to Chandler, “I've become a lot more selfless in a lot of ways. I really discovered others. I like seeing people succeed. Teaching just kind of fills your cup up in a way. There are still really frustrating, really, really, hard days. Then when you get paid: that's another one where I’m like ‘Why am I doing this?’ But you have a few days that are fun.” So what changed his outlook? A near-death experience near the end of his time at Bemidji State. Where did Chandler “see the light” and become more adventurous?
Attacked by a mountain lion while turkey hunting near Itasca.
Chased by a Polar Bear while salmon fishing on Hudson Bay.
Almost drowning in a trout river in Idaho
Getting run off the road during a trip to Dakota State University.
The Answer: “Long story short: I got out into the middle of the river, fell face first into the river, and my waders filled up. The current slammed me down. I remember bouncing off of the bottom of the river bed, and I remember clawing at the bottom trying to catch myself in a rock. I had the thought of ‘Oh my gosh, this is how I die, which was a real bummer.’ I said ‘You know, if I'm going to go out, it's a pretty wild way to go. It's like A. mountain lion or B. polar bears as the only thing above C. drowning in this gorgeous rugged area.’ After that, I was ‘I'm going to do things.’”
Question #7: So now Chandler balances his love of the outdoors with his love of teaching. While he’s going on adventures on Wednesdays and Fridays, he’s making a difference in the college classroom on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Which classroom activity gave him a “win in the classroom.”
Describing the details of a potato.
Arranging words with magnetic poetry.
Watching the movie Good Will Hunting.
Forcing them to watch old episodes of Eaglevision.
The answer: “I had one student in the crowd after the movie, and he was just kind of sitting there. I said, “Hey, what's up?’ He said, “You just got me thinking now.” That was like the biggest victory I'd probably had as a teacher.”
Question #8: This question is for the win. When asked about advice for teens about to graduate and leave high school, which theme did Chandler choose?
A. Hair loss
B. Dating
C. The Best is Yet to Come
D. Hunting and Fishing.
Traveling More.
The Answer: “The advice I'd give you is: you are about to finish the hardest part, and that's just taking the next step. Everything else from there has been downhill. You're at the hardest part, the scariest part by far. This next step is easy, and I'm on the other side of the fence now, but the experiences I've had after school: holy crap, amazing! Some of the best parts in your life are coming. So go and do it and just try stuff. I've tried so many things and failed. I've blown so many hunts. I've lost more fish than I caught. I had more first dates than second dates. And you know–hair loss! And travel. Please, go see more than Mapleton. There's so much more out there.”
Life in 2017
Oscar Winner: The Shape of Water
Top-selling artist: Ed Sheeran
President: Donald Trump
Viking Season: 13-3
Twins Season: 85-77
Price of gas: $2.41
Now a resident of “Up North,” Chandler See goes chasing after all types of adventures and victories.
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