The Kids from Nowhere
Encyclopedia
The Kids from Nowhere refers to ten students from the 41-pupil high school in the Siberian-Yupik (Eskimo
) village of Gambell on St. Lawrence Island
in the Bering Sea. The school had no computers and almost no books, most of the students had little world knowledge, and all but two spoke English as a second language. And yet, in 1984, they won two Future Problem Solvers of America competitions (national team championships in academics), even though they had to compete against teams from programs and schools for the gifted on subjects—such as genetic engineering
and nuclear waste disposal -- that the Gambell students had never heard of before.
Eskimo
Eskimos or Inuit–Yupik peoples are indigenous peoples who have traditionally inhabited the circumpolar region from eastern Siberia , across Alaska , Canada, and Greenland....
) village of Gambell on St. Lawrence Island
St. Lawrence Island
St. Lawrence Island is located west of mainland Alaska in the Bering Sea, just south of the Bering Strait, at about 63°30' North 173°20' West. The village of Gambell is located on the northwest cape, from the Chukchi Peninsula in the Russian Far East. The island is part of Alaska, but closer to...
in the Bering Sea. The school had no computers and almost no books, most of the students had little world knowledge, and all but two spoke English as a second language. And yet, in 1984, they won two Future Problem Solvers of America competitions (national team championships in academics), even though they had to compete against teams from programs and schools for the gifted on subjects—such as genetic engineering
Genetic engineering
Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification, is the direct human manipulation of an organism's genome using modern DNA technology. It involves the introduction of foreign DNA or synthetic genes into the organism of interest...
and nuclear waste disposal -- that the Gambell students had never heard of before.