Down Time in Belize

I am sitting in the Houston airport, and I am really starting to process my time in San Pedro. I just spent the last five days with my family relaxing and showing them a little bit of my experience. I loved being able to walk around and know places and people. We got to visit New Horizon on Tuesday, and that was really sweet! I walked into one of the classrooms, and got tackled with hugs. It brought tears to my eyes. I think that I was definitely able to help in different ways during my time there, but in that moment I realized how much these students and teachers had blessed me. I left feeling so appreciated and loved. I felt that they gave me just as much (or more) than I had given them.

I am thankful for what this experience taught me as an educator. It taught me to be firm in expectations, consistent in what you say, be understanding, and always extend love or an extra hug. I think if these things are in place, then the academic side of school will follow. I am excited to begin my teaching career wherever that may be with this experience under my belt. I can never fully express the gratitude I have for this time and all that it meant to me and will continue to as I process through it. This is definitely a 6 weeks I will never forget!

Feeling the Feels

.... at this point I am definitely feeling the feels. I am feeling so grateful for this experience, and all that it is currently teaching me and what it will continue to teach me after I am home. I am excited because my family will be here in TWO days! I am feeling sad because I have a day and a half left of teaching, and I am not quite ready to say bye to my kiddos (would I ever be?!?!). I am feeling anxious about what this experience is showing me about the future about the kind of classroom I want to be in and where I want to be. I am also feeling really happy because I still have a week to enjoy this beautiful place. So now that you made it through my emotional rollercoaster, you have maybe have an idea of how I am feeling! 

I have been thinking of what this experience has taught me. First, it has made me really thankful for my education. Most of the teachers here do not have any formal training or education, and they are expected to handle so much without any training. I am thankful for the teachers here, and what they have taught and shown me. It is evident that they know and care about their students. They have shown gratitude for small and simple things we have shown them, and they appreciate the resources they have. This experience has given me a glimpse of what my first year of teaching will look like if that is what's next for me. I had to come in and develop relationships with the students while also creating expectations to follow. I will not walk into a classroom that is already established like I did with my internship in the States, it will be more like my experience here. However, I have learned so much about the importance of behavior management. If the behavior is not manageable, the academic learning is not going to be effective. This is most important thing to establish first in my future classroom. Overall, I learned that these students have so much to offer, and I have to provide a safe, engaging, and loving environment for them to learn in. 

But like I said, I am grateful that I have a week to be here with my family and continue to process and reflect on my time in San Pedro and at New Horizon.

Community Service Projects

One of the elements of our trip was getting involved with the community through service projects. This has probably been one of my favorite parts! 

One way I got involved was through a local church here called Living Word Church. Mary Blake and I just attended on our first weekend here, and we met a man from Baltimore, Maryland. He told us that his family had moved down here for a year, and he helps with service projects in the community with the church. We told him that we were definitely interested in being involved. We got in contact with him later that week, and he connected us to the pastor. We met the pastor the following week at church, and told him that we loved kids and would love to help in anyway. We then met Noemi, who leads the children's ministry, and she said she would love it if we would help with Sunday School. For the remainders of our Sunday's here, we had the opportunity to lead Sunday School. It was so fun to meet the kids, and get to learn and play with them! We also helped Noemi paint the Children's Ministry room one afternoon after school. I loved this experience because I got to meet so many people and develop relationships with them, and then serve alongside of them during my time here. 

Another fun thing I got to help with was a school dance! The interns at the other school, Isla Bonita, put on a dance, which was a fundraiser for the school. It was so fun to be apart of, and the interns at Isla Bonita did a wonderful job setting up such an enjoyable night for the students. They had decorations hung up at the school, hamburgers and hotdogs, a DJ, and a super cute photo both. I helped take pictures, and help facilitate the kids... and by facilitate I mean encouraging them to dance! Even though these were not the students I taught, it was so much fun to spend time with students outside of school in such a fun environment! 

Getting involved in the community has been one of the most rewarding parts of this experience. I love learning from the people here, and listening to what life is like for them here. They have taught me so much about simplicity. I feel like so often I am rushing from one thing to the next, but here I have been able to cherish time spent with the people here. 

Digital Storytelling

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to help my professor with a professional development workshop for teachers at a local school. The purpose of the workshop was to talk about and create a digital storytelling. Going into the workshop, I knew a little about digital storytelling, so I was not sure what to expect. 

We got to the school, and my professor began explaining to the teachers what digital storytelling was. She explained to them that it was a short story told from the first person about an experience they have had or something that relates to them personally. The purpose of digital storytelling is to encourage creative writing. The purpose of teaching the teachers about this is to show them that this is one way they can motivate their students to write creatively. 

After my professor’s presentation, we broke up into small groups. I was working with four teachers from Standard 5, which is 6th grade in the States. The first thing I asked the group was what are you thinking after what Dr. C explained. I wanted to understand their perception of digital storytelling before we moved on to generating ideas. They all had a clear picture of what it was, but mentioned that they were having a hard time coming up with ideas to tell about. 

I began to prompt them with questions like what experiences have you had, who are important people in your life, or where are places you have been that have made an impact. This began conversation between the teachers, and through this collaboration they were all able to come up with an idea to tell about. 

They, then, began to map their stories out on a story board. They were determining how they were going to express their stories. Some decided to use drawings, narratives, pictures, or videos. Today, we are going to use an App on the iPads to make their stories digital. 

After the teachers mapped out their stories, we had a few more minutes in our group to discuss. I wanted to see how they could translate this activity to their classroom without the technology because most of the teachers do not have iPads. One of the teachers began to tell the story she had been mapping out, and then at the end had a question from the story. “If you could go back to one moment in your life and done something differently, what would have done?” I thought this was a neat way to translate this to her classroom. She was going to be able to give her students an example of what she was expecting them to do through her story, and then she would prompt them to make it personal and write their own story. She said then, I would encourage them to express in whatever way they wanted. She mentioned they could act out the stories, draw pictures, or just narrate it. 

This experience was wonderful. It was really neat to work with teachers. So often, I am mostly working with students, so I really enjoyed having conversations with teachers about a strategy they can use in their classroom. Also, it was interesting to watch the teachers go through the process of the storytelling. We ask our students to do so much, and it is so helpful if you know exactly what they are experiencing and how they are feeling through the process because you yourself have experienced it. Through this process, the teachers were able to see the importances of small group discussions and prompting their students with ideas to get started. I am excited to continue this process, and watch the teacher's stories unfold! 

Two Weeks?!

I cannot believe that we only have two more weeks here in Belize… the time has flown by! Even though it has gone really quickly, I feel like we have been able to accomplish a lot and build relationships while we have been here.

For the next two weeks, I really want to focus on equipping the teachers and students with strategies they can continue after we leave. If I do not do this, then what I did while I was here will quickly fade after we leave. One of the things we have been working on is behavior management for one of the classrooms. She has many students who have off task behaviors that impede on the whole group’s learning. We introduced a whole class positive behavior strategy, and we are going to begin to implement it this week. I want her to be confident in using it by the time we leave, so she is able to see the benefit from using this system. 

I also want to show teachers simple ways they can include students who are academically lower than the majority of their class. Instead of giving the students an unrelated task like coloring or drawing, I want to encourage teachers to give the students a modified activity that still engages the student in the fundamental skill they are working on. I understand after being here for a couple of weeks that it is hard to manage a class with thirty to forty different students, but I think they can make small accommodations to ensure every student is learning and growing. 

I also want to helpful in whatever way possible. I know, realistically, that everything that is happening now is not going to continue after we leave because of the lack of special education. I do know that by helping the teachers during this time has been a relief in some ways for them. Their days are busy (and hot!), and if we have helped to make them a little less busy or stressful, I think that has been a way we have impacted our schools while being here. 

I  want to continue to be involved in the community in whatever way possible. I have loved living here for the past month, and getting to know the people of San Pedro. I have enjoyed learning about their lifestyle. The people and students are teaching me way more than I feel like I could ever teach them. I am so thankful for this opportunity, and how everyone has been so inviting and welcoming. I will definitely leave a chunk of my heart here in San Pedro

What am I learning?

This experience has been very humbling! I came from internship in Wilmington feeling confident… not that I had everything figured out by any means, but definitely was excited about moving forward as a teacher. The experience here has been challenging. It has made me think really hard. It has shown me that I have so much room to grow and so much more to learn. It has taught me that consistency is really important. I am seeing here in the schools that the teachers have rules in place, but there in not much consistently in the consequences. I have learned that behavior change takes time and effort. As a teacher, it shows me the importance of establishing expectations from the start, and keeping with them. I think through expectations and consistently, I am able to demonstrate to my students that I care about them and their success in school. 

I have also learned the importance of valuing time with students. In the schools here, I have had more time to spend with the students outside of the classroom. Whether that is playing soccer or just sitting with them talking, it has been neat to be able to develop a relationship with the students. As a teacher, I think when you understand your students, you have more leverage to relate to them and be aware of what is going on in their lives. This is something I definitely want to take back to the students… whether that is talking to students before school starts, eating lunch with them, or throughout their breaks during the day. I know that my schedule will be packed when I am a teacher, but I think knowing your students is the most important thing you can do as a teacher. 

I am loving this experience, and all that it is teaching me! It is teaching me that I do not have it all figured out for sure, but is also a reminder that I probably will never have it all figure out. I think in anything we do we always have more room to grow. It has made me thankful for the schooling and experiences I have had so far that have helped me be successful here, and the ways this experience is shaping me as an educator and person. 

And at the end of the day, these sweet faces are so worth it! 

Full Circle Project

During my internship, I have been working on a Full Circle Project to connect my experience in Wilmington to my experience here in Belize. During my time at Gregory in Wilmington, we learned about Belize. The students learned about the schools here, and we talked about the similarities and differences of their school and the school here. The students also wrote letters to the students here introducing themselves, telling the students what they learned about Belize, and questions they have for the Belizean students. 

Yesterday, I showed the students the scrapbook of the letters. It was so neat to read through the letters, and find things the students in Belize have in common with the students in Wilmington. It shows the students how they can relate to each other while also learning about students in a different culture. 

This experience has been incredibly beneficial for me as an educator, but it is now showing me how it is affecting the students I am teaching here and the students I will return to in Wilmington. Both groups of students will learn from each other, while understanding what life is like in a different part of the world. 

….And since we were talking about North Carolina, we, of course, had to discuss the Carolina Panthers! My students at Gregory loved everything Panthers and Cam Newton, so they made it really clear that the dab had to be introduced to the students here at New Horizon School. 

A Perspective of Special Education from the Community

We have learned from our first week in the schools that Special Education is not prevalent in Belize. Last night, I met a man who had a more personal take on the lack on Special Education in San Pedro. His name was David, and he moved to San Pedro when he was eleven. We were eating dinner, and he started talking to us… asking the usual why are you here and for how long. Once we told him, we were teaching here for a month, he immediately asked if we take Special Education. It was definitely really interesting that this was his first question, since it is not something offered here in Belize. This naturally struck up a conversation.

David began telling us how he struggled learning when he was younger in school. He said he reached a point when school became too difficult, and he ended up dropping out. He then began to explain how he sees his daughter struggling in school, and how he thinks she needs additional help and different strategies for learning. He said that he tries to help her at home with her schoolwork, but sometimes he is not able to be helpful. He wishes that there was a way for his daughter to receive more support in school, so that she is able to be successful and confident in her learning. 

This conversation solidified for me how so many students and families could benefit from Special Education in schools here in Belize. There are so many struggling learners, who need strategies, accommodations, and modifications to help them learn better. I am anxious to see as the number of struggling learners increases, if that puts an urgency on the need for Special Education. I am hoping in our short time here, we can provide strategies and techniques for the teachers to help their students learn more effectively. 

First Week of Teaching!

This was the first week in the schools! I am at New Horizon School, which is one of the public schools on the island. There are 520 students ranging from Infant I to Standard 6, which is equivalent to kindergarten through eighth grade in the states. The following pictures show the layout of the school. There are sixteen classrooms, a cafeteria, office, and chapel on site. 

I am working with students in Infant I, Infant II, and Standard 1. These students range from age five to age eight. I am working with different students on reading, writing, math, and social skills. For some of the students, I go into their classroom and help them with their work or give their teachers strategies to help them within the classroom. For some students, I pull them out in small groups, and we do more concentrated math, reading, and social skills instruction. My goal while I am here is to equip teachers with strategies they can continue after we are gone. It is helpful for us to work with students now one-on-one, but it will not continue after we leave because there are not enough teachers to provide small group instruction. I want to show teachers simple ways they can manage behavior and accommodate for students in their classrooms who have special needs. 

The biggest challenge has been the lack of special education. There is no special education in the schools, so the students who are behind do not get the help needed to catch up. There is one student who I am working with who sits in the back of her classroom doing nothing academic because she does not know how to do what her class is doing. It is heart-breaking because no one is teaching her, but her teacher has thirty-five other students in the class to teach. The biggest challenge has been determining how to implement the strategies and techniques I used in school and in my internship back home in a way that the teachers can continue when we leave. I want to be helpful while I am here, but also make an impact after we leave. 

The greatest part of this week is being able to get to know the students and play with them. In the states, everything in the schools is so regulated, so I feel like there is not much room for play. In my school here, I am able to play with my students during lunch and after school. Some of the students I am working with come from poor environments at home, so they love coming to school. I am grateful that during my time here, I am able to give them the attention they are lacking at home. I also to love how the students here are really allowed to be kids. They have breaks throughout their day that allow them to play, run around, and interact with their peers. I feel like this benefits them so much! 

I have loved getting to meet and know my new students this week, and I am excited that I get to be their teacher for the next three weeks. I love getting greeted with a hug every time I see them. I love getting to play fútbol after school. I am thankful for this experience, and how it is molding me as a teacher. It is teaching me that I have to be prepared for anything, the importance of responding quickly and clearly, and reassuring these students that they matter and are loved. These students are keeping me on my toes, that's for sure! 

Pleasantly Surprised

This first week in San Pedro has been nothing short of amazing! It has been so great to settle in, and to explore our new home for the next month. Going into this trip, I did not have many expectations. I knew we were here to teach, learn about a new culture, and live in a new place. Having few expectations has been great for this experience because it has allowed me to be open-minded. The thing that has pleasantly surprised me is the pace of life. People here are so much more intentional it seems like, and I think it is due to the slower pace of life. I feel like in America we are so concerned about how much we can get done in a day, and always have more to do. It seems like people here are more intentional with the people they are spending time with because they are not concerned about what is next, and I think that is one way I will grow the most while I am here. I want to allow myself to be fully committed to what I am doing, instead of focusing on what I have or want to do next. Also, I expected the island to be beautiful (the one expectation I did have!), but it is even more beautiful than I could have imagined. I feel so blessed to live on this island for a month, and interact with people who I can already tell are going to teach me so much. 

The difference from San Ignacio to San Pedro is San Pedro definitely seems more touristy. There was definitely touristy things to do in San Ignacio, but it was not directly in the city. San Ignacio also does not seem as developed as San Pedro, and that seems to be because it is not as big of a tourist attraction as San Pedro. San Ignacio is the more realistic idea of what local Belizean lifestyles looks like, and San Pedro is definitely more of a vacation spot in my opinion. I am interested in the what life looks like for the locals in San Pedro, so I am looking forward to starting in the schools and meeting the students and learning about their lives. 

Mary Blake and I had a fun outing the other night. We wanted to try the “fast food” on the island which is Chinese food, so we got our bikes and headed there. We rode up to the side of a building, and order our food, and then enjoyed our meal as the sunset on the beach. It was a neat experience that even this experience reflected back to slowing down. This is the only food that you can get quickly. It demonstrates how even meals allow you to slow down and spend time with the people you are with!

First Week in Belize

The first few days in Belize have been nothing short of an adventure! We started our time here in San Ignacio, Belize because the  schools are closed for two weeks for Easter break. On our first day there, we visited a Mayan community. We learned about how the Mayan’s cooked corn tortillas, and we got to make our own… hopefully a skill I will bring home with me! 

Then, we visited a Mennonite family. It was interesting to learn from them about their lifestyle, and how it worked in Belize. The next day we did the coolest thing ever… we got to go through the Actun Tunichil Muknal Mayan Cave! We were swimming through the most beautiful water, sliding through tiny crevices, and climbing up to seventy-five feet all while learning about the Mayan history that took place in that cave. This was definitely an experience I will never forget! 

On Saturday, we had a free, so some of us decided to go zip-lining in Guatemala. Best. Free. Day. Ever. It was seriously so much fun (and slightly terrifying)! We spent a couple hours in Flores, which is a beautiful island in Guatemala. 

On our last day in San Ignacio, we visited Carocal, one of the Mayan ruins in Belize. It was so incredible to get to learn about the importance of the ruins to the Mayans, and the view wasn’t bad either! Our time in San Ignacio was a great start to our time here in Belize. 

Then we moved on to San Pedro on Monday! We headed to the water taxi in Belize City, and made our way to the beautiful island of San Pedro…and I mean BEAUTIFUL! We have been exploring and learning about the island the past few days. The rest of the week will be spent learning about the island and beginning our service projects. The students are on Easter break for the rest of the week, so we will begin in the schools next week.

This experience has been incredible so far! I am so grateful that I have the opportunity to experience a new culture, and really understand the people and life here in San Pedro. I am enjoying this week settling in, but I am really excited to start in the schools and meet the students I will be working with! 

Next Stop: Belize!

I am currently in route to Belize, and I am so excited for my time there! I am looking forward to meeting the people, understanding the culture, and getting to teach in a new place. I am most excited about teaching abroad. This has been a dream of mine, and it is something I have wanted to do for a while. I am excited to learn through my time in Belize, if this is something I could see myself doing. I am eager to live there, and to understand what life is like in San Pedro. I want to get involved in the community, and have a true understanding of what life is like there. I feel like this will help me relate to the students I teach, and have a better appreciation for where I will be living for the next five weeks. I think the biggest challenge will be teaching immediately after meeting the students and teachers we will be working with. This challenge will be one of the ways I grow the most during my time in Belize. I can't wait to be there and begin teaching!