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!