America Vs. Belize

Looking back on the past 4 months I can see just how much I have grown professionally and personally. Spending 10 weeks at Bradley Creek Elementary seems like ages ago now and I feel more like a Belizean then an American. My student teaching experience at Bradly Creek was absolutely wonderful. I was placed with an amazing partnership teach who taught me basically everything I know and the kids were wonderful. Teaching in the States, to me, was extremely stressful and busy. There were times that I would be at school until 7PM. I'm told that this gets easier and I could already see that the planning wasn't taking me as long as it did in the beginning if the semester. I always felt so overwhelmed teaching in America, the rules are so strict and so much pressure is put on the EOG's. There is not a lot of room to step outside the box it seems. Now I only had 10 weeks in the schools so I could be seeing this the totally wrong way. In Belize everything is so open which is a good thing and a bad thing. On one hand you have all of this room to be creative and plan basically what you want to teach but on the other hand many of the teachers don't have the training and are not aware of the instructional methods and tools that are available to them. Most of the teachers in Belize just have their high school diploma, and no special training to be a teacher. Also the lack of materials makes teaching a challenge especially when I have been used to having any type of material right there at my finger tips. I did manage to substitute certain things for materials and I was able to adjust my plans quite quickly so they would be appropriate with the lack of materials. All in all I think that no matter where you teach there are going to be challenges and you are doing to have your share of obstacles where ever you are. Kids are kids and they all learn differently. I think that it is great that American schools after so many different programs and help for kids with disabilities and gifted children. I like that in America kids participate in extra curricular activities and specials are offered. I think that elementary children are too young to sit in a room and take notes all day. I think they need to get out there and make personal connections with the material in order to make concrete connections to remember the content. I noticed such a difference in my Belizean kids when I had them do hands on activities. They seemed to even catch on faster then my American kids.

Final thoughts before I go

Friday April 23rd was my last day at Ambergris Caye Elementary School and what a bittersweet day it was! For the past 2 weeks I have had my own Standard II class of 7 students Rochelle, A.J, Nathan, Faith, Diego, Brandon, & Kylie. Standard II is equivalent to third grade so it was a perfect match for me since I worked with Mrs. Kosh and her third graders at Bradley Creek Elementary in Wilmington. This day I tried the best I could to wrap up what we were working on but as always there just wasn't enough time to finish. During the day Dr. Renae came in to explain to the kids their new schedule that would take effect on Monday. She explained that the other teachers in the school would be alternating throughout the day to teach them. The saddest part was when Faith asked when they would be having art and PE, and Dr. Renae told them that there was not going to be time for that. Now in America this would never happen, the parents would be beating down the school doors demanding the art and PE class and most of all a full time teacher for their students, but Belize is a different world. The thing that surprised me most of all after these 6 weeks in Belize is that I would feel 150% confident in taking on my own classroom and I know that I would be successful. When I think about teaching in America I don't feel so confident. Why is that? I think it is because there is not so much pressure on the teachers there. Don't get me wrong it is still an enormous amount of work being a teacher in Belize, but there is so much freedom to be creative and come up with activities. This is due to the curriculum being so broad. While I was teaching Faith's mom came to the door with a huge three layer cake to thank me and the other interns for what we have done for the school and the kids. I was really touched my this and when it came time to leave I had a few hysterically crying children on my hands which in turn made me cry. The people that I have met in San Pedro have changed my out look on people, life, and the future. I am a changed person because of this experience. I feel so much more independent and confident as a teacher as well as a person. I am so thankful that I was given this opportunity, the people that made this possible, and all the people that I got to know while I was there. It is so amazing to be able to look back at the first day with my kids and see the progress that was made in just 2 short weeks. The children there have never experienced hands on activities like that and it was very difficult for me to leave when I could clearly see all the progress that was made. Now whats next? Teach abroad, teach in America. Where do I fit now? I'll keep you posted! As for now I plan to go back to San Pedro at least for a visit. Miss you all!!!

What would you rather do?

After spending 5 days in the mountains of Belize in the City of San Ignacio, I was able to step away with a new perspective of the small country. After spending 2 weeks in San Pedro, which is located on Ambergris Caye, I became accustomed to the island life style. In San Pedro there are lots of tourist, street vendors, and fancy restaurants. Not only was the landscape drastically different from San Pedro but the whole vibe of San Ignacio was different. There was more Spanish spoken there then in San Pedro and the people stared a bit more in San Ignacio. If I had a choice of where I could teach and I had to decided between San Pedro and San Ignacio, I think that I would Choose San Pedro. The reason I would choose San Pedro is because after my experience at Ambergris Caye Elementary school, I feel that I have made such a difference in the lives that I have come in contact with. During the time I spent on the island I really became attached to the people there and they made me feel so welcome and appreciated. I would love to have the opportunity to teach in San Ignacio and to see exactly how different the schools there are from the schools on the island.

Interview with Kirt Cruz

During our second to last week in San Pedro, Becca and I had the pleasure of meeting a local San Pedro man by the name of Kirt Cruz. Kirt is a painter and paints beautiful paintings using mostly acrylic paints on canvas. He sells these paintings at his studio off of Middle Street in San Pedro Town. Becca and I decided to make a documentary about the arts in the community and schools of Belize and Kirt was nice enough to let us interview him on the topic. Kirt explained that he has been painting for about 22 years and he was greatly influenced by his family especially his father, who was an award winning painter. Kirt grew up with a great teacher who always told him to use his imagination when creating his work. Kirt Painted for 16 years with his right hand and made many beautiful works of arts. He explained that he made replicas of many of his paintings. 4 years ago Kirt's life was drastically changed. He was stabbed in the spine and doctors told him that he would never walk again. Kirt never gave up and even though the doctors said he would never walk again he proved them wrong. Kirt still paints today but with his left hand. just think about this for a minute, just trying write your name with your left hand can be super difficult let alone paint a beautiful picture. Kirts advise to others is to never give up and never let anyone tell you what you are and are not capable of. Once the documentary is finished I will be sure to post it on here for you all to see.

My final weekend in Belize

Well Belize it or not we are down to the final week of our time here in San Pedro. I have mixed feelings about going home. On one hand I want to go home and see the family and friends that I have missed so much over the past five and a half weeks. On the other hand I want to stay here and continue teaching. I have been full time teaching since last week. The teacher that I was working with just stopped coming to school, so I have had full responsibilities. From the short time that I have been teaching here I have noticed such a positive reaction from the kids. The kids usually just take notes and complete workbook pages. Now that I have introduced a more hands on approach, I have not only caught their attention but I have made learning fun and east for them. I am teaching a unit on capacity which included making a gallon man and learning about the big G. After 2 days of learning about customary capacity I gave them a quiz and the lowest grade was a 90%. I was so happy about this! Since my class consist of only seven students it is a little easier to keep everyone on task. This was such a rewarding experience to see that the students were actually enjoying what they were learning and having fun with it. It makes me want to stay here longer. I feel that there is so much more that I can show and teach the teachers and students here if only there was more time.
This weekend Becca and I rented bikes and rode to the northern part of the island and visited Akbol Yoga resort. We ate breakfast and just checked out the scenery. it was absolutely beautiful! One of the workers named Stephen showed us around the resort and let us see inside the cabanas. The faucets were made of a conch shell and the showers were outside. Although we didn't get to do yoga out on the dock lover looking the aqua waters we still had an amazing time and got a lot of exercise in. Sunday started bright and early, we had to rent snorkel equipment at Ramon's and catch the catamaran at the end of the Ramon's dock. Our first stop was at Hol Chan, which is one of the best snorkeling spots in the world and it was breath taking. The reef was so much bigger then the reef I saw the first time I went snorkeling, There were caves and 30 foot drops filled with some of the most colorful fish i have ever seen. I even got to pet a huge black grouper that was about the size of one of my arms length. The second stop was Shark Ray Alley which was not far from the first stop. Here we got to swim with nurse sharks and sting rays. This was a little nerve racking but it was unlike any experience I have ever had especially when I got to pet the sting rays. Our last stop was Caye Caulker and island south of San Pedro. This Island was much smaller but cheaper. The island has a huge split in it from a hurricane back in the 60's. A lot of the locals swim in the split and there is a little restaurant bar right next to it. After spending about two hours on Caye Caulker we set sail back to San Pedro on our catamaran. It was about a hour ride back to our island. Once we returned to Pedro's we were all pretty tired after the long day. It was an unforgettable experience that I got to share with some really amazing people and I am so grateful for it!

That is your privilege.

Being Americans we have many privileges and opportunities that are offered to us citizens. Many Americans tend to take their privileges for granted and look at them as if they are not privileges but rights that are expected. I am very proud to be an American and I always thought that I was pretty aware of how lucky I was for all the opportunities I have had. Now after spending this time in Belize and in the schools here I can really see clearly just how fortunate I really was and am. So what are our privileges as Americans? How can you tell the difference between rights and privileges? Well if you can’t figure it out I suggest visiting a foreign country.
You wouldn’t think that something as simple as running water is a privilege but indeed it is. Here in San Pedro we have had to live without running water for about three days and when it did start running again it smelled of bleach. Imagine no shower, you can’t do your laundry, or even brush your teeth. After a few days you start to feel really dirty and become irritable. The same thing goes for electricity. Being at school and losing electricity can be quite challenging especially when it is about 90 degrees outside. Air conditioning is a major privilege! What about the schooling system? American students have computer labs, art classes, music, physical education, clubs, etc. In third world countries the funding for those classes does not exist. So how do we make others realize and appreciate their privileges? Personally being here in Belize has made me so much more appreciative for what I have. Not everyone can travel to a foreign country but as an educator I plan to share my experiences with my students and do whatever I can do to show them how children just like them live in other parts of the world. I want my students to be aware that there is a world outside their community and that just because these other people don’t have all the things that they have does not mean that they are unhappy.

Back to school

Over my two week Easter break I feel that I have accomplished quite a lot! I volunteered with the Saga Humane Society as a dog walker, worked on a children's book that I am co writing with two other of my fellow students, and I went inland and participated in some of the most amazing adventures of my life. Today I returned to my standard II class at Ambergris Caye Elementary school. Well it turns out that my teacher never showed up, I'm guessing that she was sick because her daughter was absent as well. So today went great, although I was not prepared to teach all subject for the day I managed to quickly come up with lessons for the subjects that Ms. Dora was supposed to have planned. We made a gallon man, read and discussed some leveled readers, played futbol, learned about pronouns and food safety. I also introduced the behavior chart and I do have to say it went over very well. I hope that it continues to work throughout my time here, I have a feeling that Ms. Dora will implement it after I leave the island. Today went really well and I was excited to actually have the students all day. I was feeling like I had not accomplished much in the schools because of the testing the first week but now I can see that just form one day I feel that I have already made a big difference.