My Belizean Family!

I felt as if I received an added bonus on this internship.  I met a wonderful family of locals who adopted me and shared with me what life was really like for them in Belize.  The family originally comes from Makal Village in Belize City.  The family members are Oscar, Diamond, Ariel, Lenny, Harry, Octavio, and Rennie.

   

Oscar working on the final phase of project. 

 

                                            Ariel, one of the few female wood carvers.

Lenny, working on a scuba diver piece.

                  Some of the family members: Octavio, ME, Lenny, Oscar, Rennie, and Harry!


The family works deligently making woodcarvings and jewelry for tourists.  Unfortunately, this is their only source of income.  They shared with me the daunting task they most ordeal to create the beautiful wood carvings that they make.  They take turns returning to their village and spend a week in the jungle amongst the jaguars, snacks, wild boar, and other creatures that are dangerous and frightening.  The wood carving process begins with them cutting down a tree and then slicing it into workable sections.  They then draw the design the choose to create onto the wood and use a chainsaw to remove the wood that is not needed.  They spend most of their time in the jungle carving the wood to sizes that are easily portable, and then the true work begins.  Various tools are used to shape the wood and create detailed features.  Once the figurine is complete, they begin the process of shining the wood which consists of three steps, sanding, sealing, sanding again with steel wool, and then shining using a form of polish.  I was shocked to learn of this process and wished that all tourists were aware of the strenous work that goes into making these beautiful works of art.  I had the opportunity to watch them as they sold their artwork, but found myself becoming somewhat angered when many of the tourists tried to negotiate the prices.  I wanted so desperately to tell them what all went into making these pieces, but decided it was not my place.  I did encourage the family to create a video documentary of the process so that they could show toursits as they considered purchasing the artwork.  What inspired me is that the family works together to support each other.  The income that they receive is split amongst the family to take care of the neccessities for living.

Pieces of artwork that the family has created!

Not only did I learn about how the family makes a living, I also learned that many of them were forced to drop out of school at the average age of 14.  Because students have to pay to attend school, many families cannot afford to send all of their children, therefore, the oldest child must drop out and find a way to help bring income to the family.  This is very unfortunate because many of them desire to complete their education so that they may have a better life for themselves.  Unfortunately, because of their age and lack of job skills, many of the youth must turn to hustling to make ends meet.  They have expressed that this is not what they expected their future to be and hope to have better opportunities if given the chance to finish their education.

In speaking with some of the families young friends, I learned that some of the youths were saved by American and English families who provided a home and educational opportunities for them.  They truly are the lucky ones and they are very appreicative of the families that have helped them.

The family also talked to me about the struggles that boys and men face in the country.  Ariel, also a new mother, shared with me her concerns for her newborn son.  She explained how she prayed to have a little girl because of the fear she has for a boy growing up in Belize.  She talked about how easily the boys become involved in gangs because of the lack of education and little opportunities for them in Belize.  She worries that her son may fall into this lifestyle and prays daily for God to watch over him. 

The best thing of all was eating the wonderful native foods.  They fed me burritos, pigtail stew, stewed chicken, jerk chicken, barbecue chicken, and of course rice and beans.  Everything was so delicious.  I was lucky to receive some recipes and hope that I can replicate the meals at home.  My favorite food was a cucumber salad that was made with cucumbers, carrots, onions, habenaro peppers and lime juice.  I could eat this all day long.  I can't wait to try my new recipes so that I can think about the times that I broke bread with my new family.

I will never forget the family and friends that I met in Belize.  We keep daily contact and have been discussing plans for my return.  I must say, I had the best time of my life and now have a new family for life.  They will truly be missed!

April 20, 2012

Today is my last day working in the schools.  I will truly miss this experience and all of the administrators and teachers that I have met.  I visited Ambergiese Caye Elementary School today and interviewed the principal.  The school is very small with five classrooms for Infant I through Standard VI classes.  The school has very few behavior concerns due to the small population of students.  The campus is quaint, peaceful, and pleasant.  The class sizes ranged from 5-10 students in each class.  I observed two classes and was very impressed with the student behaviors.  The school-wide expectations are posted on the building outside of the classes for all students to easily view.  Students raised their hands to get assistance and very little talking was taking place.  I was surprised to see that all classes received snack and recess at the same time.  Students were served bologna sandwiches, popcorn, and purchased candy.  I must say that was the best bologna sandwich that I had ever eaten, YUM, YUM!  Upon completing their snacks, students participated in recess in the playground area.  All classes lined up to prepare to return to class and waited quietly until the principal dismissed them to class.  It was nice to see such a great display of procedures and order amongst the students.

                 

                    Snack time at the canteen!                       Students working on math assignment.

                

              Students playing in playground area.                     Students enjoying their snacks.

During the afternoon, I had the opportunity to observe two classes at San Pedro High School.  The first class that I observed was a business class.  The students were working in small groups on a business project they were completing.  To my surprise, several students walked out of the room without the teacher's knowledge.  One student climbed out of the window to leave the class and was unnoticed.  Several students were walking around the room, and many called out to the teacher without raising their hands.  The teacher circulated to each group to answer questions and check student progress.  The second class that I observed was a language arts class.  The students were working in small groups on a poetry project.  Several students were walking around and talking to their peers in other groups.  The teacher redirected the students and they remained on task.  Again, several students called out to the teacher without raising their hands.  During student presentations, two students began whistling to distract the group presenting.  The teacher politely asked them to stop and they complied.  It was very interesting to learn that the challenges teachers face in Belize are not much different from the challenges we face in schools in the United States.  I thoroughly enjoyed my visit at both schools and learned quite a bit from the administrators, teachers, and especially the students. 

April 19, 2012

Today I visited three schools, Isla Bonita Primary, Holy Cross Anglican Primary, and San Pedro High School.  I had the opportunity to interview the principals to learn about the schools discipline policies, procedures, and practices.  I also had the opportunity to observe two classes at Isla Bonita and Holy Cross schools.  Each school has a policy in place for addressing behaviors.  Isla Bonita Primary and Holy Cross Anglican Primary uses a demerit system and assigns consequences such as cleaning the classroom or playground, or the students must write lines (sentences) during their recess time period.  San Pedro has classroom rules and consequences posted in all classes.  Isla Bonita has implemented posted star charts in the classes to recognize students demonstrating positive behaviors.  Holy Cross has a teacher come to the school once a week to teach students character building social skills through a program called Be Kind Belize.  Each month the school votes for a class that is the kindest and they have an opportunity of receiving a $250 prize for the class.  This program is set up with other schools within Belize to teach and encourage positive behaviors.  San Pedro High School does not have any form of positive supports embedded within their schedule or curriculum.

                Isla Bonita Primary

            

Holy Cross Anglican Primary

 

          Holy Cross Primary is located on top of a waterway.  This is the surrounding area of the school.

During the afternoon I provided professional development for beginning teachers at San Pedro High School.  I provided them with quite a bit of information, strategies, and resources to help them with classroom management. It was very interesting to learn of the challenges that they face each day.  Many of the teachers expressed that many of the students don't care about being in school, refuse to comply with requests, leave the classrooms when they please, or just show up when they want to.  Not much different from some of the challenges we face in our schools in the United States.  The difficulty is that the new teachers are very young and lack the experience for addressing these concerns.  With continued professional development and support they will be able to make some changes and witness the success they desire.




     San Pedro High School

April 18, 2012

This morning we went to Isla Bonita School to provide professional development for beginning teachers.  There were ten teachers that we presented to.  My presentation was on classroom management, in which I provided ten strategies that teachers could use in their classrooms to improve classroom management.  Throughout the presentation, teachers collaborated with each other as they worked their way through various scenarios that related to the strategies they were learning about.  I gave the school two copies of the book "Tools for Teaching" and provided them with resources such as interest inventories, observation template, and sample point sheets for documenting behaviors.  I ended my presentation by requesting the teachers to complete an exit ticket so that I would know if my professional development was beneficial to them.  Here are some of the comments that I received.

      



"I feel very excited to try all the strategies that I can in my class."

"I was surprised to learn the causes of misbehavior and I realized that I need to change along with my students."

"I learned that I need to reflect on my behavior and how I can affect my class."

"I was surprised to learn that simple steps can make a big difference in the classroom."

"I learned that it is important to collect inventory of students and we need to assess ourselves and improve in what we can to accommodate each student, and make learning an adventure."

      



This afternoon we met with the principals of the schools in Belize and held small group discussions regarding any concerns or questions the principals had.  The group that I was in met with four principals.  The topic of our discussion was classroom discipline.  Through our discussion, we learned that many of the teachers struggle with classroom management, mostly from lack of experience.  We took the opportunity to share strategies and ideas, and through this conversation, we learned that our schools are not that much different.  We are all dealing with issues such as bullying, disrespect, and lack of motivation.  This seems to be the common language amongst administrators.  It felt good to learn from each other and to share our experiences!

April 17, 2012

Today we met with Carol Babb, the Deputy Chief Educator and Rose Bradley, the Director of Belize Literacy Unit, to discuss Belizean schools.  It was very interesting to learn that many of the teachers are very young, beginning either immediately upon completion of high school or shortly thereafter.  It was also very interesting to learn that one does not have to have a teaching license to become a teacher in Belize. 

Most of the beginning teachers do not have professional development support to help meet their needs to grow as successful educators.  Many of the teachers are also lacking knowledge in classroom management.  Although corporal punishment was banned in Belize for 2 years, many teachers continue to use this practice in their classrooms.  They believe that was how they were raised and it’s the only thing they know.  Unfortunately, there is not a system-wide behavior policy in place; however, each school in Belize has its own discipline policy in which they implement. 

Belizean students are required to attend school through the age of 14 years old.  Students also pay a fee to attend school.  The fees may vary from school to school, depending on grade level.  Unfortunately, if parents can’t afford to pay the fee to have their child attend school, they simply do not send them.  Support has been provided via truancy officers, to locate students who live in Belizean villages that are not attending school.   Many of these children live in the poorest areas of Belize, which is known as London Bridges.  With the assistance of the truancy officers, many families are able to receive support to help get their child in school.

I was very gracious to have been in the presence of these women.  They demonstrated a passion for making positive changes within Belizean schools.  They also recognize the need to reach the increasing growing numbers of students who are not attending school.  My hope is that I may one day have the opportunity to be an administrator at a school in Belize. 

April 13, 2012

Today was our last day in San Ignacia.  We visited the Belize Zoo which was incredible.  I had an opportunity to feed a beautiful jaguar named Junior.  He let us touch his paws and he enjoyed licking the heads of the men.  See all of my pictures to learn about all of the animals that I saw.

          Junior, the Jaguar!                               Me feeding Junior!              

   

    

  Junior licking Mike's head!

Me holding a boa constrictor!

                                     Very large crocodile!                 Tipar, the national animal of Belize!

More pictures to come!

April 12, 2012

Not feeling well today.  I had to leave breakfast early and go back to bed.  Rested for a few hours.  Missed out on the Iguana Sanctuary visit.  I was very upset too, because iguana's are one of my favorite animals.  I did have a chance to get out after feeling better and mingle with the locals.  That was pretty fun!