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.