Easter Celebration

On Tuesday, March 30th the kids had a half day at Ambergris Caye Elementary. This day the students got to have their Easter Celebration. That previous Monday was a teacher workday, and we got to assist in the preparation for the celebration. After working on Excel for grading purposes and speaking with our partnership teacher to discuss the subjects to teach, we started to pack Easter eggs to the brim with sweets, as they call candy here.

It was time for the Easter egg hunt. The students grabbed their baskets, and headed to the lineup at the flagpole. After a quick talk about the rules, Dr. Renee let the students go by grade level to find the eggs. Off the students ran to find their five eggs each. The day was filled with even more sweets after the Easter egg hunt. Each student got a goodie bag of sweets, Ideals (what they call Popsicles), and cheese dip and chips. After the celebration, parents came to pick up their children, and their report cards. It was interesting to observe the parent-teacher interaction and discussing the report cards. It was a great day at Ambergris Caye Elementary, and now it is time for Easter break.

Festival of Arts

On Thursday, March 25th we helped volunteer with Ambergris Caye Elementary at the Festival of Arts competition. The festival of arts is a competition in which students performed different types of performing arts. It took place at San Pedro's High School auditorium from 5:oo pm until 10:00 pm. The performances included musical instruments, singing, skits, performance arts, dancing, and more. the students from all different age groups came from all over Belize to participate in this event.

At the event, each school had something to sell at their particular stand. This was used as a fundraiser for each school. Ambergris Caye Elementary was selling chicken and rice and beans for $5 or $3 Belize dollars. Other stands were selling baked goods, drinks, cheese dip and chips, and much more.

The stands and seats in front of the stage were full of eager parents and friends waiting to see the performances, and they were not let down. There were quite a few performances, and they were all done very well. My favorite had to be the three drummers (shown above). The one drum was made out of three different size turtle shells, while the other two boys played each played a drum with their hands. This type of music can commonly be heard playing on the beach as well. There was also a group of young children who performed a skit about the meaning of the Belizean flag. The students were each dressed up as something different that represents an important component of Belize. This included a tapir, toucan, Mahogany tree, two woodcutters, and many more. A few girls even sang popular songs by Hannah Montana.

While working the stand for Ambergris Caye Elementary, it not only gave me an opportunity to see the students perform an array of arts, but I got to interact with the locals as well. It was fun to speak with and be part of a local tradition, and to see how Belizeans support their children outside of the schools setting. Nobody preformed from Ambergris Caye, for teachers did not have enough time to prepare with the end of term 2 tests. This defiantly makes me appreciate the extra attention and support that we do get in the state schools for the extracurricular activities inside the school. So many children have a gift, but without the extra money or even teachers to help support it I feel it is being lost in the schools.

Snorkeling in the beautiful blue water

When we finally got some free time, we decided to go snorkeling in the beautiful crystal clear blue water here. I went down with Katy, Elizabeth, Aubrey, and Dr. Catapono. I have never been snorkeling, so I really did not know what to expect. But, it was absolutely amazing.

We went to the end of the dock at Romon's (another resort on the island close to Pedro's Inn), and we jumped in. Once in the water, I could see everything under the water from the bottom of the ocean floor to a distance further out into the water. There was a school of fish underneath the dock moving along with each other. A man-made reef was constructed just a short swim from the dock, which consisted of rocks and wood. In this man-made reef, there were even more different small colorful fish. I would love to learn more about the many different fish I have seen, and I hope to while I am down here.

A group of us also rented bikes and took a bike ride north up the island to gain a different perspective of the island. We are staying almost right in the heart of San Pedro, while the farther north you go the more expensive resorts there are. We rode for about three to four miles through the main strip of the town, over the bridge connecting the island, then on the beach until we stopped at another resort, Akbol. Akbol is where the group students from last years trip stayed for a period of their trip. It is a very quiet yoga resort, but it was beautiful up there.

The only access to most of the northern part of the island is by bike or a boat. There is a little bridge that goes over the inlet, which only walkers, bikers, and golf carts may cross. But a little ways past the bridge, golf carts do not have anymore access, for you must walk or ride a bike on the narrow pieces of beach to where you are going.

While at Akbol, we got to go snorkeling again. I found my first conch (picture above). I am pretty sure it was a baby conch, so I threw it back into the ocean. That is one thing I hope to bring home as a souvenir before I leave. Conchs are in season right now, so it may be a little more difficult to find. But I will defiantly be on the look-out for one.

Also while snorkeling, Aubrey spotted a small lionfish right underneath the dock on a rock. I have learned from a local Belizean that the lionfish is one of the most dangerous fish on the ocean floor. The lionfish's spines are venomous, but usually will not harm anyone unless it feels threatened. The lionfish's sting is not usually deadly to humans, but it will cause extreme pain and discomfort. So after knowing all this information, I probably should not have been so excited to go see it, but I was. I carefully swam under the dock trying to get a closer look at this totally new creature in which I have ever seen in my life. I kept my distance because I did not want to spook or upset it. But in the end, it was worth going to see this creature in the wild. The picture was taken from google images because unfortunately we all forgot our underwater cameras.

Our next snorkeling experience took place on Sunday, March 28th. A small group of us got to go out on a boat with a local man named Louie. He lives and owns a local business, and has three children. His oldest son came along with the group to help us out while we were snorkeling. They took us to two different locations. The first was Mexico rocks, and another called the three coconuts.

At Mexico rocks, the water was over ten feet deep, while at three coconuts we were able to walk around and see the coral reef. At Mexico rocks, I got to see my first sting ray. I was floating and looking around, and then I saw the sand on the bottom of the ocean floor move. I took a closer look, and the shape of the sting ray. This one was pretty big, but I guess there was a smaller one swimming right underneath Aubrey's feet.

At both places we saw an array of different plant and animal species. We were warned to not to touch any of the coral reef because once touched it would die. I got nervous at three coconuts because the current was so strong and I was nervous to touch any of the reef. But after taking in all the scenery, we went diving for conchs. After finding about ten conchs, we headed back to Louie's house. Once there, he pulled out the conchs with a hammer and knife. The conch looked like big slugs with one hard claw. The claw is used to help the conch move along the bottom of the ocean. Once all the conchs were out of there shells and skinned, Louie's wife made the group conch ceviche. It is kind of like salsa with uncooked pieces of conch and lime in it. It was different, but very good.

Dr. Seuss's Mixed Up Pets

On Thursday, March 25th my teacher had to leave school early for an appointment. She said I was able to do an activity of my choice, so I spoke with her about a few things I have noticed in the classroom. One thing in particular that caught my attention was the students' lack of critical thinking skills. The one child was too scared to answer questions that were opened ended, for she was afraid of getting the wrong answer.

I asked the teacher about this notion of critical thinking, and she agreed that it is not a main component of the schools. Students are instructed the information, and then they are to recall the material for grades. In Belize teaching is done through more of a teacher-directed approach. Students are not often advised to think "outside the box" on their own. Taking this into consideration, I asked if I could do an activity which would allow the students to be creative and think critically.

I started the activity off by talking about what it means to be an artist and what imagination is. The students were able to make the connection about using their imagination in the world around them. Then I read the book "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish," by Dr. Seuss to the class. The book talks about a variety of different pets that people have in their homes. An example is a Zen to help open the cans. While reading the book, as a group we talked about the differences in all the animals, and how no one pet was alike. After we finished reading the book, we made our own pet, and wrote about that particular animal.

Some students were hesitant with the activity and needed more scaffolding than others. For being use to being given the information that they will need to know, I think the activity went very well. The students used their imagination to put two different animals together to make a new animal, and they seemed to enjoy it as well.

Arts in the school

Extracurricular activities are hard to find in the schools. The arts, music, and physical education must be incorporated into the daily schedule by the teacher. There are no additional teachers for these positions, as it is in the states. My teacher graduated with a art education degree; consequently she does try to add more art activities into the curriculum, but she finds it particularly hard with little materials and funds. Most of the materials she uses for art either she buys and brings in herself, or ask for the parents to bring in materials. There is just no room in the budget to buy additional materials for the students.

On this particular day, we were making Easter eggs out of bristle board (what we call poster board). Being mostly of Catholic decent on the island, the schools do celebrate Christmas, Easter, and a few other holidays in the school. This was the students first time using watercolors. It was fun to watch the kids learn and interact with the watercolors. They seemed to have a great time, and enjoyed being able to be creative. On Friday, the students make a Easter basket for the egg hunt that will be happening on Tuesday, March 30th. The teacher and I helped cut out the baskets and put them together, and then the students used tissue paper and glue to decorate the baskets.

Day 3 to 5: "Testing and Competition"

Testing for the end of the second term have started, and they are from Wednesday and will continue through Friday in the Infant I classroom. On Wednesday, the students took math and social studies. The math consisted of word problems to make number sentences, fact families, fractions, comparing fractions, measuring different lengths in inches, different measuring utensils, and clocks. Social studies consisted conservation of natural resources, what natural resources are, and transportation. On Thursday, the students took language arts and H.F.LE (their health). Language arts included spelling words in which the teacher said (five, frog, cake, chin, this, and more), sequencing/comprehension (listening to an oral story, then putting pictures in order), matching correct word to picture, fill in the blank with the correct word, and circling pictures that make the long vowel sound.

All the tests were orally given by the teacher, except the few parts that the students needed to do alone. All the students strive for the perfect 100% grade. I have heard many students talking about getting a 100%, and they became mad/upset if this grade was not obtained. One student in particular would not even take the paper home if it was not a 100%. The child would just leave his not perfect papers in the desk at school.

This notion of competition and being "the best" or getting a perfect 100% has become an abundant issue in which I have noticed. After speaking with my teacher, she told me that this is a huge part of most of the Belizean culture. Parents strive/desire for their children to be the best in the class. This aspect can even been seen in the pre-k graduation, which has a valedictorian and salutatorian as well. I am unsure why this notion is so predominate, but the teacher said it may have something to do with all kids just recently being able (or having the opportunity) to go to school. She said maybe 20 years ago, only the elite males were able to go to school. Presently, all children are suppose to be in school, but there is no one enforcing these rules.

The schools here are either government, government aid, or private. The two elementary schools we are currently in are private, which means they receive less money from the government. This requires the parents to pay more for the "tuition." The families who send their kids to Isla Bonita and Ambergris Caye are considered middle class here. Most of them are local business owners or some part of tourism, so they can afford the extra tuition. Many students attend the Roman Catholic school because it is government aid, and the tuition is less. There are other schools on the island that are total government aid, but I am not sure of there names.

The money the private schools obtain, whether through the government or tuition, is usually not enough; consequently the schools have to do without many extra things for the school. To give you an example, on Thursday the lights were turned off at Ambergris Caye because the school is behind on paying the bills. The school just can not afford to pay the bills to keep the basic necessary essential aspects. The budget for the teachers if very minimum as well.

Day 2

Today was a lot more reviewing for the tests that will be happening in the next three days. We reviewed more number sentences and fact families, as well as fractions (comparing fractions that are more than, less than, and equal too). The kids seem to understand this information for the most part, but it still baffles me how early they are learning all this information. They reviewed math from 8:30 to break time at 10:00 am. After break, we did a language arts activity. This consisted of putting four pictures in order, and then reading the sentences to see what was happening in the story. To see if the student comprehended the story, they answered "yes and no" questions about the story. This was done until lunch, and then we played a review game for the tests tomorrow.


Yesterday we tried to play this same review game, but the students were cooperative and many had difficulties with the task at hand. The teacher and I got to speak about this after school yesterday, and I was able to give her suggestions that might be able to assist her with these problems. This included have a "special" microphone (a marker), so each child had a chance to answer and they knew when it was their turn. Also, maybe not writing the score of the teams on the board, for this caused some students difficulties when they were not winning. The teacher did use these considerations, and the review games went with less problems. It was good to see my suggestions be useful and actually work. Especially for this class with such a great age range, differentiation is defiantly needed.

With the students getting more acquainted with me in their classroom, I was able to get to know them better. Of the six students in the classroom, there is only two true Belizean students. One student is from England, another from Lebanon, and two from around Mexico area. So in this little classroom of six, there was more diversity here than the classroom that I participated in my student teaching in the states.
Lunch for the students at Ambergris Caye is done in twoblocks. The first block is from noon until 12:45 pm. This consists of Infant I through Standard II. Standard III through Standard VI have lunch from 12:30 pm until 1:15 pm. All students eat outside the school. Students are not permitted to leave the school grounds, but families are allowed to come eat lunch outside with their child or bring lunch to them. Most students do get lunch from the school, which comes from a little "shack" right next to the school building. Lunch is made and brought in from somewhere and cost 3 Belize dollars ($1.50 American). They have a lot of the same food as in the states. Yesterday they had spaghetti and meat sauce, and today was hot dog and beans. The next two days it will be macaroni and cheese and egg salad sandwich. During this time most students grab a seat where they can find one to have lunch, and then they have a free recess time. Students here love to play futball (or soccer in the states) or volleyball. Or, many students play on the nice wooden playground that can be found in a lot of schools in the states as well.

Ambergris Caye: Day 1

Today was our first day in the schools. I was put into the Infant I classroom (first grade back in the states). The ages of the students range in age 4 to 6 years old. Students must be 4 years 6 months by September 1st to be able to attend Infant I. There are six students in the classroom; two 4 year olds, three 5 year olds, and one 6 year old. One of the 4 year olds is a boy, and the rest of the students are girls. The teacher, Mrs. Kate, is originally from Rochester, NY, but moved to San Pedro about 4 years ago. She graduated with a bachelor's degree from NY in art education, but she had no formal education training though. She use to teach at Isla Bonita, but is now at Ambergris Caye. She has one boy that I think is in either Infant II or Standard I, and she is expecting another baby soon. She will be very useful to talk to about to gain more information about the child-care in San Pedro.

The room is very, very small. It has enough room for six old wooden desks and chairs, and a teacher desk. This is a picture of my classroom I will be in for the next five weeks. The only thing not shown is the teachers desk, which is directly to the right of where the picture was taken from the door to the classroom. The room does not have a white board, but it has a chalkboard, which I think is common in this school. There are no toys, math manipulative, center areas, or computers. There is a small bookshelf that holds books that were donated to the school. On top of the bookshelf are the very limited school supplies for the classroom. While there for the day, I noticed most students did not have full pencils or one at all. By this I mean, if they had a pencil it was most likely broken in half, and using the pencil without an eraser. Erasers were also limited, and students had to share the one girl's eraser for the whole day.

The first thing I noticed when I walked into the room was the decorations on the wall. Up near the chalkboard was the alphabet with upper and lower case letters, and a picture to represent the letter. On the wall near the chalkboard, was the months of the year, the calender, and student's writings about their favorite animals. There was also pizza fractions and other pictures to represent fractions. Yes, fractions for 4 to 6 year olds. On the other wall, were pictures of the natural environment in which the students were learning about.

The main subjects for Infant I are math, language arts, science, social studies, religion, Spanish, and health. This whole week will be different because they are about to end there second term (there are three terms all together), and they (all grades) will be completed the end of term tests. The Infant I has to take five written tests; two on Wednesday, two Thursday, and one Friday in health, math, language arts, science, and social studies. I was looking over the health, math, and language arts test, and it blew my mind what they are expecting of these young students. Some sample questions were; the Earth rotates in a (day or year). The Earth rotates around the sun in a (year or day). We live on the planet ___. Does the moon have light on it. Health questions talked about germs, bacteria, prevention, and healthy versus junk food choices. Math included the time (o'clock and half past the hour), fractions (which fraction is greater, less than, or equal), number sentences (addition and subtraction), word problems and producing number sentences, and much more.

My first thoughts were wow. It is a lot for this age group, and where they are at developmentally. The two youngest kids were defiantly having some trouble. One of the two 4 year olds is from England and is having more trouble, but both 4 year olds do not seem socially mature enough to handle some classroom situations. In all, my first day went well though. The students are reviewing for their tests on Wednesday through Friday.

Learning about the island

There are five schools (that we know of) in San Pedro, Belize. Four of them are elementary schools, and only one being high school. Elementary consists of Infant I, Infant II, and six standard grades (first through eighth grade). There is no kindergarten, but all the criteria is suppose to be covered in child-care (I will be soon traveling to the childcare centers as well to see how these operates as well). Infant I is considered first grade back in the states, but the students are only 4 years old. Even though they are only 4 years old, they are taught first grade standards. Infant II is considered second grade, and the students are 5 to 6 years old. Standard I is third, and so on until Standard VI being eight grade. So there elementary system consists of Infant I or first grade through Standard VI or eighth grade. The standards are not "grade levels," instead the standards are development/academic milestones the students must meet in order to move on.

The first school you see when arriving into the little airport in San Pedro is Pedro Roman Catholic primary school, which is where a good percentage of the kids attend. It is a public school even though parents have to pay a little tuition, which occurs at all schools. Tuition is around 30 Belizean dollars. This particular school is the cheapest tuition for parents though, and it is what most parents can afford. The class size can range up to 30 students per class. Island Academy is another private elementary school, and it is attended by the more wealthy, higher-class students. Most of the children there are either come from a wealthy family, or foreign large business owners on the island. These children usually either go inland to Belize City or to the USA for high school. There are also three other elementary schools, Island Academy, Isla Bonita, and Ambergris Caye.

The two elementary schools we will be doing our field experience at are Isla Bonita and Ambergris Caye. I will be doing mine at Ambergris Caye, and I will find out my classroom placement on Monday. There are 54 students in the whole school from Infant I to Standard VI (a total of 7 classrooms because standard V and VI are together). The Infant I classroom had a total of two students, and the biggest class has around 14 students. The students have a 15 minute break around 10:00 am, and have lunch outside from a little building. The food is ordered and brought to the building for students to purchase lunch.

The next elementary school is called Isla Bonita. In this school, there are about 90 students. The class sizes range from 8 to 14 students. The school has eight classrooms, one for each standard and Infant I and II. The students at both elementary and high schools have the choice of having school lunch or going home for lunch. All schools have a uniform policy as well.

The next school we visited is the high school. We walked straight up the beach, stepped off and arrived at the high school. The scenery alone of the amazing beach and ocean would distract me from school (picture below). The one building had two floors with all the windows and doors open because there is no air conditioning at the school. The class size here is about 30 students because most all of the kids from the elementary school go to San Pedro High School (picture on top of the blog) for "forms I through IV." This is correlated to our freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior. The gym or "auditorium" where the students participate in gym activities is an auditorium that is outside. The back wall is full, and the two side walls are half. There are bleachers on the side with a basketball court in the middle. When we first arrived at the high school, students were playing basketball, a little volleyball, or soccer for a physical education class.

The students usually graduate high school around the age of fourteen to sixteen years old, which is a very different from the states where most who graduate are almost eighteen. After graduation, most find local jobs around the area, and some will go on for their associates degree if they can afford it. The only two associates degrees offered on the island are business and tourism, but they can go inland to Belize City to get their associates. This is much harder for most people because it is a lot more expensive.

To become a teacher in San Pedro a high school degree is only need. Most of the teachers in the schools do not have their associates degree, for it is too expensive. At Ambergris Caye, the principal is asking her teacher to get any associates just to have more education, but again the only too that are assessable on the island are business and tourism. One teacher in particular at Ambergris Caye was only eighteen years old teaching a classroom of Standard V and VI (grades 7 and 8 in the states).

We made it!

The plane ride from Belize City to San Pedro, Belize was defiantly worth it. It was a little scary being on such a small plane, but the view was amazing. This is one picture that was taken from the little plane to San Pedro. Not sure what island it is. When we finally arrived in San Pedro, Belize we got to explore the island a little bit up and down the beach.

There are five schools on the island, and either today or tomorrow we should be visiting the three schools we will doing our field experience at. Kids do not get to school by a bus. Instead they all either walk to school or ride a bike. There is actually very few vehicles on the island. Most people get around by walking, riding a bike, or golf carts. There are three main roads, and they are front street, middle street, and back street. These three roads are the only paved roads on the island, and the rest are all dirt.

We are staying at a little inn called Pedro's Inn. The rooms are bit different than what I expected, but they have everything we need. American food and products are so expensive on the island, and they do not even have Pepsi products. So no Mountain Dew for five weeks. This may be a long trip. Belize money is worth double American money (2 Belize dollars equals 1 American dollars), so that transition has been a little confusing as well, especially if you get change back in both Belize and American money.