To me, this is a tough prompt to write about. I have always been very pro-inclusion in the classroom. I would have to say that I feel more strongly about inclusion since my experience started here in Belize. Honestly it is amazing. I watched a child today, Ralphie, who definitely probably has a disability, there is a disconnect between speech and reading. On the beach today all the kids were playing making sand castles, or something of the sort, but I noticed how Ralphie took his time and made everything on his sand invention smooth. The other kids were just digging up sand and making higher piles of sand. It was definitely interesting. I think that there skills that children can pick up from one another when they are all in a classroom. Another student I have watched, I haven't worked with her as much is Kaila. It is so interesting what even the other students can learn from Kaila like sign language. I feel like having a non-verbal student in the classroom encourages students to learn sign language and pick up on the movements people make. I feel like an inclusive environment also educates people about disabilities. It is definitely a tougher environment, but it is such a great thing to add in the social aspect of inclusion and to make others aware of disabilities.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Perceptions of disability
How have your perceptions of disability and inclusion changed since completing the independent study on inclusive education and the field experience in Belize?
Last week in the schools
This week has been bitter sweet. I am so sad to be leaving the students I work with behind. I feel like I haven't done enough for the students here. I hope to come back next year. I substituted at Isla Bonita yesterday and today in Teacher Hector's room. It was a bit of chaos and really a challenge for me because I really like special education more than the general education classroom. But the children are remarkable and I am so thankful to have met so many students. I got lots of little notes from all of the students today and they have all made me smile. It is amazing how you can tell these children probably will never forget you. They have become so attached :).
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Supports for Children with Special Needs
What strategies have you used to support children with special needs in your classroom?
I'm not in the classroom as much because I pull out students mostly except for the High Schoolers, however I did substitute twice this week in Teacher Hector's classroom. There is a student, Kaila who I have tried to help incorporate in the classroom during the day. I let her play a game, Silent Ball with the other students. Also, during a group activity she was able to cut out ways of transportation after someone showed her what to cut out. Also, since I have learned that she knows sign language I have been using word puzzle pieces to see what she tells me the word is. During the same class I have been able to help Tayza with her skill of spelling and how to identify letter sounds a little.
At the high school I have been supporting the in the students in the classroom just by offering help during the lesson. I have worked mostly with Khoder and Darwin, but I have also worked some with Elsa. Elsa does not have special needs but she speaks no English. I have used my little knowledge of Spanish to help her in some ways during math. I think the best thing I ever learned in Spanish is to ask "Come se dice (English word)?" which is "How do you say (English word)." I have found that she actually understands some English and if you model it she can figure out what you are talking about. With Darwin I have only worked with him twice. I have been helping him mostly stay on task. I help him also gather his thoughts of what to write by just talking to him about a story a teacher may read out loud. Khoder I have helped him mostly by helping him start things and do examples of specific assignments with a little help at first and then I let him work on things by his self. He does a lot better when someone is working a problem out right beside of him and then he can practice it with someone. I believe that he is very unsure of his self and I have noticed that he often looks and wait for someone to tell him that he is on the right track before he move on with a problem, but I'm trying to convince him that he can do work by his self.
This week I also worked after school with a student, Jason, from R.C. His teacher and mother have said that he has problems reading and with memory. I worked with him for about 45 minutes. I never really noticed any major problems with his reading, but I could kind of tell that it was hard for him to stay on the right line with reading, so I had him put a piece of notebook paper down while he was reading and cover the words he had not yet read. He read great after that.
I'm not in the classroom as much because I pull out students mostly except for the High Schoolers, however I did substitute twice this week in Teacher Hector's classroom. There is a student, Kaila who I have tried to help incorporate in the classroom during the day. I let her play a game, Silent Ball with the other students. Also, during a group activity she was able to cut out ways of transportation after someone showed her what to cut out. Also, since I have learned that she knows sign language I have been using word puzzle pieces to see what she tells me the word is. During the same class I have been able to help Tayza with her skill of spelling and how to identify letter sounds a little.
At the high school I have been supporting the in the students in the classroom just by offering help during the lesson. I have worked mostly with Khoder and Darwin, but I have also worked some with Elsa. Elsa does not have special needs but she speaks no English. I have used my little knowledge of Spanish to help her in some ways during math. I think the best thing I ever learned in Spanish is to ask "Come se dice (English word)?" which is "How do you say (English word)." I have found that she actually understands some English and if you model it she can figure out what you are talking about. With Darwin I have only worked with him twice. I have been helping him mostly stay on task. I help him also gather his thoughts of what to write by just talking to him about a story a teacher may read out loud. Khoder I have helped him mostly by helping him start things and do examples of specific assignments with a little help at first and then I let him work on things by his self. He does a lot better when someone is working a problem out right beside of him and then he can practice it with someone. I believe that he is very unsure of his self and I have noticed that he often looks and wait for someone to tell him that he is on the right track before he move on with a problem, but I'm trying to convince him that he can do work by his self.
This week I also worked after school with a student, Jason, from R.C. His teacher and mother have said that he has problems reading and with memory. I worked with him for about 45 minutes. I never really noticed any major problems with his reading, but I could kind of tell that it was hard for him to stay on the right line with reading, so I had him put a piece of notebook paper down while he was reading and cover the words he had not yet read. He read great after that.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Up and at 'em
Friday we ventured to the zoo. It was awesome, I could have spent all day there, but we only spent a few hours there. I was able to see all kinds of animals and I will post the link to the pictures soon.
Monday was the first day back in the schools. I enjoyed myself a lot, but it was a little stressful. I was at the high school from 7:45-9:45. Then I traveled to the elementary school. At the elementary school I worked with small groups in 30 minute intervals and I ran up and down the stairs to walk kids back to class and get students for the next group. It was a bit overwhelming because all of the kids want to come with me to work on reading. I so badly want to say yes, but it is hard to use the reading program I am using works best one-on-one with a student and I'm doing it with groups of 2-4 students! I am finding that many of the students are further along than the first few lessons of the book....but I think starting at the first lesson and running through the lessons quickly will be a good thing for the students and will reinforce what they already know. I have found that the students REALLY want to know how to read. It is amazing that they all care. There are also students who want help in math and I am hoping that next year more special education people can come to Belize to help more students. The days here just go by so quickly with the students I am working with now. Tuesday went about the same as Monday.
Today (Wednesday) I had to substitute teach for teacher Hector. I honestly liked it in many ways. It was so much nicer not to have to travel from one school to another and to sleep in. The elementary school starts at 8:30! I also did not have to run up and down the stairs to pull small groups. It was a little hectic though. I can manage the 10 students but it adds pressure when they all call your name and want to have help on assignments. I've found that many students want help that don't actually need help and my natural instinct is to help the students that need help. But I made it through the day. I had a few visitors stop by: Karla and Kelly. They are both very familiar with special education and Kelly found out that Kaila knows sign language. Kaila is a student that has Downs Syndrome. She is VERY sweet and smiles all the time and nods her head. Unfortunately she normally colors during class while everyone else take notes. The first week in the school I helped Kaila trace her name and I made the outline. That was about the most interaction I had with Kaila because I helped in the High School and started pulling small groups. I am so happy that I know this and I actually had Kaila teach me a little sign language. After seeing her today I believe she is actually more intelligent than people may know. I also got some insight for Tayza. Tayza is in Standard II with Kaila and it was believed that she had memory problems. I noticed that it just might be more related to phonics or something with reading. Kelly feels that she might have been taught sight words at her previous school. I think that makes sense. I talked to Karla and Kelly about Tayza some more and I think I have more of a direction to go to help Tayza. I realized she is very sharp with her individual letter sounding out skills but Kelly and Karla realized that maybe it is the actual skill of blending that Tayza needs help with. I am hoping to help her with that more and if she still has problems with writing I can tackle that battle later.
I am really glad that Karla and Kelly are here. It is helping me out some in my head! It is nice to have people here that understand special education and people I can talk to about things and bounce off ideas! I have talked with them about several of the students I'm working with and it is all incredibly helpful :).
Monday was the first day back in the schools. I enjoyed myself a lot, but it was a little stressful. I was at the high school from 7:45-9:45. Then I traveled to the elementary school. At the elementary school I worked with small groups in 30 minute intervals and I ran up and down the stairs to walk kids back to class and get students for the next group. It was a bit overwhelming because all of the kids want to come with me to work on reading. I so badly want to say yes, but it is hard to use the reading program I am using works best one-on-one with a student and I'm doing it with groups of 2-4 students! I am finding that many of the students are further along than the first few lessons of the book....but I think starting at the first lesson and running through the lessons quickly will be a good thing for the students and will reinforce what they already know. I have found that the students REALLY want to know how to read. It is amazing that they all care. There are also students who want help in math and I am hoping that next year more special education people can come to Belize to help more students. The days here just go by so quickly with the students I am working with now. Tuesday went about the same as Monday.
Today (Wednesday) I had to substitute teach for teacher Hector. I honestly liked it in many ways. It was so much nicer not to have to travel from one school to another and to sleep in. The elementary school starts at 8:30! I also did not have to run up and down the stairs to pull small groups. It was a little hectic though. I can manage the 10 students but it adds pressure when they all call your name and want to have help on assignments. I've found that many students want help that don't actually need help and my natural instinct is to help the students that need help. But I made it through the day. I had a few visitors stop by: Karla and Kelly. They are both very familiar with special education and Kelly found out that Kaila knows sign language. Kaila is a student that has Downs Syndrome. She is VERY sweet and smiles all the time and nods her head. Unfortunately she normally colors during class while everyone else take notes. The first week in the school I helped Kaila trace her name and I made the outline. That was about the most interaction I had with Kaila because I helped in the High School and started pulling small groups. I am so happy that I know this and I actually had Kaila teach me a little sign language. After seeing her today I believe she is actually more intelligent than people may know. I also got some insight for Tayza. Tayza is in Standard II with Kaila and it was believed that she had memory problems. I noticed that it just might be more related to phonics or something with reading. Kelly feels that she might have been taught sight words at her previous school. I think that makes sense. I talked to Karla and Kelly about Tayza some more and I think I have more of a direction to go to help Tayza. I realized she is very sharp with her individual letter sounding out skills but Kelly and Karla realized that maybe it is the actual skill of blending that Tayza needs help with. I am hoping to help her with that more and if she still has problems with writing I can tackle that battle later.
I am really glad that Karla and Kelly are here. It is helping me out some in my head! It is nice to have people here that understand special education and people I can talk to about things and bounce off ideas! I have talked with them about several of the students I'm working with and it is all incredibly helpful :).
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Culture Inland/Culture of Belize in general
Coming inland I instantly noticed a lot of things that were different with the culture. First of all, there are a lot of cars. Imagine this: think of Wrightsville Beach, but very few people own a car...actually almost no one owns a car but there are many taxi vans. Most people walk, ride bikes, golf carts or mopeds. That is what I was used to in San Pedro. Well here, in San Ignacio it is the opposite. The streets are covered with cars and I actually have yet to see a golf cart. I have seen some bikes, but it is still nothing like San Pedro.
The area here is also a lot smaller. I actually like it a lot. It reminds me of home, or more like Danville in a way. Most things are within walking distance. There was also a place that sold produce, it was much like the Farmer's Market. If I traveled back to Belize, I could see myself traveling back to San Ignacio. I might love the beach, but there is just a different beauty in the town of San Ignacio. The atmosphere was a little cooler and it rained which was definitely a nice change in pace.
Now that you have experienced the cultural heritage of Belize, what have you learned that gives you insight into the children and families you are working with?
The life here is simplistic in many ways. I feel people here live as if there may be no tomorrow. From what I have noticed, there is probably not much of "saving money" here, although I'm not positive of that. Everything is about enjoying the moment we are in right now. I think that I can see this reflected in the classrooms. In away I see this reflected in the behaviors in the classrooms. The students really enjoy their days spent in the classroom and they live to enjoy every moment spent at school. The students may be out of their seats a lot and always wanting a hug, but to them, life is short. Joy is found in the smallest things here in Belize.
Now that you have experienced the cultural heritage of Belize, what have you learned that gives you insight into the children and families you are working with?
The life here is simplistic in many ways. I feel people here live as if there may be no tomorrow. From what I have noticed, there is probably not much of "saving money" here, although I'm not positive of that. Everything is about enjoying the moment we are in right now. I think that I can see this reflected in the classrooms. In away I see this reflected in the behaviors in the classrooms. The students really enjoy their days spent in the classroom and they live to enjoy every moment spent at school. The students may be out of their seats a lot and always wanting a hug, but to them, life is short. Joy is found in the smallest things here in Belize.
Friday, April 13, 2012
Adventures Inland
The past few days have been an absolute adventure. I will upload pictures when I am back in San Pedro, and I must say they are pretty amazing. I'm every bit of exhausted from the adventures and the fact that the hotel we are staying at is above a BUSY road and a club, and with my light sleeping, sleep just does happen much here. I'm just happy that we have went on our amazing adventures! :)
Monday we took a water taxi to Belize City. I thought it was a great ride, I could have slept like a baby if the seats were more comfortable! In away I liked that trip better than the airplane (because it costs less), but nothing can touch the sights you see when you are flying on the plane to San Pedro. Once we were in Belize City we all ate lunch and got a transfer to the local bus station. At the local bus station we were offered a few options on getting to San Ignacio. They said we could take a nonstop 15 passenger van for 20 USD or a Chicken Bus for 7 BZE (3.50 USD). We all decided that we wanted to save money and just take the chicken bus. The guy said we could go to the side of the road and get on the bus if we wanted to save our seats, or we could just wait for it to pull up to the gate in an hour. We decided to wait but we saw our bus. It was one of the older school buses (like the bus you used to have to ride when your school bus broke down)...it was painted over with white, blue and red and there was still some yellow on the top I think. Before we got on the bus one of the guys that worked at the station "made a deal" and said that when the bus pulled up for all of us just to run to the back and get in through the emergency exit so we could sit together. So, we see the bus moving and we run to the gate, well, as the bus is pulling up this MOB of people attack the gate and everyone is running through the bus gates LIKE A CHICKEN. It was INTENSE. Annnnd half of the people getting on the bus were getting on through the emergency door. People are rushing us to get on the bus, to climb over people that are trying to get their small children on the bus so it was nerve racking. Of course I didn't push through anyone, I almost did but stopped. Well to get on through the emergency exit you have one person that you step on and then he will lift you up and someone else grabs you and pulls you on the bus. Luckily I had a seat and we fit three people in our seat but there were many people that were standing. Capacity was 84 people, but I'm sure that there were between 110-120 people on the bus. We stopped several times and it was almost as if we never came to a complete stop for people to get on/off if it was just one person...they just jumped from the front or back exit. It was crazy. We were stopped at a lot of checkpoints and luckily when they came on to check the capacity of the bus it had died out a lot by that time. We stopped at another bus terminal in Belmopan and only a few people could get on because of the checkpoint down the road. There were too many people on the bus (standing not in a seat) and one of the workers told them to get off. Everyone got off except for one lady. She refused to get off because she had class in Guatemala on Tuesday morning. I have mixed feelings about seeing this happen. If it was in the U.S. it wouldn't fly. People would have been rude to the lady because the bus couldn't leave and the lady would probably have been escorted out. But instead the bus just sat there until something happened. Finally, a man got off the bus and she was able to sit down, but it is crazy to think that sometimes people cannot get to where they need to go because the buses are so crowded.
Tuesday was a fun adventure day. We took a bus ride to Caracol. We first made a stop at one of the caves. It is one of the smaller caves in San Ignacio and it is made of mostly limestone. It was beautiful. We were able to walk around it for a few minutes. After that we finished our bus ride to Caracol. Caracol was amazing and we were able to learn a lot of the history of the temples and things. I found out that most of the "hills" and "mountains" are actually temples and burial areas, and they all contain artifacts. But, they don't want to reveal all of them because then you will ruin the wild life, the trees, the howler monkeys and the birds. It is a battle of history versus nature in a way. But there were still many uncovered things we could see. We also saw a spot they had just started uncovering. It was cool because you could see how thick the dirt was to get to the artifacts. The dirt is literally about three feet deep. Our tour guide was amazing and you could tell he was passionate about his job. I found out that he went to school for archaeology and his job is actually working at places like Caracol and then he does the tours to go with that. I think that helps stir the enjoyment we had on the tour because he really knew a lot of information and he was very passionate. After a day of HIKING up and down many stairs we headed to Big Rock Falls. It was a hhuuuuggge hike to the falls. I fell a few times but nothing out of the normal slipping and falling that I do :). After like 10 minutes of hiking we made it to the falls. It was amazing. I did a small jump and then I rock climbed the falls to do a higher jump. I was so SCARED. I was scared of not jumping out far enough and scratching my back on the rocks. It took me so long to go so the tour guide finally just pushed me....but I'm glad. I had the tiimmme of my life falling down so quickly. I believe someone said it was like a 50 ft fall, but I'm not positive.
Wednesday was an amazing day. We went to the ATM (Actun Tunichil Muknal) cave here in San Ignacio. It was so amazing. We started our journey with a hike through the jungle. We had to walk through three places where the creek passed through the jungle...so think like the movie Forrest Gump but not that deep! After a 15 minute or so hike we made it to the area just before the cave entrance. The beginning of the group made it to the picnic area a little earlier than everyone else so we decided to go down to the cave for a swim. It was SO cold at first, but I think it was the change from hiking in the heat a little to getting in a cool body of water. There were a couple of places that you could jump from a cave wall in to the water. I was scared at first so I just did a little jump and after that I wanted to do the higher jump. The jump wasn't actually high at all because it was inside a cave, but it was very slippery and you were supposed to lean back when you climbed up. Of course, I did something wrong and my feet slipped out from under me. I decided that there should be no jumping from a slippery spot for me. I only bruised my elbow but I promise you never realize how much you use your elbow until it hurts! I still went through the ATM cave though! It was amazing. We split up into two groups. My group went first, and during the first half of the hike you are in and out of the water. There are a few spots where the water is deeper and you have to swim, but in most spots you can just walk through the water. We were able to see the lime stone and how much it shines in the cave. Once we got to a certain point where we weren't going to be back in the water until we left, we had to take our shoes off so we would not ruin the artifacts. You had to wear socks as well so the oils from your feet would not mess up anything either. This part was really neat because we were able to learn more about the history of the cave and the rituals that took place. We were able to see broken pottery that the Mayans would break during their rituals and we also saw 3 different skulls, one was just a skull, another was a full body and looked bunched up, and the third one we saw was cool because you could really see the full body. We also saw many pillars that when light is shown on them they cast awesome shadows of their Gods. To me, I saw the Gods, but there were times when I could see other things in the shadows as well. It was very neat and interesting. After we toured the upper area of the cave for a while, we went back and put our shoes on and started our journey back. We got to a point and the tour guide asked us if we wanted to take a different way up this rock. Dr. K said he had never been that way and the guide said it would be a little tough. I was scared because at that point in time my arm was hurting and it was getting hard to use my right arm for a lot of support while climbing, but we still went! I am so glad too!
We went across this one scary area...there was this white stuff on a rock and we had to avoid it and climb around it because it was calcite...I looked down and noticed that it was all dark under this rock, so I have no clue what would have happened if you slipped on this rock! But we all made it sliding around and scooting around! During the ATM tour, I really learned you have to trust yourself, but you can't be too confident. I think that is why I slipped before we even started spelunking. I was too confident in myself for jumping on Tuesday, and I should have been more careful. In the cave, I was very careful and I noticed that you have to be balanced with 3 limbs before you can move whichever arm or leg. Also staying low to the ground really helps keep some balance. I was pretty mad at myself after the tour because words cannot describe how badly I wanted to go to Crystal Cave, a tour that a few of us had talked about doing the day before. It is supposed to be one of the most challenging cave tours in Belize. I asked our guide from the ATM if I could make it in Crystal Cave and he said with my elbow swollen and hurt I would need to re-think about going. I know everything happens for a reason though and now I can put it on my bucket list to come back to San Ignacio for Crystal Cave!
Monday we took a water taxi to Belize City. I thought it was a great ride, I could have slept like a baby if the seats were more comfortable! In away I liked that trip better than the airplane (because it costs less), but nothing can touch the sights you see when you are flying on the plane to San Pedro. Once we were in Belize City we all ate lunch and got a transfer to the local bus station. At the local bus station we were offered a few options on getting to San Ignacio. They said we could take a nonstop 15 passenger van for 20 USD or a Chicken Bus for 7 BZE (3.50 USD). We all decided that we wanted to save money and just take the chicken bus. The guy said we could go to the side of the road and get on the bus if we wanted to save our seats, or we could just wait for it to pull up to the gate in an hour. We decided to wait but we saw our bus. It was one of the older school buses (like the bus you used to have to ride when your school bus broke down)...it was painted over with white, blue and red and there was still some yellow on the top I think. Before we got on the bus one of the guys that worked at the station "made a deal" and said that when the bus pulled up for all of us just to run to the back and get in through the emergency exit so we could sit together. So, we see the bus moving and we run to the gate, well, as the bus is pulling up this MOB of people attack the gate and everyone is running through the bus gates LIKE A CHICKEN. It was INTENSE. Annnnd half of the people getting on the bus were getting on through the emergency door. People are rushing us to get on the bus, to climb over people that are trying to get their small children on the bus so it was nerve racking. Of course I didn't push through anyone, I almost did but stopped. Well to get on through the emergency exit you have one person that you step on and then he will lift you up and someone else grabs you and pulls you on the bus. Luckily I had a seat and we fit three people in our seat but there were many people that were standing. Capacity was 84 people, but I'm sure that there were between 110-120 people on the bus. We stopped several times and it was almost as if we never came to a complete stop for people to get on/off if it was just one person...they just jumped from the front or back exit. It was crazy. We were stopped at a lot of checkpoints and luckily when they came on to check the capacity of the bus it had died out a lot by that time. We stopped at another bus terminal in Belmopan and only a few people could get on because of the checkpoint down the road. There were too many people on the bus (standing not in a seat) and one of the workers told them to get off. Everyone got off except for one lady. She refused to get off because she had class in Guatemala on Tuesday morning. I have mixed feelings about seeing this happen. If it was in the U.S. it wouldn't fly. People would have been rude to the lady because the bus couldn't leave and the lady would probably have been escorted out. But instead the bus just sat there until something happened. Finally, a man got off the bus and she was able to sit down, but it is crazy to think that sometimes people cannot get to where they need to go because the buses are so crowded.
Tuesday was a fun adventure day. We took a bus ride to Caracol. We first made a stop at one of the caves. It is one of the smaller caves in San Ignacio and it is made of mostly limestone. It was beautiful. We were able to walk around it for a few minutes. After that we finished our bus ride to Caracol. Caracol was amazing and we were able to learn a lot of the history of the temples and things. I found out that most of the "hills" and "mountains" are actually temples and burial areas, and they all contain artifacts. But, they don't want to reveal all of them because then you will ruin the wild life, the trees, the howler monkeys and the birds. It is a battle of history versus nature in a way. But there were still many uncovered things we could see. We also saw a spot they had just started uncovering. It was cool because you could see how thick the dirt was to get to the artifacts. The dirt is literally about three feet deep. Our tour guide was amazing and you could tell he was passionate about his job. I found out that he went to school for archaeology and his job is actually working at places like Caracol and then he does the tours to go with that. I think that helps stir the enjoyment we had on the tour because he really knew a lot of information and he was very passionate. After a day of HIKING up and down many stairs we headed to Big Rock Falls. It was a hhuuuuggge hike to the falls. I fell a few times but nothing out of the normal slipping and falling that I do :). After like 10 minutes of hiking we made it to the falls. It was amazing. I did a small jump and then I rock climbed the falls to do a higher jump. I was so SCARED. I was scared of not jumping out far enough and scratching my back on the rocks. It took me so long to go so the tour guide finally just pushed me....but I'm glad. I had the tiimmme of my life falling down so quickly. I believe someone said it was like a 50 ft fall, but I'm not positive.
Wednesday was an amazing day. We went to the ATM (Actun Tunichil Muknal) cave here in San Ignacio. It was so amazing. We started our journey with a hike through the jungle. We had to walk through three places where the creek passed through the jungle...so think like the movie Forrest Gump but not that deep! After a 15 minute or so hike we made it to the area just before the cave entrance. The beginning of the group made it to the picnic area a little earlier than everyone else so we decided to go down to the cave for a swim. It was SO cold at first, but I think it was the change from hiking in the heat a little to getting in a cool body of water. There were a couple of places that you could jump from a cave wall in to the water. I was scared at first so I just did a little jump and after that I wanted to do the higher jump. The jump wasn't actually high at all because it was inside a cave, but it was very slippery and you were supposed to lean back when you climbed up. Of course, I did something wrong and my feet slipped out from under me. I decided that there should be no jumping from a slippery spot for me. I only bruised my elbow but I promise you never realize how much you use your elbow until it hurts! I still went through the ATM cave though! It was amazing. We split up into two groups. My group went first, and during the first half of the hike you are in and out of the water. There are a few spots where the water is deeper and you have to swim, but in most spots you can just walk through the water. We were able to see the lime stone and how much it shines in the cave. Once we got to a certain point where we weren't going to be back in the water until we left, we had to take our shoes off so we would not ruin the artifacts. You had to wear socks as well so the oils from your feet would not mess up anything either. This part was really neat because we were able to learn more about the history of the cave and the rituals that took place. We were able to see broken pottery that the Mayans would break during their rituals and we also saw 3 different skulls, one was just a skull, another was a full body and looked bunched up, and the third one we saw was cool because you could really see the full body. We also saw many pillars that when light is shown on them they cast awesome shadows of their Gods. To me, I saw the Gods, but there were times when I could see other things in the shadows as well. It was very neat and interesting. After we toured the upper area of the cave for a while, we went back and put our shoes on and started our journey back. We got to a point and the tour guide asked us if we wanted to take a different way up this rock. Dr. K said he had never been that way and the guide said it would be a little tough. I was scared because at that point in time my arm was hurting and it was getting hard to use my right arm for a lot of support while climbing, but we still went! I am so glad too!
We went across this one scary area...there was this white stuff on a rock and we had to avoid it and climb around it because it was calcite...I looked down and noticed that it was all dark under this rock, so I have no clue what would have happened if you slipped on this rock! But we all made it sliding around and scooting around! During the ATM tour, I really learned you have to trust yourself, but you can't be too confident. I think that is why I slipped before we even started spelunking. I was too confident in myself for jumping on Tuesday, and I should have been more careful. In the cave, I was very careful and I noticed that you have to be balanced with 3 limbs before you can move whichever arm or leg. Also staying low to the ground really helps keep some balance. I was pretty mad at myself after the tour because words cannot describe how badly I wanted to go to Crystal Cave, a tour that a few of us had talked about doing the day before. It is supposed to be one of the most challenging cave tours in Belize. I asked our guide from the ATM if I could make it in Crystal Cave and he said with my elbow swollen and hurt I would need to re-think about going. I know everything happens for a reason though and now I can put it on my bucket list to come back to San Ignacio for Crystal Cave!
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Service Projects
As you participate in the service projects, identify something you learned during your service week about the Belizean culture that you didn't know and that is important for you to know as a teacher. As you start to recognize how cultural difference impact education and teaching, you can bring that awareness into your classroom next year.
This week for the service project I have worked on a couple of different things. I helped volunteer at the library's Easter camp and I have started working on making lesson plans for children's book for a summer reading camp ran by volunteers.
On Monday, I helped some of the other interns with the crafts. We made a stained glass cross made of construction paper, and we made Easter baskets made of paper plates. I have never made an Easter basket that way and I think its something I could do with possibly some of my students in the future. We also played an egg race and the kids loved it! All the kids were so adorable. Two of my students from Isla Bonita were at the camp so it was nice to see them.
On Tuesday, we made placemats of slits of paper and colored paper Easter eggs. The kids here are so creative and most can draw very well. It is amazing. There is one girl who can draw the Angry Birds characters perfectly. I love how excited the kids get over things and how the kids share. For the placemats we had different colors, and I know if I were to make these with kids at home they would argue over colors if they didn't get the first pick, but here the kids are okay with anything. If they get to pick a color, they of course pick a color, but if they don't, they are not upset! It is very interesting how the kids are not that picky here.
The library's Easter camp has made me see something interesting about Belizean culture. Everything is set out to be fair even in a competitive mindset. On Wednesday afternoon we had an Easter egg hunt. Back home for Easter egg hunts all the eggs are "first come first serve". So some kids may only get 3 eggs while others may get 10 or more. Here everyone is supposed to get the same amount. The kids were allowed to get 1 box of treats, 1 sucker, 1 decorated egg, and 1 non-decorated egg on the Easter egg hunt. So the competition was more on the kids finding the easiest prizes first....and it was more about how quickly the kids found the Easter gifts. I just thought it was interesting that there was a set number to the hunt. And it really worked for the kids. Also, the kids did not shove things in each other's faces. They didn't try to make one another jealous or anything. I like the non-competitive aspect.
This week for the service project I have worked on a couple of different things. I helped volunteer at the library's Easter camp and I have started working on making lesson plans for children's book for a summer reading camp ran by volunteers.
On Monday, I helped some of the other interns with the crafts. We made a stained glass cross made of construction paper, and we made Easter baskets made of paper plates. I have never made an Easter basket that way and I think its something I could do with possibly some of my students in the future. We also played an egg race and the kids loved it! All the kids were so adorable. Two of my students from Isla Bonita were at the camp so it was nice to see them.
On Tuesday, we made placemats of slits of paper and colored paper Easter eggs. The kids here are so creative and most can draw very well. It is amazing. There is one girl who can draw the Angry Birds characters perfectly. I love how excited the kids get over things and how the kids share. For the placemats we had different colors, and I know if I were to make these with kids at home they would argue over colors if they didn't get the first pick, but here the kids are okay with anything. If they get to pick a color, they of course pick a color, but if they don't, they are not upset! It is very interesting how the kids are not that picky here.
The library's Easter camp has made me see something interesting about Belizean culture. Everything is set out to be fair even in a competitive mindset. On Wednesday afternoon we had an Easter egg hunt. Back home for Easter egg hunts all the eggs are "first come first serve". So some kids may only get 3 eggs while others may get 10 or more. Here everyone is supposed to get the same amount. The kids were allowed to get 1 box of treats, 1 sucker, 1 decorated egg, and 1 non-decorated egg on the Easter egg hunt. So the competition was more on the kids finding the easiest prizes first....and it was more about how quickly the kids found the Easter gifts. I just thought it was interesting that there was a set number to the hunt. And it really worked for the kids. Also, the kids did not shove things in each other's faces. They didn't try to make one another jealous or anything. I like the non-competitive aspect.
Monday, April 2, 2012
First Excursion
I guess I'll start off by giving everyone a way to view my pictures. I haven't quite figured out how to add pictures yet...so I will just post the link. I'm trying to add captions to all of the pictures, but it takes a very long time! The internet here is very temperamental as well! http://belizepictureskristen.shutterfly.com/
Friday was an interesting day at the school. The students that were on Drumline (I guess that is what they call it) had a parade. The students did not get to watch it, but apparently they just walked around a couple of blocks playing. While they were doing that I was in Teacher Hector's room playing with the students. We played a racing spelling game. One student who cannot spell very well and probably has a deficit of some sort, Tayza, read the words out loud. I realized she could not even read many words though...so I whispered the words in her ear and pointed to the letters that made the different sounds. She is one of the students I will be working with a lot after break! We also played this game called silent ball. You have to catch the ball and remain quiet...you can't make ANY noise at all. We played heads down thumbs up, and we played 4 corners. Even though it was a "free" day I feel the students were still learning how to follow directions by playing these games and they were also working on spelling with the one game. Around 10 AM we all headed to the beach. It was crazy. I didn't think it would be so much work at first but watching kids play and making sure no one gets hurt was almost intense. I played in the water with the kids at first, but it was getting tough because I would have 4 students holding on to me at once...it wore me out! But after all was said and done I had a great time. I tried chicken cheviche....it was interesting. Not as delicious as the shrimp cheviche though! That night we had lasagna and it was delicious.
Saturday was a long and eventful day. I went snorkeling and it was honestly the most exciting thing I have EVER done. So exciting that i want to change my major back to Marine Biology....but I'm not. My pictures and tell the story of what I saw a lot better. It was amazing. We went to Hol Chan and we went to Shark Ray Alley. That night we went to the Elementary School's beauty pageant. It was pretty intense. After being on a boat for 9 hours...then walking there we were exhausted. The pageant lasted until 11:30 too. It was called Miss Isla Bonita. There were 4 contestants. There were dances and a lot of run way walking with a fashion show. It was definitely a one of a kind experience.
Sunday was a free day. I was able to finally clean up the room a bit and fix up a clothes line in our room. I'm happy about that so my clothes can finally dry.
Today (Monday) we have done some service work. We are helping out with a Easter program at the school library. One of my students was there, and another student that I pull out to work with was there as well. It was a nice experience and we basically just told the story of Easter and did a few crafts. We made Easter baskets and "stained glass" crosses (out of black construction paper). I will be helping out with that for most of my hours I believe and I'm going to help make some lesson plans for some of the children's books that we brought down to Belize. It should be a fun week of service work and helping the community.
Friday was an interesting day at the school. The students that were on Drumline (I guess that is what they call it) had a parade. The students did not get to watch it, but apparently they just walked around a couple of blocks playing. While they were doing that I was in Teacher Hector's room playing with the students. We played a racing spelling game. One student who cannot spell very well and probably has a deficit of some sort, Tayza, read the words out loud. I realized she could not even read many words though...so I whispered the words in her ear and pointed to the letters that made the different sounds. She is one of the students I will be working with a lot after break! We also played this game called silent ball. You have to catch the ball and remain quiet...you can't make ANY noise at all. We played heads down thumbs up, and we played 4 corners. Even though it was a "free" day I feel the students were still learning how to follow directions by playing these games and they were also working on spelling with the one game. Around 10 AM we all headed to the beach. It was crazy. I didn't think it would be so much work at first but watching kids play and making sure no one gets hurt was almost intense. I played in the water with the kids at first, but it was getting tough because I would have 4 students holding on to me at once...it wore me out! But after all was said and done I had a great time. I tried chicken cheviche....it was interesting. Not as delicious as the shrimp cheviche though! That night we had lasagna and it was delicious.
Saturday was a long and eventful day. I went snorkeling and it was honestly the most exciting thing I have EVER done. So exciting that i want to change my major back to Marine Biology....but I'm not. My pictures and tell the story of what I saw a lot better. It was amazing. We went to Hol Chan and we went to Shark Ray Alley. That night we went to the Elementary School's beauty pageant. It was pretty intense. After being on a boat for 9 hours...then walking there we were exhausted. The pageant lasted until 11:30 too. It was called Miss Isla Bonita. There were 4 contestants. There were dances and a lot of run way walking with a fashion show. It was definitely a one of a kind experience.
Sunday was a free day. I was able to finally clean up the room a bit and fix up a clothes line in our room. I'm happy about that so my clothes can finally dry.
Today (Monday) we have done some service work. We are helping out with a Easter program at the school library. One of my students was there, and another student that I pull out to work with was there as well. It was a nice experience and we basically just told the story of Easter and did a few crafts. We made Easter baskets and "stained glass" crosses (out of black construction paper). I will be helping out with that for most of my hours I believe and I'm going to help make some lesson plans for some of the children's books that we brought down to Belize. It should be a fun week of service work and helping the community.
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