Day 3-First Day of Teaching

First Day of Teaching

Today was the first day of teaching experience in Belize. What are some of the major differences you have noticed in the schools as far as overall educational experience for the student (schedules, expectations, organization of classes, etc)? What were your first impressions of Belize? Were your expectations and/or preconceived notion of the country been proved right or wrong?

One of the major differences that we noticed was the environment outside of the classroom. We are used to very spacious closed in rooms with luminescent lighting and windows that are hardly ever open. This climate was much more open, with windows being open at all times, light being only from sunlight, and chickens, horses, and wild dogs walking throughout the school grounds. We are also used to playground areas that children are restricted to playing in. These schools were very different in the way that the school world was the children’s oyster. They played in all areas of the school ground and wandered throughout the village during breaks. They also played well together during these times playing volleyball or creating games in any way they could.

The lunch time for students was also different. These students did not have a cafeteria, and went home for an hour lunch rather than a 20 minute lunch. During lunch students would eat quickly at home and then come back to play before continuing their normal class schedule. Another large difference was the way that religion was infused throughout the school day whereas we don’t talk about religion at all in our schools. Students began the day with a devotional and worship songs, prayed throughout the day, and spoke about God in several casual conversations. In Belize, there is no separation between church and state and so being in their schools felt like we were in a school at some points and attending a church service during others.

Thinking about the differences behaviorally, the students in these schools were much better behaved than those that we are used to teaching. Students were incredibly polite, addressing us as Miss and Sir throughout the day and there were very few instances of misbehavior. Thinking about their daily schedule, they had times for each content area as well as a “special area” such as music, art, physical activity, that rotated each day similar to how our school day looks. The biggest scheduling difference was the aforementioned hour break for lunch and two breaks during the day to play. Overall there were some similarities such as the presence of workbooks and some methods of instruction; however, the differences were very evident.

Our first impressions of Belize were that the country was very different from our own. We saw that the country was very beautiful and was not very commercialized. There was a lot of open land and the places that we stayed were also not commercialized. It was overwhelmingly beautiful with vast green landscaping all around. The citizens walked the streets with no sidewalks, drink things out of bags, and eat differently than we do. There are vendors lining the streets, it is a male dominant workforce, and there are bright buildings everywhere you go. We expected the country to be beautiful but were overwhelmed by actually seeing it in person. Our preconceived notion about the citizens being very happy people was proved right. We were surprised at the lack of language barriers and the fact that we have been understood in every area of the country with little to no trouble. The sun is hotter than we expected, the sweat is dripping faster than you can imagine, and the bugs are huge. But Belize is everything would could have hoped for and more.

By: Molly and Paige