Tuesday
As we arrived at St. James Primary School this morning, we were greeted by a crowd of children. After passing out the XO computers, the kids began working on their Scratch projects. Many kids quickly jumped into building and creating a small game describing three sprites of their choosing. One thing that I noticed while working with the kids was that many kids could not think of sentences or motions for the sprites to follow by themselves and often required our guidance. This is a different mentally than many American schools where kids are eager to continue, and have plenty of ideas to develop projects. Following the first class, we decided we could teach the kids more about scratch by simply requiring one sentence of text, giving the kids more time to develop the motions and sounds the sprites make. In my second class, this led to many kids finishing before the class was over and losing interest in scratch. I think that by still requiring text in addition to other activities could interest the kids and keep their focus. My favorite teaching moment is hard to pick out, but one of my most memorable moments was today in our second class. I was showing a group of boys how to code a sprite to follow your mouse, with my help they were able to code multiple sprites to follow their mouse. After completing this simple task, one boy looked up at me and beaming from ear to ear. He was so happy that he was able to achieve the task, and soon began laughing as the sprite moved across the screen. This boy’s laugh was so cute and made it feel like I was making a difference. Whether that difference is that this boy grows up to become a coder, or simply smiles in that moment, I helped he achieve that. After teaching today, we went to a beach near our villa and enjoyed the beautiful water and white sand. All of the girls rented jet skis and had lots of fun driving them across the waves. We had pizza night for dinner, and then we went to see the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Following the movie, we celebrated Emma’s 16th birthday with cake as we planned the lesson for teaching tomorrow.
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Tuesday
No matter the specific teaching circumstances--whether the subject is computer coding or grammar, the students are in primary school or high school, or the country is Barbados or the U.S.--the rewards of teaching are universal. Today, I worked a little with individual students to polish their sentences: capitalize the first word of every sentence, capitalize proper nouns, put a period (here, they use the term "full stop," as they do in Britain) at the end of your sentences, etc. I get so happy when students feel they have the tools to progress in their writing (or whatever happens to be the work at hand). One girl, whom I'll refer to as J., hadn't yet begun writing her three sentences. I helped her get started, and when I came back to check on her, she'd finished one. But she looked delighted with herself, and I felt exactly the same way. Another student, a boy I'll call S., had not only written three sentences, but had also set up a three-character dialogue. Though there were a few spelling errors, he'd approached the assignment in a more sophisticated way. We high-fived with glee. Both instances are triumphs because both students took a step forward. A few years ago, I stopped telling my students the class average on essays and quizzes. I wanted to take the focus away from measuring themselves against others to measuring how far they've come. How wonderful for our girls to see their students progress. From their conversations after the day's teaching, I know they are proud of each individual's successes, no matter how small or large. When they return to the States and begin a new year, my hope is that they will see their own steps forward as the true measure of learning. Monday
Today started when we arrived at the school and were greeted with cheers of our names. The kids were so excited to see us, and it made us feel like celebrities. One of the things that we had trouble with was trying to organize the computers by class, so we arrived a bit early today to sort those out. I stayed back in the closet with the laptops to hand out laptops. It made me so happy to see how excited they were to get out the laptops and work, which gave me a lot of hope for a productive and fun week. Perhaps the moment that reignited with me the most today was a conversation that Eleanor and I had with a little boy who had gotten in trouble. He told us that he got in trouble for play – fighting with his friend. He also told us that the teacher who yelled at him “barked at them like they were dogs”. This boy was so sweet, and it was hard to believe that he was considered a trouble maker. It was strange to see a child so fearful at school, which is supposed to be a safe place. It is moments like this in which we have to take a step back and think about the difference in culture here. While Barbados is much more “modern” than other smaller countries, it is still acceptable for children to sit in a corner during a lesson when they get in trouble, and for teachers to hit children that misbehave. This was a shock to me because these are things that would be punishable by society, and maybe even the law in the US. After this, we went to our first class. We worked on some challenges and made them think creatively about how to make things happen with their laptops. They were very diligent and willing to work hard on their projects, and incredibly proud of themselves when they figured something out. In our second class, we did the same thing as in the first class. I thought that because these children were younger it would be much harder to teach them, but in reality, they are very willing to learn and are receptive to ideas. Their enthusiasm overshadows their lack of knowledge, and in my opinion is much more important. Monday
Today was our second day of teaching! We began our lessons with refreshing the student’s memories on the basics of Scratch and trying to get them to re familiarize themselves with the program. Our main goal of today was to either start or introduce one of the main projects we are going to be doing which is having the children write their own "about me" stories. Due to our having already introduced some of the functions of Scratch they were already able to figure out how do to parts of it on their own. Today it was a bit easier to teach because we already had a better idea of how to teach because we did it before on Friday. It was also helpful that the children remembered much of what we taught them on Friday so that way we could move quicker and start new challenges. Having been our second day there the children were more familiarized with us too. When we first drove up to the school, right as we got out of the car, they all were yelling our names and saying hi and giving us hugs. It was really awesome to see how excited they were to learn and to see us. We have also become more connected with a few students in our class, for example a little girl named Faith was one whom I helped a lot and got know better. I think that because they are more comfortable with us it makes them more open to learn. One of my favorite parts of the day was when I had a little girl come up and show the class how to do a specific thing in Scratch and she was so confident and willing to show everyone it was amazing to see that we actually are teaching these children something they can use. When we left the school a lot of the students were also giving us hugs and telling us how they didn’t want us to go which was an awesome feeling because it justifies that we are helping them learn and that they are enjoying the process. After we taught we made our way to Crane beach but had a minor detour to Bathsheba beach. At Bathsheba we saw amazing rock forms in the ocean and it was an awesome extra to the day although it did require quite the car ride. We then made our way to Crane beach, which is a pink sand beach. There we sort of snuck into a resort and got lunch then sat out in the sun. We also went into the ocean which was really rough today and had massive waves. When we left there was a man who sold us yummy fruit drinks in fresh coconuts which ended the day on a great note! Monday
Today was a great day! I have to admit that after Friday, I was a little concerned. The Bajan (aka Barbadian) students didn’t seem to have the abilities that we’d anticipated, and I was concerned that they wouldn’t get as much out of our teaching as we’d hoped. But today, they proved me wrong. Not only did they remember so much of what we covered on Friday, but they jumped right in and learned new things with ease. They taught those who were absent on Friday, they readily engaged with us and answered our questions, and visibly lit up when they got something right. It was wonderful. We asked them to start working on a project that involved some writing. You click on a sprite and it says a few sentences and then does something, say, dance in a circle. They were to get three sprites doing different things. Most of them got at least half of it done, so tomorrow, we will finish up and start on a new concept – conditionals – which will then see us through to the end of the week. A great, great day! We left school to go directly to Crane Beach, but had a little GPS misadventure. The GPS brought us to Bathsheba, which is totally out of the way of our intended target. However, Bathsheba is GORGEOUS. It’s the kind of place where you walk around a bit and look at the amazing “mushroom boulders” (see photo below) but don’t go in the water. There’s a lot of seaweed and rip currents, so there’s not much to “do” there, and not even great tanning or beach relaxing. The drive would have been too long to go there if we’d planned it as a stand alone activity, but accidentally ending up there was a wonderful treat! No one seemed to mind the long drive. In fact, this appreciative, adventurous group (see my earlier blog post!) was quite happy about the long detour. It made for quite an adventurous afternoon. We finally did get to the pink sand beach (yes, really!) and had a great time in the jumbly waves of that wilder side of the island. It was one of those moments where you just seize the opportunity and make the most of what otherwise could have been a long slog to nowhere. These girls are wonderful! One of the things I am really enjoying about this group of CSG students is their camaraderie, particularly at the dinner table. We eat buffet style, and sit down to the same large dining room table to eat and talk. Every night we end up hanging out at the table for at least another half hour or more just talking and laughing and telling stories. It warms my heart that there is so much genuine happiness and openness with this group. Most nights they then end up continuing on their laughter in one or the other apartment, playing cards and drinking “kid wine” (better known as sparkling grape juice – which they found in both the red and white varieties!) We capped our night off with a really productive meeting, working through some of the snag points and thinking both ahead and behind to design the best learning experience for the Bajans. This group of girls is wonderfully cooperative, open, thoughtful, creative, and hard working. I am really energized by today and can’t wait for the rest of the week. Sunday
Hi, It’s Katie! Yesterday was super fun and relaxing. We went to Accra Beach in the southern part of Barbados. Although it was slightly more of a tourist area, there was still a strong sense of Barbadian culture. There was a long boardwalk that went along the beach, which gave us a chance to see the entire area. While Merrill and I were walking together, we got to talk to a few of the locals. They are such friendly people and always make you feel welcome. Also, there were some cool facts about turtles posted along the boardwalk. According to the sign we read, Barbados is one of the most popular nesting grounds for the extremely rare hawksbill sea turtles. I thought it was awesome to see how much pride that Barbados takes in the preservation of their wildlife. After walking on the boardwalk we all ate a delicious lunch and tanned a little bit (Big mistake because I am currently red as a tomato). Overall, it was a fun and relaxing day and was the perfect day before our long week of teaching. Cannot wait to see what the rest of the week will bring, and I am so excited to see the kids grow and learn. Sunday
The Barbados boardwalk stretches across Accra Beach, located on the south western shore of the island. It's 1.7 km of beautiful white sand and gentle rolling waves on one side, and on the other, high-rise hotels, restaurants (including KFC!), and other businesses. It's nature on one side, civilization on the other. Seaside, nothing interrupts the beauty and majesty of the setting. But in one or two spots on the other side of the boardwalk, abandoned, dilapidated buildings show how the economic crash of 2008 has reached even the beautiful, hospitable island of Barbados. (See the photos below of one of these properties, and the stunning scenery just steps from the broken windows.) Our host and owner of Villa Marie Guesthouse, Pete, said that construction and renovation projects have slowed down considerably. Recently, when a new hotel did manage to open, thousands of people showed up to submit applications. Maintaining a healthy tourism industry is obviously important to the economy of Barbados, but I hope the country proceeds thoughtfully toward stimulating tourism without compromising its national, natural treasures. Our visit yesterday to Flower Animal Cave was an inspiring example of tourism done well. So much of the natural, majestic beauty of the landscape has been preserved. There are no viewfinders, no cellphone towers, no guardrails, even. A few simple benches have been strategically positioned to allow people to rest and marvel at the views. Concrete steps and a handrail allow visitors to descend into the sea cave, but no other man-made accommodations mar the experience of being in a truly special natural setting. I admired how Barbados kept the actual site as natural and pristine as possible, while affording tourists the amenities they seek: knowledgeable tour guides, restroom facilities, and a stellar restaurant serving popular national dishes. Yes, there are a couple of shops for those who want to purchase trinkets, but nothing is garish or overly commercial; nothing distracts you from focusing on the natural beauty of the place. If Barbados manages to preserve the quiet serenity of its beaches and the magnificence of its natural formations, while sharing these with tourists, that would truly be an inspiring case of civilization working in harmony with nature. Saturday
This morning we drove about half an hour to Animal Flower Cave on the North side of the island. When we were driving to the cave we saw a monkey run a cross the street with its baby. When we arrived at the spot we were shocked by how beautiful the landscape was, and we watched the Atlantic ocean crash against the cliffs. Our group walked around and took a ton of great pictures (it's pretty hard to take a bad picture here). We followed the tour guide down the steps to the cave, we looked through the openings in the cave and saw the same beautiful blue Atlantic ocean. Inside the cave, there were pools of water filled with sea anemones that looked like flowers, also in the cave there were rock formations on the walls that looked like a hand and an alligator. There was a pool of water in the cave that was the perfect temperature for swimming and our tour guide took fantastic pictures of the cave and our group swimming in the cave. The cave was not a "tourist trap", there were no railings and safety precautions preventing you from having an authentic Barbadian experience of the cave. When we finished the cave tour we went to lunch and ordered rotis, wraps with with either chicken or shrimp with potatoes. After the we left Animal Flower Cave, we went to Almond Beach. The beach was beautiful, and we swam in the ocean for a while. When we were at the beach we saw a sea turtle swimming by the shore and he even poked his head out of the water, he was really cute. On the way back from the beach we stopped to get ice cream (before dinner) and it was delicious. For dinner we had fish with mango sauce, fried rice, pasta, and greens, and it was amazing and our cook is incredibly talented. In all our day was incredible and we learned a lot about Barbados and Barbadian culture, and I was extremely grateful to be included in this experience. Saturday
One of the nice things about our travel schedule is that we arrive in time for only one day of teaching – always the hardest, with the biggest adjustment – before we have the weekend to regroup, relax, catch up on some sleep, and plan our next week.Today was a catch up day. We agreed to try to leave at 10AM this morning to go to the “Animal Flower Cave” which is at the very northern tip of the island. It is gorgeous with rugged, rocky cliffs and waves crashing against it. The shoreline is breathtaking. The cave is privately owned, so you pay a small fee to have a tourguide take you down a set of stairs to a cave carved out by the waves. The cave has several chambers and one has a pool big enough to swim in. It is spectacular and hard to describe. You can see some photos on our photo page. After a delicious lunch (rotis of various kinds), we drove to Heywoods Beach. It was so quiet and beautiful, and we were able to use a hotel’s beach chairs (and wifi) for free without anyone asking us about whether we were hotel guests. Two of the girls rented a jet ski. Some of us put our swim goggles on and watched the fishes and turtles. All of us went for nice walks up the beach. It was a beautiful day. After another delicious dinner from Selena (it was Asian fusion tonight!), we met to brainstorm for the week. As always, I am impressed with this group of students. I know, I know… I say it every year, CSG girls are amazing. They are always poised, kind, and put their best faces forward. But each group has a distinct personality. I think because this whole group are sophomores, they seem really cohesive. It’s the first time I’ve had a group made up entirely of the same grade, rather than two or even three grades, but not only are they a good team, they are adventurous and really, really appreciative. We went to the cave today and they were so expressive about how gorgeous it was. We spent more time in the cave than I anticipated (it’s not that big, really) and kept talking about how amazing and beautiful it was. I agree, it was amazing and beautiful, but the fact that they so openly expressed their appreciation for it was noteworthy. It was the same thing at the beach. These are girls who have seen beautiful things on many other vacations. They could easily say something like “it’s not as good as such-and-such a place.” Instead they seemed to really genuinely appreciate everything they were doing, including driving across the island to get to the cave. They have already made plans for several of the after school days, and tomorrow are hoping for a snorkel trip. There’s one other thing about this group that I’ve noticed. They jump right in and take charge when there is something that needs to be done. When I discussed creating a blogging schedule, they immediately created one. Normally, students wait for me to create it, then wait for me to remind them each day of who’s blogging. When I discussed taking notes for teaching, they immediately created a google doc that they could then share, adding the blog schedule into it so that everyone could remember their days. They share the chores of washing dishes and prepping breakfast. They plan activities. This group knows how to step up and get work done. They are truly a pleasure to work with. Thanks, Moms and Dads!!! Friday:
Today we taught for the first time. We arrived at the school and we were told that we were teaching two classes in one day, not just one. This was surprising, because we had prepared our lessons for teaching one class for three hours straight. Although this surprised us, we had been warned that we needed to expect anything. I don’t think I really understood this until we got to the school. In our first class, class 3 (which I believe is the equivalent of 4th grade), the children were very subdued. It seems like they were trained to be very quiet and obedient. Their teacher was very strict, but it was clear from talking to her that they were expected to fit a mold and be very quiet. They were much more polite than American 4th graders. They all called us “ma’am” (which sounded like “mom” in their accents). This class had a lot of fun playing with the XO computers. Many of them asked if they could keep them, and they were very excited to learn that we were going to be there for a whole week. They loved the game where they typed something in and it would say it back to them. Some of the things they were writing were “Emma is awesome” and “Katie is beautiful”. It was very sweet. We gave them a lot of time to play and we did not get as far in our lesson as we had planned, but overall, the kids were very well behaved and they listened, and followed our instructions well. The second class was much more difficult. This was class 3, the equivalent of 3rd grade. This classroom was divided into two classes by a half wall, so it was very loud. This, combined with their soft-spoken voices made it very difficult to hear them talk. In addition, this class was much larger, and the children were less disciplined. They were not as willing to follow our instructions and that made it hard to teach them. This was very challenging, because we had a lot of trouble teaching them things. It will be interesting to see how they progress throughout the week. Something that I was shocked about was how connected the kids were. When we asked them what they do with computers, they told us that they like to watch YouTube and Netflix. This was a nice reminder that we are more alike than different. After a long day of teaching, we spent some time at the beach and drank (virgin) strawberry daiquiris. It was very fun to bond with some of my classmates who I have known for so long but never have been close with. I am looking forward to the rest of the trip. |
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