When I first came to Barbados, I was a little nervous about teaching those kids. However, I was not nervous at all in the following lessons because those kids were so kind and welcoming. At most of the times, those children gave me full attention when I was teaching. I once taught a girl about x-y axis for more than 5 times and she never lost focus. Though she was a little frustrated and confused at first, she did not give up because of her own perseverance and my consistent encouragement. That girl taught me about the vitality of patience and kindness. Of course, all the other kids were wonderful as well, evidenced by their aptitude of coding and willingness to help each other out. On their other hand, every single child was so willing to follow instructions of teachers and try their best to learn coding. Some of the children learned things very quickly while some of them took a bit longer to understand the concepts. Nevertheless, none of the children ever gave up trying even the difficult lessons frustrated them sometimes. All the kids were adorable. Their grit and politeness really impressed me. Certainly, all my co-teachers (Addie, Madeline, Emma, Alex) and I encouraged and praised those children a lot because they absolutely deserve a piece of compliment. I noticed that there is a direct correlation between my compliment to kids and the efforts that they put into learning coding. Whenever a child was frustrated when she or he could not figure something out, I said to that kid, “You have a good start. I believe in your ability to figure it out.” After being praised, every single one of them ended up doing so much better than I ever expected!
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From the beaches to caves to roti and more we were able to experience a good amount of the Barbadian culture all in a span of 10 days. First coming to Barbados my initial reaction was that it was quite hot and colorful. Everywhere you looked around this island you could see a variance of brightly colored homes or signs and it was just very generally beautiful. The culture here is extremely different from that of home, along with the school systems. Nearly everyone here waves often and what I found extremely different was how kind people were on the roads, for example stopping traffic to let you turn. In general the island living was very different from that you would find at home.
At my school, Gordan Greenidge Primary, I was given the opportunity to teach around 35 eleven year-old students. Initially I was very nervous about teaching the kids (especially as lead teacher on the first day with Madeline) and was concerned about being able to get the material across to them, especially in a productive way. As the days went on we were able to not only give the basics of Scratch but create a conversation game, a question game, and a maze, even with the limited time we had. I found that the more I taught the kids, the more excited they became and they just ate up the information we gave them and really wanted to find the best ways to learn about scratch. I found this to be extremely rewarding because I knew that by helping to introduce this programming to the kids might actually have an impact on what they choose to do for fun or even in the future of their school curriculum. The bonds I formed with the kids were surprising as well, especially the second class who initially seemed like the more stand-offish of the two. On the last day saying goodbye was especially hard and I was super sad to have to leave the new friends I made. What made this especially happy was the fact that the kids were very excited they got to keep their computers for another month to continue working on scratch. The kids were ecstatic and that just made me even happier knowing that our teaching might’ve actually made a difference for them. Overall the Barbados trip was both a meaningful and exciting experience. I learned a lot about Barbados and myself. I found that I might actually enjoy teaching even more than I thought and that just by putting in some effort you can help incorporate something new into the lives of those who wouldn’t normally have access to it before. Hi everyone! Today was our last day of teaching at the West Terrace School. The kids wrapped up their stories and were able to share their stories with the whole class. From the first day we got to Barbados and each day after, I have learned something new about myself and about someone else every day. For example, from the kids I have learned new crazy dances and what their life is like in Barbados. I also learned to be more patient with kids and that each and every kid is just as clever and creative as the other, but in their own ways. This experience will be one that I will cherish my whole life. Today when we were leaving the kids, all of them told us that they didn't want us to leave them and they kept telling us how much they will miss us. There were lots of long hugs, a couple of tears, and a ton of pictures. This was such a heartwarming experience because we weren't only their teachers, but we were also their friends and I know I have now created 36 new friendships with these kids. Today, I also realized how much of an impact we made on these kids and I want to continue on making more impacts like these. Overall, this trip was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had and I will never forget it!
This trip has been an amazing experience all around. I have loved exploring everything Barbados has to offer. I think that our trip here has been especially unique from anything available to tourists because of our opportunity to see another side of Barbados through their school systems. Being involved in the schools adds a completely different layer to the picture of what Barbados is like as a whole. As far as the island itself, I loved the fact that we were given time outside the classroom to enjoy the outdoors. I was in complete awe of the caves and rock formations, the blueness of the water, the beaches, and everything else. On the catamaran I loved just watching the shoreline and looking at all the houses and other buildings that added so much character to the country. Like I mentioned in my first blog post from this trip, I really think that the colors give the country a voice: it's an aspect of their culture that we don't have back home.
I have especially enjoyed our time here and being able to talk to so many people living here. As interesting as it was to carry conversations with the watersports company management, sweet shop owners, and other adults of the community, the things that we gained through our conversations with the kids in our classes was a very different angle of the cultural exchange that we experienced. I think that it was especially sweet that the kids wanted to know what it was like for us in Ohio: our school, our city, what sports or other things we were involved in, and everything else. I think that this is just a small example of the connections that can be made between people in different parts of the world. I learned so much from the kids that we taught. They are all so bright, creative, energetic, extremely sweet, and just fun to be around. I trust that they are all going to do amazing things with their lives. It was so hard to leave them today. It is so crazy how quickly we bonded and became so attached to our kids, and them to us. We even had one girl from our first class that came really close to tears. I think that this also made me understand a little bit of what teachers feel when they want their students to succeed and to keep tabs on what they grow up to do and become. It's a side of school that I never expected to understand or experience firsthand. Even though I may not remember names and faces forever, I know in my heart that I will not forget these kids. Like Mrs. Murakami said, through the influence of these kids, I am truly leaving Barbados a changed person. I have had a great experience on this trip, I was assigned to Welches Primary School along with Blair, Merrill, and Alice. The very first cultural difference I noticed between children in the United States and Barbados is the way they behave. The children I taught were all very polite, sweet and had great manners. They called us ‘miss” and “ma’am” when they needed help. This is very different from the way our little sisters at school treat us. However at the same time, all children share some similarities regardless of their origins and background. For example, I have learned that all children learn differently and that you, the teacher, are forced to make accommodations in order to help each student fully understand the material. I’ve also learned that you need to be able to explain the information in multiple ways because sometimes the material may take some kids longer to grasp and fully understand a concept. I think one of the most important skills I have learned while helping the kids is to be aware of certain situations and surroundings. While teaching I discovered that it is extremely important to know when to offer help and when you need to give the student space to work out their own problems. I love when the kids showed me how they solved a problem or had me play a game they created. It was obvious that they took total pride in what they were doing and their own work!
Along with teaching the children Scratch, I also learned so much about Barbados. The citizens take so much pride in their country and that they are very welcoming of outsiders! They have all shown us nothing but kindness during our stay here. I’ve also enjoyed and love the blue water of the sandy beaches, the historical caves, the beautiful gardens, and getting to know the locals! I will definitely like to come back in the future! Lastly I will cherish the bonds that I have made on this trip. I was able to grow stronger relationships with both the children and other students that are also teaching on this trip. I enjoyed getting to know girls that I have had very few interactions with during my time at CSG. For instance, my roommate Cosette and I have had zero classes together at CSG but after getting to know her, I would definitely consider her one of my friends. Same thing could be said about the other girls on this trip. We now have this “special” bond that only those who came on this trip would understand. This has been an amazing and unforgettable experience! I was able to try so many different things and was constantly being educated. I know that I will be able to take what I’ve learned from going to Barbados and participating in the “One Laptop Per Child” program back to CSG and my daily life. This truly was a life changing experience and I hope that it has changed and inspired the children whom I have taught! Before I came to Barbados, I was expecting those kids to be respectful yet not very creative. However, I felt that they are really creative after teaching those kids. They were able to draw interesting backgrounds, make new sprites and explore Scratch independently. Of course, any single one of those kids was able to politely follow instructions, respect teachers, write some
codes and eventually make amazing Scratch projects. They were pleasant, polite and smart. Working with those kids had been an extremely meaningful experience to me. Their capability of focusing on the lesson for a long time really impressed me. Perhaps what amazed me the most was their kindness to teach each other after finishing their own projects. All the kids were so willing to show each other what they learned. More importantly, most of the children are good at helping the other students who were struggling. It made me very happy when a kid helped teach another person after I taught her what to do. All in all, it had been a wonderful experience teaching those children and one boy even made a thank you note for me! Today was our last day teaching and it was the definition of bittersweet. Our teaching group decided today we would give the kids the opportunity to create whatever they wanted using the skills we had taught them throughout the week. While some of them were nervous and unsure of themselves at first, with some guidance they were able to create amazing quizzes, mazes, and stories. The kids would all come up to us and tell us to look at what they had made and the smile they each had was something I will never forget. After looking at what they had created, we all took pictures and then before leaving they gave us each a gift. We were all sad to leave knowing that we will most likely never get to see these kids again, but tried to hold it together. Once we left the school and were pulling out of the parking lot all of our students waved to us and we saw one of them walking and holding hands with his little sister, that was when the tears came. I am so grateful to have had this experience and met these amazing, bright, and hilarious kids.
When coming to Barbados, I really didn't have any expectations. I was unsure of what this whole experience would be like and was honestly just nervous to teach the kids. Coming here all I could really think about were two things: What if they don't listen and what if they simply don't care about what we came here to do? These thoughts and doubts were 100% relieved on the first day. The kids were so bright and were so excited that we were there to teach them. They loved everything we did and that, to me, was what made this an experience I will remember for the rest of my life. Any expectations I had were exceeded by a great margin and I could not be more grateful to have been able to have this opportunity. Today was probably my favorite day of the trip so far. The kids were so energetic and they opened up to my group a lot more today which was really unique. We refreshed the students on if then statements and broadcasting. Then we let the kids work on their final project of creating a story and one of my favorite stories was a game of hide-and-go seek that one girl created. My advice for future OLPC students is to over plan for the first day because in our group the students picked up Scratch way faster than we thought and we probably could have started teaching something else. Another tip is when a student gets frustrated ask one of their friends to help them because it might be easier for them to learn from a friend. You could also give the student a simpler task or give them simpler instructions. Next, a challenge our group ran into today was one of our students was brand new today so he was behind rest of the students. Therefore, we paired him with another student and also gave him some extra help and he caught up to the class. Next, to help future OLPC students enjoy Barbadian culture I would encourage them to ask the students what their favorite part of Barbados is to learn what they like. Our group did this and we learned that the students got really excited to go to Chefette which was interesting.
This week has flown by so quickly- tomorrow is our last teaching day in the schools. We have only been in the classroom since Monday and yet it feels as though we have gotten to know the students and faculty for far longer. As I’ve been reflecting upon my time here, there are many aspects of the trip that I would like future students to this trip and the OLPC experience to know for when their turn arrives.
First, come with an open mind. Be open to trying new foods, meeting new people, seeing and appreciating things that vary from our stateside counterparts. Some of my newest favorite foods have come from travelling to far flung countries. The newest additions to my fab food list from Barbados includes fried flying fish, roti and fish balls. If you’re in the neighborhood, Zaccios on Discovery Bay makes a killer iced coffee. Second, don’t assume anything. As teachers we tend to come to conclusions about certain types of students based upon how he or she acts in a first encounter. I find myself realizing that after getting to know the student, my original assumptions are in fact quite the opposite of what my initial perception might have been. This was quite apparent in our first day experience this week in our classroom. The second group of students were with a known disciplinarian teacher- we just assumed that meant the students in that particular class had potential behavioral issues. By the end of the hour long class, it was apparent they were far from having bad behavior. Eyes and ears were attentive, fingers were constantly poised on the keyboards and hands were raised every time a question was asked from the girls. Third, go with the flow. Sometimes what you plan simply goes straight out the window. This has been apparent time and time again in various situations with each of the teaching groups and chaperones since our arrival. My best advice? Don’t overstress. This is what CSG has prepared you for. Find a different solution. In fact, come up with a variety of different solutions and go! Today at Gordon Greenidge we had the kids make a quiz game where we asked them to code at least 3-4 questions for their classmates to answer. The kids picked it up quickly after we walked them through how to code the first question. Some kids went beyond the recommended and explored Scratch, and they did things that amazed me because we weren’t even planning on teaching the things they brought up. For example, they asked how to keep score of the questions they got right and wrong. After we had them code their questions we had them customize sprites and backgrounds. The kids definitely had a lot of fun with that aspect, and we gave them the idea to try to create a sprite that looked like them. This part gave the kids who weren’t as into coding something fun to do and it was also a nice break from coding. After we finished all of the questions we had the kids go around and play each other’s games and they had so much fun. I loved when the kids asked me to come over and play their quizzes because you could see the pride on their faces. All the difficulties throughout making the script were totally worth it when I saw how accomplished they were because they couldn’t stop smiling.
If I were to give advice to anyone coming to Barbados for One Laptop Per Child, it would be that this is an adventure. You start not necessarily knowing where you’re going, and you really have to find your way. Many times, you have to attempt new paths in teaching because the kids aren’t understanding it, and sometimes you will feel completely lost. When you feel lost you have to remember you have your co-teachers with you, because even if you guys have differences in teaching methods you all came here for the same objective; to teach these kids how to code and to give meaning to the word coding. The people of Barbados are some of the kindest I’ve ever met, and they are super understanding if you make a little mess up; not everything has to be perfect. The elementary schools in Barbados are completely different. Some of my friends at other schools are having polar opposite experiences from my school. You just have to adapt, focus on your own school, and remember that it’s a different playing field but you’re all playing the same game. |