Day 10 of Michelle in Belize

Today I spent the day in classrooms at Isla Bonita and also attended a professional development session with the teachers on classroom management. A group of teachers/administrators from Onslow County, NC are here as part of a global initiative that the county has started. This is the second year that they have sent several administrators/teachers down to do professional development with selected schools on San Pedro based on what the schools have expressed a need for.  I actually got some great ideas to use in classrooms at home.

Next, I talked with the assistant principal who has been in education for 21 years and is getting ready to start working towards a bachelor’s degree. He also works as a part-time policeman on the island. We talked about the school and its history; it was completely destroyed several years ago by a hurricane. They do not have a library currently but are getting one next year. He is also a teacher at the school. I asked about teacher maternity leave and he said that teachers get 3 months off with pay and sometimes get a stipend of $1,000 dollars as well. As for sick leave, a doctor’s note is required (it is free to go to the doctor), and if they do not have a note then they do not get paid for the day.

Classroom Library

After work we planned for the professional development that we have to do as one of our assignments. I will be talking about and demonstrating how to use several graphic organizers.

Once again we went out to eat dinner; there is just too many places to eat here and the food is wonderful. We ate pupusas at a place called Waruguma. They are made from cornmeal stuffed with what ever you want and then grilled. They were not my favor but after I added tomato juice and cabbage they were pretty good. All the food here is made fresh to order and I can really tell the difference compared to home. I have been trying to eat authentic Belizean food the entire time. After dinner we went shopping, AGAIN!!