SeoYeun on teaching school

Today we went to the Gallon Jug Community School to teach the students who are the children of the workers. Each pair of Brooks students worked with the teachers to teach different subjects such as art, science, math, and Spanish. Charlotte Garcia and Lester Savage paired up to teach the kindergarteners; Pat Lahey and Sam Olsen paired up to teach Kinder 1 and 2; Jenna O’Connell and Greg Pappas paired up to help out the 3rd and 4th graders; and Allie Katz and Andrew Farris took care of the 5th and 6th graders. I paired up with Ali Palacios to help Mr. Casey, the headmaster, to teach 7th and 8th graders (standard 5th and 6th). Ali and I covered chemistry; we talked about elements, compounds, and mixtures and gave them a little quiz to make sure that they understood the material. Then we moved on to art and the students used their own sketches to make varieties of tropical birds to put on the poster boards. I had a lot of fun interacting with the students who are about my age. The students found humor in my inability to pronounce their names. For example, I thought that Eduardo’s name was Gregorio! The students were very nice and welcoming. They were eager to learn about chemistry and I was glad that I was there to help them out. I also learned about how I have such a wonderful opportunity to study in a place like Brooks. Some of the kids have to go to this so-called “Internet High School” because there is no “real” high school for them. I learned to appreciate the environment that I’m studying in. Every one of the Brooks students had interesting perspectives to offer and the students at Gallon Jug Community School enjoyed learning. They also enjoyed playing soccer and volleyball with the Brooks students. Ending the day at the school with the group picture, the Brooks students came back to the barn for more of the exciting Belize adventure!