Trench Town

One of my favorite aspects of our trip was experiencing Trench Town. Prior to visiting Trench Town, I was unsure what to expect partly because of what we learned in class, about the vulnerability of ghetto populations as well as the high risk for crime and violence, and largely due to the reactions of people when I told them we were going to be spending time in that community. Most people gave me wide-eyed looks, and voiced their concerns about the dangers to be found in Trench Town. As we pulled up to the Culture Yard for the first time and I looked around analyzing the environment, I felt a little uneasy. There were groups of people gathered in different areas along the streets, sickly looking animals roaming around, and all the homes and buildings appeared to be falling apart. However, as I soon discovered, this run down neighborhood is a beautiful, wonderful place, and home to some of the strongest and most loving people I have ever had the pleasure to meet. As our tour guide, Breezy, led us through the streets of Trench Town, he explained the history of the community, the struggles that have been overcome, the willingness of the people to work together and provide for one another, and the passion they have for creating a brighter future. The way that Breezy talked about his family and his community commanded my respect. As time went on, and I met with more people including Stone Man, Garfield, and staff and students from the Reading Centre, I realized that Trench Town is an amazing place full of strong and passionate leaders, who are stepping up making a difference in society. I will forever cherish my time in Trench Town, and can confidently say that it is a place with so much more to offer than what simply meets the eye. Following this experience, I would encourage everyone to keep and open mind and open heart, leaving room to embrace the beautiful surprises life has in store.

Blog #3: Trench Town Reading Center

My time at the Trench Town Reading Center was nothing but eye-opening. My eyes were opened to how truly hardworking these students are that they spend all day at school and then an additional few hours at night. Many students would not do that and work so hard but they love learning and being creative at the center. Obviously our time at the center did not go as planned, with a lot of co-planning and co-teaching bumps in the week, however, Kewan and I did not let that stop us from a good week. I loved watching Auntie Sweets with the students and how she commands respect from them by just walking in the room. She really knows how to make them think deeper. It was a really cool experience just watching her engage them in different activities. The Trench Town Reading Center is truly a remarkable place and I hope I have a chance to visit again. 

Teaching at ALPHA

I think that throughout my entire career teaching - even when I'm long retired, I don't think I will ever have a more unique experience teaching. I don't think many people can say that they have had the opportunity to teach in a school in a different country, so I will FOREVER be thankful for this experience. I was a little surprised at how willing Lorna Williams was to give Val and I full reigns of her classroom, but I am so glad that was the case because we were able to really be teachers for three days! It is safe to say we fell in love with the girls at Alpha Academy. They are so sweet and SO intelligent. To me, it seems very clear that these girls are aware of how important their education is, and that was proven to be even more evident in the older grades. Even our first formers took the lessons Val and I planned so seriously - it was truly inspiring.
Val and I taught three lessons all about fractions. Since the girls were already very familiar with the content, we were able to have a little fun with them. We had them play games using dominos, play matching games, and gave them a few challenge problems. Just interacting with the girls and answering their questions was so much fun. One thing that I will always remember is the very last activity we did together, Val and I had the students answer three questions on a notecard that we brought back with us. 1. What is something new you learned about fractions? 2. What makes a good teacher? 3. What do you wish more people knew about Jamaica. The answers the girls provided truly inspired me - especially with the last question. Many girls said that they wished people looked beyond the violence that Jamaica faces to see how much love this country has. It just goes to show that it doesn't matter how young, the Jamaican people are not only aware of some issues, but they feel misunderstood by the world. I think that is such a powerful thing to have learned during my time teaching. I will truly miss this class of girls and the atmosphere at Alpha Academy.

Trench Town

As we prepared for our trip in class, I knew that I would love Trench Town, and that was correct. I have never been in a community with so much culture. I would say that the tour we took through Trench Town was the most memorable part of the trip for me. Walking through a community that is SO different than my own, and seeing the people who live there and what they do was truly eye-opening. One part that I will forever remember is the type of "graffiti" that covered the neighborhood. Of course there were paintings about Bob Marley and Regge, but there were so many religious (both Rasta and Christian) paintings everywhere. It hit me so hard because I could feel God's presence in this neighborhood that faces so much adversity more than I ever have before. The people of Trench Town have the truest faith I've ever seen.

 



I also enjoyed our time at the Trench Town reading center so much. I was lucky enough to spend 4 days there, and I am so thankful for that time. Since I am going to be a high school teacher, I do not usually spend much time with children as young as at the reading center. I was reminded how much love children have in their hearts for everything and everyone. Those little boys and girls changed my heart. They are so innocent and so loving, and I think that everyone could learn something from those children. I also cannot talk about the reading center without mentioning how fantastic Sweets is. She is so inspiring and witnessing how much those children love and look up to her is heart-warming. She is the reason that reading center is as successful as it is - and she truly deserves so much credit. I will miss Trench Town every day, and I cannot thank that community enough for opening my eyes.

Trenchtown Reading Centre

I really enjoyed going back to the Trenchtown Reading Centre on Thursday afternoon. I was happy to read and be with my same friend, Abigail. We made our pig headbands, and read a few more Dora books. I was sitting next to Dr. Egan, and Abigail and I just finished reading a story, so she went inside for a new book. As she went inside, she started to skip, and Dr. Egan said how skipping is universal, and it's something I think of as a sign of joy. She came back with a new book and began to skip again. It seemed like nothing else mattered except for reading together. We read a fun Dora book where Abigail was standing and dancing along with the story. I also had fun watching everyone hit the pinata, even if it wasn't quite made properly. Thanks to Ally for the action shot of bringing the pinata to the ground. 
We also got to go see Stoneman again so he could present us with what he made. His painting was so much bigger than I was expecting! I am so exited to see it on display at Augie. It is a beautiful reminder of his legacy and our time in Jamaica. I'm also left with his goodbye to us when he said to share the message. Jamaica and its people are truly beautiful, and I will never forget the stories and memories that we all created during our time in Jamaica. I know someday I will go back.

Blog #3 ; Trench Town Reading Center

Blog #3; Trench Town Reading Center

I really enjoyed the trench town reading center when we went all as a group, and I felt like I didn't really connect with the kids because Kacey & I arrived a little late. But Friday, I decided to tag along with Natalie & Kewan and spend some more time with the kids. When we arrived, we all decided to take a trip to the pottery center & we took the kids. As we were walking, it was really nice to talk to girls who asked me what my favorite color was and favorite fruit, those sort of things. But this walk was very eyeopening, the walk took us through the buildings that Breezy explained as H blocks and S blocks. As we are walking, one of the girls who was holding my hand (Ally) she says "that's my house!" and she points to this house that you could only see the side of it and the top of it, for a better term it was like a "shack", but she was so proud of it! She even said "and those are my trees, that we get fruit from" and it hit me, this little girl is so proud of where she lives because it is all she's ever known, and yet there are children here in American that complain about not having a bigger house or a yard or whatever it may be. Ally was such a sweet girl, all the children were so sweet and humble, they really appreciated everything that the reading center did and they loved us going to see them. A big take away is that every time we were in trench town, I could feel a sense of community that was there.

Alpha Primary

Our week at Alpha has been an eye-opening experience. Our first day was a rush of children excited to see us and touch our hair. We all felt very welcomed by the students. The devotions in the mornings were fun to be a part of and listen to the children sing. The singing of the national anthem the first morning was very beautiful to listen to. I know our classroom experience was impacted by the amount of testing, which cannot be helped. It was difficult at times to manage children's behavior when they had nothing to do after they finished their tests. We saw some revisions, but no formal lessons it seemed. We also experienced a lot of choral reading and oral reciting of directions and some instruction. We did discuss this in class and how it is included in classrooms across grade levels. I also found it interesting to see how if children were misbehaving, they were sent to another teacher’s classroom. Our 3rd grade classroom was smaller, with 31 students, compared to other classrooms because it contained the students that were lower abilities. Taylor and I taught a lesson on Friday when there were no more tests. Our teacher told us that the next unit for integrated studies had to do with Jamaica and their relationships with others. We saw this as a great opportunity to discuss our experiences as tourists in their country visiting different attractions. We showed pictures of where we had been in Jamaica, and how we met Usain Bolt. We also shared what are considered tourist destinations in the United States with pictures. We talked about Chicago, New York, and Florida. To learn more about Jamaica from the third grades, we made interview questions using the 5 W’s, which was related to the standards for their curriculum. I loved interacting with the kids and seeing how they make the best of the situations they are given. The large class sizes and tight classrooms make learning very difficult, but the kids are still determined to learn. While some of the days at school were more challenging than others, I am grateful for the experience at Alpha.