Bittersweet...

This week was our last week in the schools.  On Tuesday all of us that are Special Education majors were able to take a trip inland to visit a school exclusively for students with special needs.  This experience made my week.  The students there were just completely full of joy and my heart was overwhelmed with happiness.   Going to this school just completely confirmed that I chose the right major.  I felt so at home and back in my own element.  One of the students I met there Byron just loved to jump on us and just laugh and laugh.  He was so precious and was definitely soaking up all of the attention he was getting.  Another student Ed ran up to all of us when we entered his classroom and just wrapped his arms around us, giving us the biggest hugs.  This day definitely melted my heart and ignited my passion even more.

The rest of the week was spent at Isla Bonita teaching my last lessons here.  I taught angles in math and prepositions and conjunctions for language arts.   I am so thankful for all the experiences I gained from this field experiecne.  I have became more culturally aware of different cultures and learned how to teach off the fly without a lesson plan or technology.  I've also learned some Belizean history and a lot of interesting facts about the island. I had an awesome class of students who tried to teach me Spanish although they normally ended up all giggly because of my southern accent.  I have loved every minute here and I wouldn't trade this experience for anything.

One thing that has surprised me the most is that as a teacher, I can make a lesson up on the fly and just go with it.  In the states we prepare lessons days or even weeks in advance and rely a lot on technology.  I am one of those that heavily relies on a plan and structure.  From this experience I have learned that some of the best lessons can be made with a moments notice and zero technology.

I hope you have enjoyed my blogs, they have helped me to keep all of my family, friends, partnership teacher, and students informed of my experiences while in Belize.  I also have formed a new love for blogging because I now have a lot of memories saved that I may have forgot about if it weren't for my blog!