Submitted by Jilliana Carille on the 2019 winter session program in Barbados sponsored by the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences and the Department of Hospitality Business Management…
After my first day of placements, I felt very overwhelmed with emotions. My peers and I showed up to the school and were greeted by a bunch of students who seemed nervous, yet excited for us to visit them. I immediately soaked in the atmosphere. I thought to myself, “Wow. This school is nice, but it is definitely different than what I am used to at home.” One of the first things I noticed was how big the school was, which caught me by surprise. One of the students I spoke to mentioned that the school as a whole is around 600 students, which is a larger student population than my elementary school. I also took note that the school was rather clean, and seemed well painted and well kept. This reflects on the Head Mistress and the faculty – something I feel is often overlooked.
Another thing I learned on my first day of placements was that the students at West Terrace Primary School were extremely independent. Many times, they were roaming around and were held responsible for their actions because of the known expectations. I could not believe how much the students listened to their teachers, and mistresses. I heard some of the teachers telling the students to “go back to class” and I, at first, found it hard to fathom that they build so much trust and respect into the students to not have to assist them in going from outside the school to inside the classroom all on their own.
I was placed into the P.E. class on the first day, and I am satisfied that I was able to experience this. The students were preparing for their athletic competitions, and I assisted them with long-jump eliminations. I was really surprised at how cutthroat this was. The teachers expected so much effort from the younger students, which was hard for me to process at first. However, now looking back, I realize that because the island is so serious about their nationwide Sports Competition, the schools want to ensure the students are exceptional at each sport, taking the best of the best. The P.E. teacher, Mr. Harmon, also told me that he hoped to develop athletes from Barbados for competitions, such as the Olympics, etc. This is why they were so serious about everything involving sports. In my twenty-one years living in the United States, I have never known the strategies for measuring long jump, but after my first placement, I now do. It was so intriguing to initially help out the teacher with lining up the students, to, towards the end of the day, actually measuring the distance the students had jumped. It felt rewarding to know that the teacher trusted me with reporting the measurements, especially because the entire process is taken very seriously.
I really enjoyed my first day of placements. I do hope, at some point, to visit one of the classrooms, so I can gain an experience with that as well. Overall, I loved being a part of the P.E. class for the day and interacting with both the students and the faculty.