Teachers hone skills during summer break
It was once customary that teachers–like students–used the occasion of summer holidays to catch up on some rest and relaxation. But the world is becoming a more competitive place and the field of education is no exception… as I learned this afternoon.
Janelle Chanona, Reporting
Approximately one hundred and eighty teachers from the Belize District received certificates of participation this afternoon, for their involvement in a two-week professional development training course to enhance their teaching skills for the new school year.
According to organisers, educators from preschools, lower, middle, and upper divisions meet annually in August to learn new teaching methods and trade success stories.
Dotsie Arnold, Education Officer, District Education Centre
?During this two weeks, we had courses in teaching of reading, teaching of mathematics, classroom testing and measurement, we look at HIV/AIDS because we notice that that is a growing concern in our country, so we have to address it. Teachers have to be aware of what is happening so that we can pass on information to the students and to people in their communities as well.?
?When we looked at the results for the BJAT and the P.S.E. exam, we realize that we are still having low passes in mathematics and children still need to become better writers, so we offered creative writing this year as well. So we looked at those two areas and the facilitators for mathematics focused mainly on teaching methods and strategies to the teachers so that they could have an idea how to approach certain content areas of the curriculum.?
Even though the teachers are required to participate in such courses to keep their teacher?s licenses valid, participants we spoke with expressed satisfaction with the course information.
Ann Palacio, Teacher, All Saints Primary
?It helps a whole lot because of the types of children you have in the class room. It?s a cross section of children and you need to continue to develop yourself as a teacher because you need to know what?s going on so you can go back to the classroom. And this helps you a whole lot because you have learnt new ways, new strategies, new techniques that you can take back especially for lower division because that?s where it all, the foundation starts.?
Eleanor Enriquez Castillo, Coordinator, Special Education Unit
?We asked the teachers to come in for this training specifically because we noted that there were specific weaknesses that we wanted to improve.?
Janelle Chanona
?What areas were those??
Eleanor Enriquez Castillo
?Mainly in the teaching of children with autism, teaching of children with physical disabilities, most of the general areas of learning disabilities and developmental needs.?
Ramon Magana, Vice Principal St. Ignatius Upper
?One of the main ones is planning and implementing those plans. We have also been acquainted with the rules, especially implementation of corporal punishment where we want to remove it completely from the schools. So that and also were helped with classroom management, helping new teachers, as well as other teachers that have problems in schools.?
Jean Lucas, New Teacher, Ladyville
?You?re excited in that you?re going into the classroom for the first time, you are confident in the sense that I learnt a lot here, and at the same time, you are a bit unsure of what you are going to meet there and how you are going to deal with the kids, the children, so it?s a lot of emotions.?
During the sessions, the teachers did break ranks from the core subjects to indulge in a little music.
Dotsie Arnold
?We did one expressive arts this year, music, because we were sensitising the lower division teachers on the teaching of music. We revised the music curriculum, making it more teacher-friendly so that teachers realise that they do not have to be a musician to teach music in the classroom.?
This year’s teachers course was held at Saint Martin de Porres primary school in Belize City.
