First Day!

Today was the first day at Mile Gully Primary all day. Last night, I was a little nervous thinking about meeting a class of 30 new students, but I was mostly really excited for the first full day. I wanted to know more about the daily routine, schedule, and expectations so I could compare them to my previous experiences.

The school day starts at 8:00, but some students arrive late because they are walking from their house or riding a taxi. I bet my friends in Cambridge remember all of the ways the students get to school that they heard about in the book I read to them - The Road to Mile Gully Primary.

All of the students in grades 1 through 6 stand outside in lines of all boys and all girls with the principal at the front of the group. Most things here are based around God and Christianity, so they start the morning with a devotion, as well as a prayer, their National Pledge, and their National Anthem. Their National Anthem is the only National Anthem in the world that is a prayer. 

National Anthem

Eternal father, bless our land

Guard us with Thy Mighty Hand

Keep us free from evil powers,

Be our light through countless hours

To our leaders, Great Defender,

Grant true Wisdom from above

Justice, Truth be ours forever

Jamaica, land we love. 

Jamaica, Jamaica, Jamaica,

land we love.

Teach us true respect for all,

Stir response to duty's call

Strengthen us the weak to cherish,

Give us vision lest we perish

Knowledge send us Heavenly Father

Grant true wisdom from above

Justice, Truth be ours forever

Jamaica, land we love.

Jamaica, Jamaica, Jamaica,

land we love.

National Pledge

Before God and all mankind, I pledge the love and loyalty of my heart, the wisdom and courage of my mind, the strength and vigour of my body in the service of my fellow citizens; I promise to stand up for Justice, Brotherhood, and Peace, to work diligently and creatively, to think generously and honestly, so that Jamaica may, under God, increase in beauty, fellowship, and prosperity, and play her part in advancing the welfare of the whole human race. 

If you want to know more about the country and its history, this website is a government website and has lots of good information. 

After all of this, the students were excused by grade, girls first, to go to their classrooms. They say a prayer and then start the day. The students in my 5th grade classroom went over their math homework together as a class. Once that was finished, they had Language Arts and worked in groups to make a poem with words about weather that had BL, SH, and TH in them. 

They have a break from 10:15-10:30 for snack and a little running around. After break, I asked the students to write their first and last names for me and pronounce them because it is loud in the schools and I didn't want to spell them incorrectly. Some of the boys' names are Jevonti, Jahmar, and Damarrio, and some of the girls' names are Alecia, Shene'sa, and Lloydisha. Many of them have British last names, since many names originate from the British slave owners long ago. 

After I got their names, they discussed the culture in the Caribbean for Social Studies. This was a very good lesson for me to watch, because I still have a lot to learn about their culture and it was nice to learn from the students. They told me about some of the different types of music, food, and languages.

Some of the genres of music that they listen to are called reggae and dancehall. Two popular dances are the dinki mini and the bruckins. Click the words for some video examples. The students got up and showed me the dances in my class. I wasn't brave enough to try them myself, though. At least, not yet!

Some popular food dishes are saltfish and ackee (which is their national fruit, pictured below being sold at the roadside),

 

and jerk chicken with rice and peas (which is what they call kidney beans).

Creole is a language in the Caribbean that is also known here as Patois (pronounced pat-wah). It is a mix of the African and English languages, and it can be different from parish to parish, just like the English language can be different from the Midwest to the South.

They care a lot about their national symbols, and they are posted all over the place. Some of my Cambridge kiddos wanted to know these symbols since we learn all about Wisconsin's state symbols in 4th grade.

I actually got to see the Doctor Bird and take a picture.

 

Their National motto

I found the above article and picture pretty interesting.

Lunch was an hour long, and for the last half hour, I went outside with my teacher friends to play games with the students. We brought some jump ropes and skip-its that were made for them with us. A large group of students crowded around me while I showed them how to use the skip-it and then let them take turns using it.

For many of the younger students, it is the first time they have seen a white person. For some of the older students, they think that we are previous student teachers from Whitewater that they loved. It has been an unusual feeling to be out of place and have people notice you because you obviously stand out, as well as have all of the students crowd around us when we show up at the school. They have so many questions for me.

After lunch, the teacher in my classroom, Mrs. Skeffery, let me do an activity with the 5th graders. I wanted to know more about each student individually, and I knew they had a lot of questions for me. I wrote 5 things about me on the board - my favorite color, favorite food, favorite athlete, favorite subject, and favorite kind of music. Then I let them ask me more questions - how many siblings I have, what my favorite book is, when my birthday is, etc. After we talked about me, they wrote to me about themselves. They only had to write 5 things about themselves, but all of them wrote more. A few students wrote over 15 things! It was nice to be able to connect with them on things that we have in common. Which leads me to my quote for this post:

“Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.” – Maya Angelou

We may look different on the outside, but it is important to remember that we are all the same on the inside and want and do similar things. I really feel everyone should have the experience of being immersed in and trying to understand another culture. I am learning so much while I am here, so I want to try and share it with as many people as I can! 

Before I go, here is a hello to my friends back in Cambridge! I saw "Cambridge" on a sign that we passed, but the picture that I took to show you turned out too blurry. I miss you all, as well as friends and family.