Be the Change You Wish to See in the World

Our time in the schools has officially come and gone. I can't help but feel like the first day of school was just yesterday and I was just arriving to this beautiful island. As I reflect back on these three weeks, I am so thankful to have had this experience with the 14 other amazing girls on my trip, all of the teachers at Isla Bonita, the families of the students I have taught, and of course my wonderful students. Although some days were much harder than others, I wouldn't change a thing.

Coming on this trip as an adapted special education major added some unforeseen challenges. Some challenges such as the way individuals with disabilities are viewed in this culture, the way their education looks as well as services/accommodations individuals received. I was so shocked to hear that most kids with disabilities do not come to school. I kind of knew of this coming into it but it is one thing to hear that kids with disabilities do not come to school and another to actually see it.

Why wouldn't you send your child to school? Three reasons. One being that there is no such thing as a free and appropriate public education. Every child has to pay tuition to attend even public school and not everyone is able to afford that. Two being their child has a disability. Having a disability in this culture is much different than it would be to have a disability in America. In America, we have laws such as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) which ensures that individuals with disabilities will receive the services that they need. This means that they will be placed in an environment that will best suite their learning as well as receive any services/accommodations that that specific individual needs in order to be successful. Here, there is no such thing as a special education classroom. Instruction is not differentiated therefore making it much harder for a child with a learning disability to thrive in the classroom. Three being the Belize culture. I will never forget the night that one of my friends went to visit a home in town to meet a young girl that she might potentially teach. Before going to the home she was told that the girl had autism and was 14. Once she got to the home she discovered that the girl she was there to teach actually had an older sister with autism as well but the older sister was much more severe. The family did not discuss the older sister because her likeliness of learning anything was much lower than the younger sister so she was never given a chance. My heart was broken. No person should EVER be seen as less based off of their ability to learn.

Due to this, I began going to homes to teach. If the children who needed my services weren't in school then I was going to go where they would be. It was not as easy as I thought it was going to be. I had to advocate the importance of all individuals. I had to fight for materials that would help make it easier for one of my students to learn. I was trusting of the people around me and went into unknown homes in a country that I am still learning about. I came here to make a difference and thats what I was going to do. I ended up meeting some amazing and inspiring individuals because of this.

What have I learned as myself as an educator from my experiences in Belize? I learned that I will do whatever it takes for my students to get the education they deserve. I learned that I am going to be a great teacher and am ready for whatever life throws at me. I learned that my passion and love is for special education. I am ready to be the teacher that I want to be. All I need is to keep experiencing all that the world has to offer and never stop learning.