LearnServe Jamaica 2018, Day 2: All I Had To Do Was Be Myself

Monday, June 25 – When I woke up today I knew that in a couple hours I would arrive at a primary school in Jamaica. Back at home we refer to schools as elementary, middle, and high schools, so to refer to a school as primary was new to me. I assumed that I would be working with children younger than me but I didn’t know how young. I was eager and excited to meet the students, but also a little nervous. I was a little kid again on their first day of school wanting to make a good impression.

When we arrived at the primary school we waited on the bus for about ten minutes before being paired to a classroom. All I could think about was what grade and age group I would be working with. I didn’t want to have a class so close to my age they didn’t listen to me, or a class so young they didn’t know what I was saying. I ended up with a class of first graders so I kind of got what I was asking for, but because of my American/ DC accent, sometimes they still didn’t understand me. Turns out, it didn’t take a lot for the students to like me. All I had to do was be myself.

Even though it was only my first day at the primary school, I already felt so close to all of the students. We started with a game to help remember each other’s names. The rules were to state your name and associate it with a dance move. The next person had to remember the people before them’s name and dance move and repeat it. The goal was to make it around the whole class but it doesn’t matter what country first graders are from – they are still first graders.

The students embraced my teammate Abigail and myself. At times we were swarmed with first graders asking for help with their classwork or just wanting to talk.

The students helped me learn, remember, and realize some things. I learned that I am capable of multitasking. They helped me remember just how gross 6 and 7 year olds can be. And I realized that I want to go into a career involving children. I accepted that it was a 1st grade classroom and that it was filled with germs, but it was also filled with dedication and inspiration. Ms. Duval, the first grade teacher assigned about 7 pages of work to complete. The students did complain but because they wanted more work. The eagerness they had to learn is something everyone should have at all ages.

One student from the school took the initiative to do more work than what was assigned, but he needed my help. I asked him why he was doing the work when it wasn’t assigned. He responded by saying that he would rather get ahead than fall behind, and that he had free time now so why not complete it. I’ve struggled with procrastination in the past and hearing this information come from someone who was looking up to me means if he can do it, I will do it too.

This evening we got the chance to attend a classical music concert. The concert was meant to bring together the Spanish and Jamaican citizens in Jamaica through music. This was a great opportunity to experience something new and expose myself to a culture within a culture. So far I love Jamaica, and I’m sure my love for the country will only grow.

Zach C., SEED Public Charter School