We loaded the bus at approximately 8:45 a.m and made it to the school within five minutes. The Stella Maris School is the definition of simplicity. The school is comprised of approximately five small buildings all painted light blue which are organized around a square courtyard. A single sign hung in the center of the main building reads “Stella Maris School Belize Academy for the Deaf” and windows on the second floor are barred with iron rods. The courtyard itself had a small basketball court, volleyball net, swing set, and a few long wooden tables. Upon our arrival, the children were gathered around a central location where a morning speech was being delivered to the parents, children, and educators of the school. Boys were seen wearing khaki pants with light blue button up t-shirts and the girls were wearing khaki dresses with light blue button ups underneath. The grounds were buzzing with commotion. Children could be heard crying, laughing, and screaming and parents and educators were busy trying to settle them down. I received many warm smiles and waves as the children appeared fascinated by the large group of women suddenly showing up at their school. The female speaker made a few morning announcements and had another woman translating for her in sign language. The school was originally a school for the deaf but has since become a school that caters to the needs of the special education population.
We were then welcomed with a large round of applause and instructed to proceed to the Hector Hoarse Resource Center, which serves as the school’s library, where our presentations would be conducted. The library was small but inviting. The walls were painted light blue to match the building’s exterior and a variety of textbooks, academic posters, bookshelves, wall murals, and desktop computers surround the enclosed space. We were all scheduled to present educational lessons on various speech and literacy related topics that the teachers could incorporate into the classroom to facilitate the curriculum.
We had a few minutes before the teachers arrived to make last minute preparations. Personally, this is when slight nerves finally kicked in. This was my first time having less than 24 hours to prepare for a presentation that was to be received by a fairly large audience. The library was filled with commotion as groups were reading notecards, practicing speeches, and fumbling with therapy materials that would be used during their physical demonstrations. Building blocks, play food, construction paper, alphabet letters, and markers were throughout. I remember thinking to myself how lucky I was to be surrounded by so many intelligent and aspiring women with whom I shared the same desire to make a difference in children’s lives. The teachers slowly began to take their place around the main table and then it was time for presentations to begin. A total of ten presentations were given in groups of two. They included Pragmatics for the Preschool Child, Early Literacy Skills, Rhyming and Alliteration, Social Stories at the Elementary Level, Semantics, Pragmatics and Social Stories for Middle School Children, Pragmatics And Attention, Syntax, and Second Language Acquisition. The teachers were thoroughly engaged and genuinely made the effort to ask questions on the presenting topics. Because there is no air condition in the school, all of the windows and doors were open in each building. I looked around to see our girls fanning themselves attempting to cool down and noted how the teachers remained unbothered because they were accustomed to the heat. As we presented, children could be heard playing and laughing in the courtyard below. I occasionally walked to the window to gaze out at the beautiful sight below. I remember thinking that I couldn’t wait to wake up tomorrow knowing I’d actually get to be working with these children in their naturalistic classroom setting. With each presentation running approximately fifteen minutes long, we finished around noon and were kindly thanked for our hard work and educational information.
I was elated to hear that many teachers were interested in applying what we had taught in their classrooms.
We were soon delivered a hearty lunch of chicken curry with a side of rice and fried plantains. I had never tried curry but have been meaning to do so for a very long time. It did not disappoint! We had about half an hour of downtime before we were scheduled to give a second round of presentations to another group of teachers. I took this time to really explore the grounds and observe the children in their least restrictive environment. The children had just finished lunch and had a few minutes of free time before returning to their classrooms. The playground was flooded with activity. I observed children who were conversing in sign, playing basketball and tag, and swinging on the playset. A noteworthy sight was a young group of three boys sitting on a long wooden table who were creating music with the palms of their hands and large stones. Each boy was playing a different beat and together they created a beautiful blended harmony. Their music was influenced by cultural Garifuna music which relies heavily on the drum and usually has one drummer who plays a fixed consistent pattern with a second drummer who plays a series of more intricate cross-patterns. There was one boy in the group who quickly took on the role of conductor as he directed the other two boys on which fixed patterns to play as he played the more intricate pattern. They were clearly putting on a show for us. The boys would look at us occasionally to see if we were watching and would signal to each other to keep playing if they saw that they still had our attention. This was one of my favorite moments of the day. The children of Stella Maris were enamored with us. I received many smiles, hugs, and even had an adorable little girl tug down at me so that she could give me a kiss on the cheek. I already know that four days with these angels is not going to be enough. We finished our second round of presentations close to 3:00pm and then thanked the staff for their hospitality and loaded the bus for departure.
We returned to our hotel and after settling in, I went for a run outside with Gaby along the beach. We ran for approximately two and a half miles before heading inside to work out in the weight room. Running along the beach was refreshing and exhilarating as the seaside air filled my lungs. After our workout I headed upstairs where I relaxed for the rest of the day before heading down to dinner at Calypso restaurant. Tonight’s menu consisted of fried fish in a marinara sauce with a side of white rice and key lime pie for dessert. Dinner was absolutely delicious!
I will now start preparing my therapy materials for our big day tomorrow. I am assigned to work in a classroom of 11-14 year old children and will soon find out how I plan to tailor therapy to each child’s needs. This experience is truly a future speech therapist’s dream. We are being given the opportunity to provide speech therapy to children who otherwise may have never been given this specialized attention. Furthermore, we are also providing the teachers with information and instruction that will hopefully have long lasting effects in the way they educate children with special needs.
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