Schools Galore

After teaching a rousing language arts lesson in the morning (editing marks and proper punctuation, yeah!), Wednesday was dedicated to exploring the other elementary schools on the island.

At the very least, I no longer associate the words “elementary school” with field day and spaghetti dinners.  If this shift in thinking started tapping me on the shoulder in my North Carolina internship, it’s been smashing me over the head since I got to Belize. The lack of smartboards and speedy Internet that is complained about in the States is nothing compared to the need for adequate sewage in some Belizean elementary schools. Guided by the air of the rotating fans, we made our way across the rickety dock that passed for the hallway of Holy Cross Elementary, a school built on top of a swampy landfill.

What surprised me the most, however, was the school situated in the “middle class” neighborhood. The dusty courtyard and AC deficiency would not have been tolerated in any middle class system back home. It brought to light the stark contrast between what we expect in America and what is accepted in Belize. This middle class housing looked like its heyday would have coincided with Barry Manilow belting out Copa Cabana. The porch railings with sculpted lions and peeling Key West paint looked like a ninety-year-old woman who applied an exorbitant amount of makeup as a last-ditch attempt to recapture her youth. The bright colors and Greco pillars that were meant to cover up flaws instead accentuated the wrinkles and cracks of the once-youthful structures. As if the foot-deep potholes in the dirt road would have gone unnoticed.  

It was a lesson in gratitude to see schools coming from so little yet doing so much. I swear on my gradebook to never complain about another faulty expo marker or unsharpened pencil. The fact that I don’t melt into a puddle of perspiration by the end of the day is a comfort that I had not realized is afforded to so few. Long live central air, purified water, and Isla Bonita Elementary for providing such luxuries.