Santa Elena Primary R.C. School

S.E.P.S. “ROUND EARTH” TEACHERS ON THEIR JOURNEY TO EXPORE M.O.R.E

“Sharpen the saw!” Have you ever heard that phrase before? It is what farmers and woodcutters do in order for their job to be easier and more effective. On May 4 and 5, 2012, the teachers of Santa Elena R.C. Primary School, went to “Sharpen their saws” in order to make children’s learning easier, funny and more effective; by attending an extraordinary workshop hosted by Belize Teacher Leadership Project, Belize Elementary and Belize High School. The workshop was based on the M.O.R.E. APPROACH, which is Multiple Options for Results in Education. The main purpose of the workshop was, as mentioned earlier, to sharpen the saw, to develop the Olympic Mentality, where the best keeps getting better:, to accelerate learning in a brain friendly environment, to be aware of the seven components of the M.O.R.E. Model and how to appreciate the uniqueness of each learner. Dr. Joyce Swarzman, author of the book, “It’s All about Kids”; was the facilitators of the workshop. Both Dr. Joyce and Dr. Morrow are partnering with Santa Elena Primary School so as to develop a model school adopting the M.O.R.E.Approach. Dr. Joyce is a very dynamic presenter. The time felt shorter while at the workshop during the two days. The activities done and the stories told, made it difficult for any of the teachers present to take any vacation. Everything was so spectacular, engaging and informative. At the workshop we were pointed out the three types of vacations that every human being takes, even the richest of the rich, when they are in a classroom or when listening to a speech. Even though these vacations are “as natural as the sunrise and the sunset”, teachers need to find all sorts of fun activities to minimize these vacations and increase students on task in order to learn more. Personally, I was impressed at the so many things that I learnt at this workshop. I learnt that to appreciate the uniqueness of the learner I need to identify the type of personality they have. The three main personalities are: KTVA (Kinesthetic, Tactile, Auditory and Visual), GASC (the Global, the Abstract, the Sequential and the Concrete learner) and the DEAR (the Driver, the Expressive, the Analytical and the Relater). I learnt that we are wired on this earth for conflict. Therefore, conflict is not the problem; it is how we deal with the problem. Knowledge of these types of people equips the teachers in understanding each student and knowing how to deal with the different behaviors that they demonstrate in our classrooms. I got to understand what teachers and students presence really means and how to demonstrate that presence. I learnt a variety of structures and activities to keep students engaged and focused. Most importantly I learnt the Positive Mental State (PMS), whereby “Validation” is the number one key. Another key to PMS is, positive phrasing when students utter negative phrases or comment. As a teacher at Santa Elena R.C. Primary, I feel proud, privileged and blessed to have embarked the ship of “Round Earth Thinkers” on the journey to the “Cape of Extraordinary Learning”. This journey is to explore riches of options to get better results in education. The fleet in this ship has the Olympic Mentality because we want the best to get better, and we expect to explore more of M.O.R.E. On May 14, the teachers at SEPS opened their doors to the general public to go in and sit in their classrooms and learned more about the M.O.R.E. Approach. It was very successful and the feedback was positive. We had teachers as from far as Belize City and Spanish Lookout. The General Manger of Catholic Public Schools, Sister Barbara Flores was also present for the open day as well. Happy Teacher’s Day to all teachers! GLORIA JONES Standard V Mathematics Teacher

SEPS