Getting to Know Your International Contacts

I was having trouble finding any international contact that would respond to me, so a friend and my family helped me. One of my co-workers is from South America and knew Lisset Noles, who has a degree in the early childhood field. My mother, who is from Trinidad and Tobago, gave me the contact information for Krystel Theodore who teaches in the school system on the island. Within the week my two contacts was responding actively to my questions and concerns about their experiences.

My first conversation with Mrs. Lisset Noles she just told me about her background.

She responded:

This is Lisset Noles and I am honored to answer all the questions you may have about the early childhood field in my country. I am from Venezuela (South America). I decided to become an English Teacher because I believe it is a great Language and it is very useful wherever you go around the world. I teach elementary school and high school. The class size may vary but it is normally between 15 to 20 students per classroom. Sometimes, it could get as large as 25 to 30 students or small as 10. I teach them everything related to English in a way they can learn how to write it read it and speak it. I use different technical tools such as: flash cards, music, extra work, quizzes and games related to the lesson they are learning each day.
I hope I was helpful in answering your questions and please do not hesitate to ask me anything about this field. Have a great week!

Her response to the issue of poverty in South America was:

 Regarding poverty, it is a big issue in my country because it is not a developed country. All public schools don't have air conditioning in the classrooms so it is hard for the children to focus on their studies because of the heat. The resources are low and it's hard for the teachers to do their job well but they still do their best and use what they've got. A lot of people don't earn a good salary at work so they can't send their children to school and that causes for children to misbehave and turn to a different person when they grow up. Some private schools are in a good condition but it costs money. Some families are willing to make a sacrifice though so their children will be comfortable and happy in their schools

Krystel Theodore is a special needs teacher in Trinidad, which is an island in the West Indies. She has been in the field for over five years and enjoys everything about it. When it comes to the issue of poverty she responded by telling me:

 In Trinidad and Tobago the education system is modeled after the British education system. Education is free and is compulsory. Each child is expected to go to school and utilize these services offered. Even Tertiary Education is paid for by governments for nationals of Trinidad and Tobago by accredited universities and colleges. Students all wear formal uniforms to school representing their specific school with the school’s monogram.

Education holds very high standards in our society. We grow up being taught about its importance and it is expected of us by our parents and families to do well. Government invest yearly in the education system, however there are still flaws within the system in particular governments concern or lack thereof on the issue of special education. For me as a special education teacher, at a private school there is a growing demand by parents of special needs children that is not being given the attention needed to facilitate this group of children. This leaves parents having to either pay for their child’s education or educate their children themselves. In other cases there are many children like these who are simply neglected because parents are not educated about the services available or are ashamed.

 There is so much to learn about the issue of poverty. Poverty is an issue in every county, but I was very impressed to see that all countries provides education for the children no matter if the live in poverty. In Trinidad the government even pays for an individual to attend collage for free that was very impressive to here.