In many ways the students at Kendal Primary school in Hanover, Jamaica are like a lot of students in the U.S. The boys like to roughhouse and the girls like to skip rope. They ran and laughed during lunch/recess and occasionally someone fell, got hurt, and the tears flowed. Some students were eager to please and a few others tried not to get caught reading another book or playing with a toy during a lesson. They are children similar in many ways to the students I will soon be teaching full time.

There are also many differences. Students must own a uniform to go to the public school. The uniforms cost fifteen dollars each so not all children attend school. Many students take off their shoes while seated at their desks because they are too small. For many children the meal they receive at school may be their only one for the day. There is no free and reduced lunch program in Jamaica.

While I was in the school, the students were raising money for charity. If they raised twenty Jamaican dollars (about sixteen dollars) they were able to wear jeans on Friday. The students know there are children who are less fortunate than themselves and giving is a way of life. These students, with their shoes too small, eating one meal a day, are the middle class.

The class sizes were large and the rooms were small. Three classes were located in one room separated by only a roll-a-way chalkboard. It was loud all day. The school did not have any air conditioning and it was hot.

Despite these challenges, the students enthusiasm to learn and do well was amazing. They were eager to understand the lesson and what was expected of them. I knew they were engaged in a lesson when later on in the week they used the terminology they had learned.

This experience not only taught me to be grateful for what I have, but to be mindful of what students may not have. As teachers, we sometimes have to be more than educators to our students. We may be called to be their coaches and cheerleaders, encouraging them to do their best even when times are tough.