Helping the children in the community
IT was after parents in the community approached her about tutoring their children that Corriverton Primary School Teacher, Belinda McAllister decided to give back to society by utilising the gazebo in her backyard to house groups of pupils on weekdays.
McAllister has taken the noble profession seriously and is assisting pupils in her village of Princetown, Upper Corentyne, Corriverton, Berbice, by taking different groups from Grade One and Grade Two to complete their worksheets.
The 48-year-old told the Pepperpot Magazine that she was saddened to learn from parents that they were unable to help their children with their school work at home, because they are challenged and some of them have to work.
After some consideration, McAllister accepted the challenge to home-school two groups of pupils from Mondays to Fridays at her house, in a spacious gazebo in her backyard. The mother of two related that she set up a sanitising station with liquid soap and adequate water for the children to wash their hands before they are seated for classes.
In addition, the teacher would also participate in online learning via the internet, to which only two pupils in her class have access. She explained that the pupils would get the worksheets for the various subjects every three weeks and they would have to return them to school for the teacher to mark them and they would also collect new worksheets.
McAllister noted that some children have difficulty going to school since their parents are away at work and some simply cannot afford to travel.
She added that with the pandemic, came a lot of challenges and we all had to adapt quickly and do extraordinary things to make it possible in many instances. “We didn’t expect COVID-19 and when it came to these shores a year ago, schools like most places had to be closed indefinitely and the children have been home since. It took a toll on us all mentally and physically, because of social distancing and staying indoors,” she said.
The teacher admitted that things haven’t been easy because on weekdays, she would accommodate five pupils for each session from Grades One and Two each. After 18 years in the profession, McAllister told the Pepperpot Magazine that she is doing the job she loves, so there is no quitting and she has no intention of giving up despite the pandemic.
The Princetown resident reported that she comes from a long line of teachers and her father is a retired headteacher and she grew up admiring him for his discipline and strict upbringing. Most of her relatives are teachers and she too, made sure she was qualified to take up the teaching profession and over the years has garnered enough respect among her peers and within the community.
“Teaching is in my blood, a family tradition and I want to continue where my father left off and I hope I can attain same,” she said. McAllister stated that in her class she has 32 pupils and out of that only two have internet access; so worksheets are sent to them while the others have no access and have been inconsistent with uplifting the worksheets at the Corriverton Primary School.
On weekdays she would tutor a total of eight pupils on different occasions because of social distancing, and they have been grasping better via the face-to-face teaching. She disclosed that after being home for so long, some pupils have become complacent and are not completing the worksheets.
“I basically work with slow learners and so far, they have been interacting well and asking questions and generally taking in a lot of what is being imparted to them,” she said. McAllister added that some parents have had to deal with more than one child in the home and home-schooling has had its ups and downs when school was closed in March last year.
It was observed that the group of children were indeed happy to be out of their homes and they were engaged in the task at hand, worksheets completion. As a teacher, she believes that it is critical to give back to the community and to serve the people since the children will become the future leaders they need to be properly schooled despite the pandemic and she is ready to assist.
She said that in Berbice they have The Learning Channel where different subjects are televised at certain times for children, but parents have been complaining about the timing because they have to work and some children are left unsupervised.
Apart from home-tutoring pupils, she would have to go to school twice weekly for meetings, to distribute and collect worksheets from both parents and pupils.
McAllister’s yard is very large and it accommodates cultivation of bananas, plantains, cassava, bora, ochroes, boulanger, celery and various fruit trees, which are managed by her 27-year-old son, who has a full-time job with Sea Defence and her mother has a lovely flower garden.
This teacher is a down-to-earth, generally cheery and pleasant person, who truly loves her job and is enthusiastic about teaching.
