First Impressions

June 8, 2008 | 767 Comments | Authored by Mina

Students at Stepney

I’m back in Kingston and fully rested after my first full week at Stepney. Things have been progressing very well, so far, and the week was productive in setting up a schedule for hands-on training with the new computers, some initial introductions to computer basics, and immersing myself with the staff and students at the school. I have posted many more photos in the Photos section of both Kingston and the school in Nine Mile.

The school is a small campus, comprised of three buildings, two of them from the original construction and one of them, the Cantine & Library, built in 2000, with the help of the Bob Marley Foundation. The school is very rock and roll. With just under 400 students between grades 1 and 9, and only 15 staff, the kids seem to have an innate sense that even though there are authority figures around, there’s power in numbers. At all times of the day you can find students of all ages running around outside of class, and they’ll never tell you where they’re really supposed to be.

The staff and students have been extremely hospitable and friendly, embracing me and the computer program wholeheartedly, often expressing their gratitude and hoping for ongoing support in the future. Mrs. Mac and Ms. Montague have been looking out for me very vigilantly, and we’re constantly joking that when I return home I’m going to be nice and chubby, thanks to the wonderful combination of large portions and my love of Jamaican food. They pick the yams right out of the ground in front of the school and you can’t really argue with that.

The first week was spent getting oriented, learning the schedule and procedures, and explaining what it is I’m trying to accomplish during my time at the school. Jamaicans have an expression, “soon come”, that can be very dangerous to a North American with an agenda. It basically seems to imply that things happen when they happen, given over to the vagaries of the sense and importance of time, and there’s no sense in rushing or worrying about it. Frankly, that fits in very well with my normal day to day lifestyle, but not when I have a limited time to get things accomplished! With some persistence on my part and some acquiescence on theirs, we’re managing to get things done in a timely fashion.

I have already started teaching basic skills to staff and students and now have a timetable of when people will come to me for lessons. This week I’m hoping to assemble a small group of the older students to get them engaged in making the documentary about their school and their lives in Nine Mile. I’ve been talking to a lot of people and learning a lot more about the culture here in Jamaica and it’s hard to limit the scope of the documentary as I learn more, but this project with the students should keep me anchored and provide a lot of fun and interesting moments.

I’m heading back up to the Nine Mile this afternoon, but I’ll try to write a bunch of stuff while I’m there and post them all when I return. I’m also hoping to get some of my video footage prepped to post on the web sometime in the near future, but for now you can content yourselves with the photos I’ve posted so far.

Until next week!

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