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Toledo teachers going the extra mile to help their students

By on November 10, 2013

A handful of teachers at the St. Peter Claver RC School in Punta Gorda town are going the extra mile to help their students who are facing challenges in reading and mathematics. 

Realizing that there was a problem, a couple of the teachers decided to give up a part of their weekends to come together to create teaching aids and other props for the classroom to help their students. 

The extra effort, which the teachers call “Make it … Take it”, see the teachers pooling their resources and ideas to create charts, reading cards, graphic organizers and other teaching aids. 

Lillette Palacio is one of the teachers who is going the extra mile; but on the second Saturday of the effort, she expressed frustration with the lack of support from some of her colleagues to take advantage of this unique opportunity to help their students. 

“We only have about five teachers,” Palacio explained during an interview.  “We are hoping others will join,” she said. 

The teachers, from veterans to those just starting out in the classroom, use whatever material they can put their hands on, including shop paper, Bristol board and other things. 

Teacher Angela is one of those teachers just starting their career in the classroom.  She explains that “my colleagues help me to get ideas to enhance the reading progress of our students.” 

Both teachers we spoke with explain that the extra effort there are making, even at the expense of giving up their weekends is all for the sake of the children.  “It’s quite a challenge but it’s worth the sacrifice,” says Teacher Angela.

And part of the sacrifice that the teachers are making is dipping into their own pockets to acquire the material to make the teaching aids. 

“We don’t have support,” says Teacher Angela, pointing out that giving up their time on the weekend is not the difficulty they face. 

“It’s more about the resources not readily available. We have to purchase it on our own,” the rookie teacher explains, pointing out that they do not have a support system to lean on. 

That assessment is shared by Teacher Lillette who says that “we don’t have any support from the manager or our administrators.” 

That is why they chose to give up their Saturdays.  “That is the only time we find to come, so we schedule out what we will do,” explained Palacio.

On the first Saturday, the few teachers that came out made games to help their students. 

This week they were making graphic organizers to help their students in reading. 

“Every Saturday we will make something that is very useful, that all the students can use, be it in Language Arts or Mathematics,” said Teacher Lillette.

 

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