Maria Hitchins

Cultural Catalyst living life through a creative lens, with a special focus on celebrating DANCE! Follow @ DancersofJamaica on IG.

[Maria Hitchins @MariaHitchins]

Well deserved, btw did you know that John Hype was the first Dancehall dancer to be signed to a music label (Shocking Vibes) & afforded his own tours like a deejay? He remains so humble and answered the call to join the Dancehall Dance Association’s inaugural event during Covid.

[IBK @ibkontehja]

Tonight at @strictly2kfest we’ll be honoring dancing legend JOHN HYPE! The creator of the dances signal di plane, crazy Hype and Pan di River!

[Maria Hitchins @MariaHitchins]

@itsme_urstruly Kinpupalick 🇯🇲

[Maria Hitchins @MariaHitchins]

I’ve only ever seen one ONE degeh degeh student with a text book between last Oct to now. Students show up daily without their subject notebooks, without pens in exams, they don’t attend Sch on Fridays, some can’t read, others penmanship is poor, but you want to talk tech🤔

[Maria Hitchins @MariaHitchins]

Did my final evaluation today & when asked about the use of tech in the classroom I chuckled because my building doesn’t even have steady wifi😏 I must instead use the WiFi at my yard that I pay for, to download content to be stored on my devices that I pay for to do govt work🤔

[Ken | The Real Marvel Teacher 🍎 @MarvelTeacher2]

Things #Teachers don’t talk about:

Districts spending thousands on fancy new apps and platforms that nobody asked for, while your classroom still has broken student chairs from 2008.

[Maria Hitchins @MariaHitchins]

@ToniGarrisonJM That 10% is still a factor & it matters in the mind of young kids. Think from a child’s perspective, constantly hearing about passing PEP to get to a ‘good’ school, forced to do extra lessons, bombarded by the teachers’ & schools’ reputations, etc etc.

[Maria Hitchins @MariaHitchins]

The issue is that the results are not merely used to adjust the needs of the students, but that it goes towards their final primary exit school score. Also how much intervention do the students actually get? I can tell you from a high school experience that it’s quite inadequate

[Abandon, Wild @ToniGarrisonJM]

If used properly, I don't think it's an inherently bad idea.

If they actually use the data from grade 4 to provide support to the children who are falling behind, we wouldn't have the problem of them going to grade 6 and on to high sch barely literate. Problem is, they don't.

[Maria Hitchins @MariaHitchins]

@1ashermorris_ It’s also anxiety-inducing for the 11 years olds in grade 6, system needs serious changes

[Maria Hitchins @MariaHitchins]

@mcdonaldrachael Many of my colleagues are adamant about never again voting for a principal to head the JTA

[Maria Hitchins @MariaHitchins]

@ghettoyutes I have students who have never left Downtown Kingston, another reason why field trips are so important.

[Maria Hitchins @MariaHitchins]

@DuncanAdley Give yourself grace, you are never 100% in control of this thing called life

[Maria Hitchins @MariaHitchins]

Did you watch the full video? It’s the same bag the child has been taking all year with no issues. Had you observed properly you would realise the child was later admitted on campus with no issues, because it was a fellow student who was left in charge that made the errant call.

[Ciple @itzsir_t]

@MariaHitchins @jaevionn OR parents should be responsible and teach their kids to follow the rules. If it is a special circumstance, send the child with a letter with your signature.

[Maria Hitchins @MariaHitchins]

@jaevionn Her feelings are totally valid. I find that some school Administrators are so cruel, they attempt to teach discipline through unjust punishment. The MOE needs to get serious about schools locking kids off campuses for frivolous infractions.

[Maria Hitchins @MariaHitchins]

It’s true, there is some intervention from govt ex they employ APSE (alternative pathway) coaches that conduct specialized classes, supervise lesson plans & exam scripts, but it’s far from adequate in fact the intervention is needed throughout the Summer break but doesn’t happen.

[Chrissy @Chrissy__Dee]

Someone just told me that grade NINE (9) teachers at some high schools have to be reading exam questions to children. Ie. 14 and 15 year old children require a teacher to read simple instructions to them. When are we gonna get serious about literacy?

[Maria Hitchins @MariaHitchins]

Best wishes to the students, parents and guardians, and please do not hound people asking ‘a which school dem pass fah’, allow them to tell you if they so choose. It can be quite an anxious time🙏🏽

[Kerry-Ann Morgan @patrioticjam]

PEP results are out today. Our job as adults is to celebrate the next chapter in a child's life - high school is next! 💃
Even if it isn't the school you or they hoped for, bloom where you're planted. Support, encourage and believe in them just as you did in prep and primary school.
A school doesn't determine a child's future. Their effort, character and support system do.❤️

[Maria Hitchins @MariaHitchins]

Two of several notes my grade 7 students left me as a surprise, on the back of their exam papers🤗.
I’m taking the time to colour them this weekend, & they will get them as a surprise when their scripts are returned to them😁✔️

[Maria Hitchins @MariaHitchins]

“ Into the thick of it” indeed😁

[Maria Hitchins @MariaHitchins]

That time of year for us teachers, and this isn’t even all of my scripts to mark, as end of year exams continue into next week😬

[Maria Hitchins @MariaHitchins]

That time of year for us teachers, and this isn’t even all of my scripts to mark, as end of year exams continue into next week😬

[Maria Hitchins @MariaHitchins]

Taught my grade 9 geography students about soil liquefaction this semester. This is what happened in Port Royal causing most of the land to slip below the Caribbean Sea.

[Volcaholic 🌋 @volcaholic1]

Whoahhh! This is one of the strangest things an earthquake can do. As the M7.8 earthquake hit the Philippines last week, the ground in this video appears to move almost like liquid.

👀 (Watch until the end)

This can happen because of liquefaction. It's when intense shaking causes water trapped in loose soil to build up pressure, making solid ground temporarily lose its strength and behave more like a fluid.

It’s why people can struggle to stand, and why areas near water with loose, saturated soil can see the ground ripple, sink or even “flow” during powerful earthquakes.

📹 Pangabuhi sa Uma Vlog

[Maria Hitchins @MariaHitchins]

Btw there is talk about the rise in Autism being linked to traumatic experiences via epigenetics, listening to the early data presented re Covid in Jamaica and the kids born since, it’s a real possibility🤔

[Maria Hitchins @MariaHitchins]

This information & conversation is vital but what we also need is to hear the plans to increase;
1. the availability of trained special education teachers to work with in these retrofitted spaces she speaks of
2. The number of testing facilities to diagnose the children

[Maria Hitchins @MariaHitchins]

Ministry requires teachers to differentiate activities in the lesson plans kool BUT this doesn’t help some kids as teachers do not know what’s the root cause of the learning challenge. How do they adequately accommodate a child’s deficit without them being properly assessed, sigh

[Maria Hitchins @MariaHitchins]

This information & conversation is vital but what we also need is to hear the plans to increase;
1. the availability of trained special education teachers to work with in these retrofitted spaces she speaks of
2. The number of testing facilities to diagnose the children

[Jamaica Observer @JamaicaObserver]

The Ministry of Education is currently rolling out new special education spaces as Jamaica faces a surge in demand for special education services, with one official pointing to an alarming level in the Corporate Area, seemingly fuelled by school-aged children whose births coincide with epidemics or pandemics.
https://t.co/WR6aEHUOjf