Working with Shannon was really fun – teacher

Shannon Lincoln will always remember the natural beauty of St. Vincent, especially the view from the town of Georgetown, where she resides.{{more}}

Not only that, she will always remember sharing her experiences as a Peace Corps Volunteer with husband and fellow Peace Corps volunteer Steven Lincoln.

“It’s been like an extended honeymoon,” Lincoln beamed, during an interview with SEARCHLIGHT, explaining that she and her husband decided to joined the Peace Corps together. They both share an interest in traveling the world and helping others.

Lincoln, a Florida native, has been in St. Vincent for almost two years. She works primarily at the Georgetown Secondary School and also in the Georgetown community.

Lincoln assists in the remedial reading programme at the school, an activity, she said, has its challenges.

“It’s a challenging position, because a lot of the students we work with may be five, six, seven grades behind in terms of reading ability, so we’ve just tried a lot of different things, tried different (types) of instructions,” Lincoln explained.

She has however come up with another way to get the students more involved in the programme and has added computer based lessons to the remedial classes.

“Recently we have been concentrating on using the computer a lot more, to help with remediation, so that has been my focus,” Lincoln explained.

However, with the newly installed computer programs, Lincoln’s greatest challenge is getting computer software installed on the systems.

“One of the challenges is getting software on the computers, finding the funding and getting people to support that,” she said.

“A computer without software is like trying to build something with a hammer and no nails; you really can’t get very far, just letting them use the computer with no software,” she continued.

Lincoln added that since the installation of the computer programs, she has seen improvements in the students’ behavior as well as academics, noting that students are gradually improving in their reading levels and are building their confidence.

“In working with the students on the computers, I have really seen a difference in terms of their level of focus and concentration, they respond to it really well.”

“Working with Shannon was really fun and encouraging and motivating,” said literacy teacher at the Georgetown Secondary School, Setrenella Young. Young also lauded Lincoln’s efforts with the children and the installation of the computer programs, which has assisted the students in their reading.

Apart from the remedial reading programme, Lincoln has also engaged in community activities in Georgetown. She explained that she was involved in the festival put on by the Georgetown Festival Development Organisation and created a ‘young ambassadors’ programme which encourages youth in the area to develop and execute community service projects.

Lincoln, who plans to leave St. Vincent this December, is planning to return to USA to pursue studies in School Counseling.

However, she will forever hold in her memory, the beauty of the country and the warm friendly nature of Vincentians. She shared just a few of the things she has learnt during her time in St. Vincent. “I think one of the things that I’ve learnt is … to just slow down and not be go, go, go all the time, which is really beneficial. I think I’ve learnt to accept myself a lot more. I tend to be a perfectionist and some things I’ve worked on here have not gone through for some reason and I’ve had to accept that, but it’s been good, it’s been good for me.”