The first school week at Al Nahda

September 11, 2011

Interesting couple of days…

Today marked the first day of school for grades 1-12. In my department (and my building), that means 12 classes with 20-30 six-year olds. In the UAE, kindergarten is not compulsory so some of these kids had never been to school, while others have been here for a year or two already. We all have to report at 7 a.m. this week (and I assume next week as well, when OUR students start). There are lists of the teachers without students this week, and we’re divided into groups assigned duties at different times in different classes. The morning duties involve signing kids in and getting their nametags, entertaining while the classroom teachers greet parents, etc. Afternoon duties are things like writing bus numbers on kids’ hands before the end of the day, lining them up to go out, etc. I’m not on any of these lists and when I asked Mrs. Nagat about it yesterday, she said to work on my classroom and that I would be called to fill in as needed.

When I arrived at 7 for check-in, one of the secretaries handed me a slip of paper that detailed when and where I would be needed for the day: Grade 1, Class Q, 9:30-11:30. When I got there to relieve Tracy, there was a little girl sobbing in the corner, and the rest of the class was pretty much just playing. Hamda (the little girl) had been crying for about an hour and a half when I got there, and continued for another half hour. She wouldn’t color, she wouldn’t go sing songs or read stories with the class (all of whom were being VERY well entertained by the classroom assistant). She wanted to go home… It was heart breaking. So I tried for a while to calm her down while the assistant had the class controlled, but she could only get them to sing so many songs before something else needed to happen. We got them playing and coloring, and Hamda finally came around. At some point, we had them clean up and come sit on the carpet in the front of the class, and I taught them Simon Says. (Way over their heads, by the way. It was hilarious.) We took turns being Simon, and then we read some books, and then another teacher came in to take my place. They were so cute!! Hamda gave me a big hug while I was sitting talking to some of the little girls, and climbed up into my lap to sit with me. They asked me if I was there teacher and when I said no, they asked what I was teaching. One little girl thought I said I was teaching Grade 2 rather than KG2, and very decisively told me that she wanted to go to my class next year for Grade 2. So I told her that I was teaching KG2 downstairs, and she said, “Ok! Then I will go down there next year to be in your class!” It was precious!

I have to admit, I was starting to freak out about being a teacher. I keep asking myself, “What the heck are you thinking?! You don’t know the first thing about being a teacher!” But today helped resolve that. I CAN keep 25 5-year olds busy and happy. I CAN maintain control and get them to listen to me without yelling. I CAN be a teacher!

Now I really, really want my kids to come to school. It was exhausting (since I didn’t sleep well, and didn’t have time for coffee), but I felt like the time I spent in the classroom with those kids was a renewal of my spirit. I will sleep happy tonight. J

September 12, 2011

I AM THE CONQUERER OF THE OVEN!!!!!!! Well… actually I just made some cookies. But they were delicious! And not burnt! Granted, they were a little doughy, but that can be attributed more to my impatience than to a problem with the oven.

The only other notable part of my day was when I almost flooded my bathroom. Yeah… that was wonderful. See, there is an access to the tub/shower drain in the bathroom floor. Incidentally, completely pulling the plug to drain the bathtub will make that drain overflow. Who would’ve guessed? I’m just glad I was paying attention for once and caught it before the whole tub drained out on my floor. (That would’ve made for a fun cleanup, since I’m still sans mop right now.)