Teaching in Saudi Arabia...part 2

Well, I've been teaching now for almost 3 months.  I've gotten back into the groove of teaching, but hands down, this is a totally different experience!
There's so much to talk about, though, and I'm not sure where to start.  
Let me share some of the unique bits about teaching at an international school in Saudi Arabia.  Even though we are teaching according to American standards, the grading is different.  E for exceeds expectation, M for meets expectations, A for approaching expectations, B for below expectations.  It's made my grading interesting.  
All students are required to take Arabic classes twice a week.  They have PE once a week and Technology (aka computers) once a week.  Since the lower elementary is so big, they've had to alternate Art and Music per grade.  So, kindergarten gets Art, first gets Music, second gets Art and so on.  Kinds stinks that my own daughter in kindergarten doesn't get to have a music class.
The students get a morning recess, lunch recess, and an afternoon recess.  Which, is very different from when I taught in Vegas.  The elementary kids just got lunch recess.
The most interesting part for me is teaching Social Studies.  The texts are American of course...and so, here I am, teaching American history to 17 students who have never set foot on American soil.  But, we have some really great discussions comparing where they are from and what life is like in America.  The kids get really excited to share about their own countries and they love hearing me tell about life in the States.
Of course, this difference of cultures has really made an impact on how and what I teach.  I spent a week teaching my class a new group of vocabulary words...they all knew them...knew what they meant and how to use them in a sentence.  But when it came time for the test, most did not do well.  I didn't understand...until I realized that the sentences used in the test referred to things that these kids had never heard of.  One sentence talked about cheerleaders at a game.  Another mentioned a barn.  I had 10 kids come up to me asking what a barn was!!  I was shocked!  But then thought...well, where in Saudi are they going to see a barn??  The kids really have a hard time comprehending a lot of the curriculum because it refers to things they just have never experienced or seen.
My entire class is Muslim.  And they love telling me things about their culture and religion.  Some of my kids are anti-pork (of course) and you should have seen their faces when I said how much I love eating piggies!!!  It was a riot.  I think they really get a kick out of how different we are.  

Anyway, that's just a few things I've encountered in the last few months.  
They may not celebrate Halloween here, but I gave my students a "Pumpkin Day."  Everything was about pumpkins and I even had them gut the pumpkin and paint them.  (yes, you can get pumpkins here, though they are the small ones)  This was a first for most of my students and they had an absolute blast.  Made me feel good to give them a chance to experience something new.
Here's a few shots of them getting their pumpkin on!

I also survived parent teacher conferences...most were pretty easy.  One rough one...but, well, I got through it.  One parent even gave me a Guide to Islam book.  I thought it was nice that he wanted to share with me.  ;)  

A week or so ago, I had a student tell me (during the middle of a lesson) that he needed to go and pray. Okay, now, I had no idea how to handle this.  I kinda just ignored him and continued on.  The next day, same thing.  I was really worried that I'd get in trouble refusing to let him pray, but I mean, this just isn't something I've ever had to deal with in class before!!!  After talking with the counselor, I was told that he could pray during recess if he wanted, or before school in the mosque on campus.  (until that moment I had no idea we had our own mosque!)  So, yeah, that was something new.

Now that the weather is FINALLY cooling off a bit...I've noticed a few other strange things.  Such as: giant snow coats, mittens, hats, sweaters...wait, where do we live???  But that isn't the icing on the cake...the best was this the other day at school:

Student: "My mom said that I can't go out to recess today."

Me: "Why?"

Student: "It's too cold outside." 

Me:  "I'm sorry, what??"

Student: "It's too cold."

Me: "Too cold??  Seriously??"

Student: "Yes, that's what my mom said."

Fact:  It was 70 degrees outside....

Must be a side affect of living in Saudi for too long...  ;)

So, now I'm getting ready to finalize report cards and wrap up the first semester.  Then it's a fab 2 week holiday break in Budapest!  

More teaching tid bits to come soon!

Teaching in Saudi Arabia

Well, I mentioned in a previous post that my life has taken a monster turn.  I accepted a job at the international school and I am now teaching 2nd grade! (oh and assistant coaching girls volleyball!)
Let me tell you a bit about the school.  It's an international school that teaches according to American standards.  We have quite a mix of kids...including kids from Saudi, Pakistan, India, Canada and the States (and more).  It's a nice school and they will soon be building a brand new one at a new site.  Since women can't drive, they have buses (like the ones for airport transfers) that go around and pick up the teachers from the compounds and our neighborhood.  It's nice, but stressful because I have to make sure I'm ready in time!  They pick us up right outside our front gate and the girls get to ride with me...love that.  :)  

 In this photo: Pix of the outside of school.  Notice the concertina wire?  The big blue door is the outer entrance where we have a guard on duty.  Those are the buses that take the teachers home.  Like the green lawn?!  :)

So, here's how it all went down:
When I went in for the interview, I had every intention of telling them no.  I had no desire to go back to work full time.  My youngest is only in school half a day and I wanted to spend the afternoons with her...she's growing so fast!  However, once they both started school and the little one was home alone in the afternoons without her sister...well, I realized pretty quick that neither one of us was going to be happy about that arrangement.  She was bored to tears, and I'm sorry, I love my baby...but I can't entertain her every day for 4 hours straight!
Now, that's not the main reason I took the job...the hubby and I went back and forth (okay, I rambled and he just listened) for three days straight...and well, I just couldn't come up with a good enough reason not to take the job.  The principal was literally begging me...they were desperate for teachers...the second grade classes were already too large.  So, I gave in.
Here's the part where once again I wish I had been smarter about leaving things with family when I packed up the whole damn house.  Leaving some of my teaching supplies would have come in really handy...I mean, I haven't taught in 5 years...and now, here I was, taking a job and I have nothing to start with.  I'm coming in after the year has already started, to a smallish classroom, and literally nothing to put on the walls or get organized with.  That was slightly overwhelming.  
Thank goodness for kind coworkers...they loaned me bits and pieces of stuff to get my room to look semi decent.  I was just sick thinking about all the lovely books I have locked away in a storage unit...so, safe to say, my class library is pretty pathetic.  But, again, fellow teachers came to the rescue and I rifled through my girls stock of books and pilfered those I knew they wouldn't miss...much.

my room before....

and after... 

I've never had real windows in my classroom before...so love the bright sunshine!  

I spent a whole week trying to get back into "teaching mode."  I downloaded First Days of School to my kindle to refresh my memory.  As I sat in my classroom it was like a tidal wave washed over me and everything started to come back...like my discipline plan, how I used to start each day, class rules, etc.  I surfed the net trying to find some of the things that used to be a staple in my room and see if I could download them.  (found a killer website called teacherspayteachers.com, where teachers post things that they have and either offer it for free or for a minimal charge....so thankful for that site...found a ton of stuff that I could use)
After a week, I was feeling pretty good.  Got my class list...chatted with the teachers who had the kids prior and felt like I was ready to go.  My first week with the kids would only be 3 days long because of a holiday...so that was actually good because we spent that time focusing on behaviors, class rules, etc. The downside of that first week was that it included open house.
But, I made it through the open house and met all the parents.  Now it was time to get down to buisness. 

My students hard at work baby!  Proud home of the Yanbu Stallions! 

The first week went well.  We practiced routines and got ourselves on track.  Not to mention I needed to figure out Moodle and prepare for Virtual School.  (more on that later)
With all that being said...am I happy I took the job??  You bet.  It has made life here so much more interesting and I feel involved in the community.  I love that I can see my girls whenever I want and we even have lunch together sometimes!  It's so much work...I forgot all about the daily life of an elementary teacher, but I'm happy.  :)

the kids playground at recess and the hard court area (bottom, middle photo).  Our "class pets."  These wild kitties are loving fed each day by me...I can't help it...the get right to the window and meow through the glass...too cute!  And a few more shots of the school grounds. 

What about you?  Do you think you could teach in a foreign country?