ZOO: Teaching Moments 2

I have a special needs student in my class. She has physical trouble getting around the school, but intellectually she is quite adept.

From day one, she has interrupted me while I was speaking to tell me that she didn't have a handout since she hadn't been to the first classes, or that she had a totally unrelated question. She constantly would tell me when she finished her work, which was always before anyone else in the class. Even though I have asked her a number of times to hold her answers until others are able to respond, she continues to shout out her answers before anyone else has a chance, thus silencing the class.

My teaching style is to let students shout out answers rather than call on individuals because I believe it creates a more open atmosphere, but she has continuously been trying to prove herself to me and her classmates that she is sharper and better.

Finally, yesterday I called her out in front of the class asking her to confer with her classmates about answers since she was in a group and to perhaps let others participate before she responds. She then clearly complained about my reprimand in Arabic, which one does not need to know the language to understand what was said. So, I asked her if she had something she'd like to say to me directly, to which she completely stopped talking for the rest of the class and wrote little notes in her notebook.

In the afternoon, I was called in to the Assistant Director's office because she had made a complaint to Student Services about me not being fair or understanding of her needs. I politely explained that while I respect her special physical needs, I will not provide her with any slack on the intellectual side. Though I do not know the culture here regarding people's responses to those with any kind of disability, I refuse in any country or culture to treat people differently if their minds are fully intact. Perhaps she is not used to this kind of treatment.

The good news is that the AD is being very supportive of the situation from my perspective and is taking what I've said back to Student Services who will then speak with the student again. Eventually, I will probably have to speak with her directly, though she should have just asked for an appointment to speak with me at the beginning as I have quickly learned that this culture is much more open about expressing their feelings than in Japan.

We shall see how it plays out, but this is very clearly contributing to my current lack of enjoyment with my students. I still have to see them for another 5 weeks, so it will have to get sorted out somehow.

On the bright side, they all just gave fabulous presentations! :D

Until next time...

-T

Settling in...

I know that I should be updating more. Some have asked for pictures and some have wondered what has happened to me. I'm here, but I still don't have internet at home, thus it is difficult to update my usual blog. My fingers are crossed for the internet to be connected some time this week, which is a story in itself. I will write another post for that after I get connected. ;)

So, life is starting to settle as my weeks start to take on a normal routine. Here is a general lowdown of the passing of my time.

5:05am - Alarm goes off; hit snooze
5:15am - Get up: It is still very dark outside
5:35ish - Hear the morning call to prayer from the nearby mosque as I finish my shower
6:00am - Eat some breakfast and continue to wake up with some tunes on my iPod
6:25am - Head downstairs to meet others for the drive to work
6:40am - Arrive at work; turn on computer; get a cup of instant coffee; surf the internet; catch up on emails and Facebook
7:10am - Look at lesson plans for the day

**Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday**
8:00 - 9:30 - Teach the first block of lessons
9:30 - 12:00 - Eat lunch/snack; chat online; surf the internet; lesson plan for afternoon; organize my desk and life...
12:00 - 1:30 - Teach the second block of lessons
1:45pm - Bolt out of work and head ... a) home; b) the mall; or c) THE BEACH!

**Monday & Wednesday**
10:00 - 11:30 - Teach the first block of lessons
11:30 - 2:00 - Eat lunch/snack; chat online; surf the internet; lesson plan for afternoon; organize my desk and life...
2:00 - 3:30 - Teach the second block of lessons
3:45pm - Bolt out of work and head home or the beach

10:00pm - Head to bed

- Thursday nights are spent out with THE SHIFT (a gathering of colleagues at a pub for an end-of-the-week drink(s)) and then usually out somewhere after that.
- Friday is a holy day so there is not much to do other than hit the beach and relax until the evening when one can go out on the town.
- Saturday seems like a regular work day for most people, so grocery shopping and other errands get taken care of then along with a trip to the beach or tennis or something else fun before the weekend ends!

Starting today, I will begin tennis with my new coach (good friend, Jen) and hopefully get myself to a point where I can play a decent game, but there's a lot of work to do before that happens. Plus, once it gets hot I will be worthless....

Coming in the next weeks will be checking out the pottery and pilates studios along with joining some salsa classes once or twice a week. So...as usual I will find myself busy. Oh and yes, there is that whole phd studying thing... :D

More to come!

Until next time ~

-T

ZOO: Classroom Moments 1

Cultural Observation: Negotiations are done loudly and with great expression until finally a coin is tossed to determine a winner.

My students have begun working on group projects this afternoon. I have given them a rare period to begin working. One of the tasks is to determine a country to focus on, but no group may have the same country. Of course, two groups wanted the same country.

Student A asks around for what countries everyone is doing. Group 1 says Yemen. Group 4 also wants Yemen (Student A's group). Arabic begins flying from group to group. Here is my translation/interpretation of what went round:

Argument 1: Group 1 has four students while Group 4 has only two present. [rationale by majority]
Argument denied.

Argument 2: Group 1 tells Teacher which country they are doing. Teacher says Sure. It's now decided.
Argument refuted that Student A had been asking other groups, so in essence she should get a say first on which country and that asking Teacher doesn't count.

Argument 3: We've already started researching about the country.
Argument refuted - so have we "See" (showing computer screen)

Argument 4: Shout over the top of the others and the loudest person wins.
Argument void as both groups shout.

Meanwhile I am laughing... I laugh more when I see the 1 dirham coin come out and Student A gets up to flip. Flip. Student A makes a noise, face and laughter ensues. She has lost.

Result Group 1 wins Yemen. Lesson learned? Majority does win and the louder the better!

Ah... entertainment at its finest. You can't get this on television, I tell ya'!

Until next time...

-T

ZOO: Teaching Moments 1

Issue 1: 5-minutes = late for both two hour sessions

On Day 1, we discussed as a class the rule for coming in late to class. Instead of having a break half-way between the two 1-hour sessions, we go for 90-minutes straight. This means that the rule for being allowed 5-minutes to be late applies to both hourly sessions in the morning and afternoon.

Yesterday wasn't a problem because class began at 10am. This morning was the first time the class began at 8am after the rules were discussed. At 8am for roll call, there were 4 students sitting in their seats. At 8:20 three more students came in and by the end of the 90-minutes 11 students were present.

The three that waltzed in first were convinced I should mark them as present for at least the second-half of the morning session because, of course, their previous teachers had done the same.

My response:
"New course, new level, new teacher, new rules".

Student response:
- Silent looks of disapproval, whispers and pouty faces.

Lesson learned: Teacher is strict...and, students are the same no matter where you go.

People are the same no matter where you go. It's comforting, at least, to know that humanity and behaviour crosses cultures and language. :D

In the end, we came to an agreement. Today, I will be flexible. Tomorrow, I will not. Any questions? None.

Until next time...

-T

PS I will post these moments back on my Mental Meanderings blog once I am internet-friendly at home!

Abu Dhabi: A week complete

Eventually I will have to stop counting the time that has passed and
truly accept that this is where I live but I still am adjusting. Life
isn't truly settled until I have Internet access at home (to come in a
few days!) and more furniture. The good news is that my material life
is in the country and en route to my new digs. So perhaps then I will
feel better.

The first day of classes has passed. I have an interesting group of 13
whom I will see for 4 hours a day over the next 8 weeks. It is my hope
they will all pass out of the class so that they can be fully
matriculated in the university but already there are a couple that are
questionable and it is no surprise this is their last chance to pass
the program...

Adjusting to the schedule may be the most challenging. I am currently
sharing taxi ride with another new colleague but she has an earlier
schedule than me. I start at 8 three time a week and finish around 2.
The other two days I don't start until 10 and then finish around 4.
She is always on a 730 - 130 schedule so we are going in around 630.
Still early even by my standards. The cool thing is that there isn't
much need to lesson plan much and after work I still have time in the
day to do other things.

So this afternoon I got my Internet ordered and cell phone set up so I
can receive and make international calls. Then I headed to the mall
for a bit of pampering with a pedicure and more house-shopping. I only
managed new bedding but that is an accomplishment considering most
stuff is a bit too boudour-esque for me.

So this ends another long blog post. I really got post more regularly
to share everything!!!

Until next time...

-T

twaller2008@i.softbank.jp
Sent from my iPhone

Abu Dhabi: Days 4 & 5

I'm not sure if it is more stressful to settle in to an apartment,
start a new job with very little knowledge of the course, or walk
around at night as a single woman with streets filled with only men.
Votes?

The past two days have been filled with information about classes. It
has definitely been much more useful than some of re other stuff, but
my head is swimming. I spent two days trying to figure out how to
print in by office. Finally I got it sorted about a half hour before I
was planning to leave. So at least I know what I need to copy fist
thing on Sunday morning.

For the first time I am using PowerPoint as my teaching medium. So I
spent a couple of hours today sorting out my lesson plan for the first
two-hour session with my new students. After a day of rest I will plan
the second two-hour session before Sunday. I think the planning will
get easier and faster soon though.

Today being "Friday" means that drinks were in order after a full
week. So while we planned to go to Ikea again the traffic was so bad
getting a taxi that we decided to hit the happy hour where our new
colleagues were gathering this week. Apparently each week takes them
to a new venue which will be nice for getting to know people and the
city.

After a couple of drinks we went shopping. Before I knew it the mall
was closing and I realized it was already 11pm. So we do not recommend
shopping after drinking!

Overall the week has come to a nice end. I need a break for part of a
day at the least. But it seems that the job will be good and life will
be manageable...

So until next time,

-T

twaller2008@i.softbank.jp
Sent from my iPhone

Abu Dhabi: Orientation Days 1 ~ 3

It is hard to believe that three days have already passed since leaving Japan and arriving in Abu Dhabi. The days have been a blur with information overload, shopping until dropping (literally) and adjustments mentally, physically and emotionally to a new culture and place.

The best part of the whole situation at the moment is the hotel I am staying at. The Rotana Beach Hotel is lovely.
The photo is of the ceiling in the lobby, just thought it looked cool. ;D

So, Day 1 was a bit of a rough start. As Nick and I didn't have access to the updated schedule, we waited about a half hour in the lobby thinking someone would be there to pick us up. 9am came around when our first orientation session should have begun and no one was to be found in our hotel. After trying to make a few calls or find out what was going on, it turned out that we missed the provided transportation to take us to the university. Thus, we hopped in to a very expensive taxi and made it to the university on our own. After arriving, we spent another 15 minutes trying to suss out where we should be since no one was in the room we were told to go to. In the end, we managed to find the orientation session in full swing, but walked right in as if nothing was amiss. The funnier thing is that no one else seemed at all bothered by the fact that we were 45 minutes late.

Culture rule #1 realized - Time is a fluid concept...except in the classroom.

So, we continued with orientation along with everyone else. Met a few of the other new starts. There are about 15 of us in total, though all but 5 of us started a week ago and thus have bonded a bit more, settled in to their apartments more, etc.

Day 2 began with a health check-up. We got up before the sun, went to the hospital to have blood drawn and an x-ray taken. Then, if was a serious day of shopping or comparing prices for things, considering what should go into the unnecessary space that is called my apartment and try not to freak out at the whole idea of it all! I did manage by the very end of the day to buy my fridge, gas/electric range oven and washer/dryer machine. Also, to avoid a bed purchase, I got an air mattress to use until my things arrive next week from Japan and bedding for an extra bed should I ever get around to furnishing a guest room. By the end, I collapsed into my comfy hotel bed at 9:30 until the alarm roused me at 6:30 on Day 3.

Now is the end of Day 3, which I think was perhaps the most useless day of all. We had another early start, but started with an overview of the university and students lecture, then moved on to IT stuff. Some of it was useful information, but overall I was generally bored and wanted to just find my desk space and know my class schedule. I am told the class stuff comes tomorrow, so I am looking forward to that. The greatest fun was finding my desk. Another new guy said he saw my name on a desk at the Men's Campus - a 10minute walk from the main campus, where Nick is located - so I went with others there to find my desk. I walked around all the desks and found no Tara Waller. I did see a desk with someone named Tara D----. That wasn't me.... So, I trekked back to the main campus and went to the large teachers' room and looked around and around. I saw another cubicle with Tara D----'s name on it, but no Tara Waller. Great! I thought I was confused by the other Tara and had no home.... However, after being directed to speak with the lady responsible for assigning cubicle spaces, she took me across the hall to a smaller teachers' room, where at last I found a home! It was satisfying, though the environment could be questionable with a noisy fan and less enthusiastic neighbor, but we shall see how it goes. The cool thing is I have met a fellow Portlander whose cubicle is in front of mine, so we can continue to have an Oregon bond. ;D

So, this winds up my first 72 hours in Abu Dhabi. I've made some cultural notes already, but that shall come later.

Until tomorrow,

-T