Remember Conan O' Brien's skit, "The year 2000"? Well, when I was ten, I looked at the year 2000 as the future. And here I am, in Saudi Arabia, starting the 2010-2011 school year at one of the top graduate universities of science and technology in the world. One might start to believe we are in the future when an orientation to teaching early childhood includes terms such as 'paperless school', 'digital student portfolios', 'i movies', and 'smart tables'.
After three weeks of various introductions to technology, reality has set in. I am one of many pioneers working to establish even the most basic foundations at this new school. Turns out, while the funding exists for Smart Tables, I've yet to see one. Instead, our team is busy organizing bus schedules, starting classrooms from scratch, and meeting new families for intake.
My roster is up to thirteen students: five girls and eight boys. Six of my students speak limited to no English, but rather Arabic. After the Eid, (a holiday ending the month of Ramadan) I'll surely go up to fifteen students. My assistant, Adora, is from the Philippines. This is her first experience working full-time in a classroom. She is a licensed audiologist and her husband works here on campus. The first week of school was a challenge, getting to know the nuances of this community. This place definately has a distinctive flare, so I had to adjust my teaching approach quite a bit. My students and I are acclimating just fine.
This weekend, Lisa, her son Dylan, Corry, and I took a taxi through Jiddah to Jareers bookstore and mall. Surviving the mad traffic, where everyone competes to make it through intersections and doesn't have a concept of a "space cushion", we saw some amazing tea sets, gaudy nick knacks, and ornate abayas at the mall, which seems to be more 'in the neighborhood'. It was the first time I've seen people begging, including some children.
I'm looking forward to Ramadan's end, so I can openly carry my water bottle around during the day. And I'll be going to Dubai for four days!
My favorite thing so far: one of my little boys said, "Ms. Miranda, one day you can put on your abaya and come to my house to see my room." No child has ever said this to me before. Yes, I am in Saudi Arabia.
You are fabulous, I wish you the best of luck!
ReplyDeleteThe classroom is so colorful and I love the Macs! Sounds like your kids love you, already. I'm not surprised.
ReplyDeleteSomething's wrong, why is everything in that room so vibrant and clean! Must be brand spankin new.
ReplyDeleteGood job Miranda, I know it must be tough acclimating to the Arabic culture as it's so different from ours.
working on getting some updated photos. I have some with children that I think I can post (the back of their heads). Soon, I hope. P.S. Jake, the students clean the room everyday. Organizing is one of our units of inquiry. Sure would be cool to have Sona in my class! I heard you're teaching some ball activities! Do share
ReplyDeleteFirst time getting a chance to come check out the blog. Love it! Now I just need to make some time to Skype. Talk to ya soon.
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