2 and a Half Months in Abu Dhabi

My days at the Intercontinental Hotel feels like it happened a year ago. So much has happened in just 2 months that when my mind goes back to that month staying in a five star hotel I am almost convinced it was a dream. Although I am happy and at peace with being here I must say that I am also very aware of the less than wonderful aspects of my time here, especially as a teacher.

I guess I will begin with the weeks proceeding my first day of school. Between visits to the beach, spa, and spending time with new acquaintances we had professional development workshops. Some were very effective some were less than helpful. I enjoyed most of the activities that were planned for us. Underlying all of this was an air of restlessness amongst many of the teachers. We had been at the hotel for almost a month and people were running low on money. The hotel restaurants were very expensive and taxi rides to food places outside of the hotel was starting to add up in cost. When it came to the attention of the Abu Dhabi Education Council that many people were getting low on funds we were informed that everyone would receive a payment advance. This alleviated many people's money worries. I think this time was particularly worrisome for families. After not receiving the advance for another two weeks we were told at the close of one of the PD events that the bank was there with atm cards for everyone. People erupted in cheers. After waiting in line, some for nearly 3 hours, people began to receive news that there was no money in the accounts! Yep, no money. This went on for another week. Up until this point I had only seen what seemed to be a very organized ADEC. This was to be only my first taste of just how disorganized things can be.

The other big mystery was where people were going to be placed to teach. We had received our city placements and some people were really struggling with that issue. For me, I was happy. I was placed in Abu Dhabi but honestly had come here with very few expectations so I wasn't attached to being in one particular place. It was wonderful to be placed where I had already made contact with my religious community and with the Latin dance community. Things really came together for my life outside of work. At the same PD when we got the atm cards to empty bank accounts, we received our school placements and I found out I would be in a place called Al Shamkha at a girls primary school called Al Asalah. After looking on a map I found out that the town I was going to be in was a 40 minute drive from Abu Dhabi. I needed to find a carpool!

One thing I have discovered that is a constant here is the eventuality of promises being kept or that sometimes what you are told initially will change at some point. I have learned it is best to wait a little and see what comes up in the following days. I will have to quote something one of my friends who has been here for many years said to me, "You know, when I interviewed for my job, on the application there was a place to rate yourself. One of the statements that I was asked to rate myself on was, 'Has a high tolerance for ambiguity' " HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! NO JOKE!! I have experienced ambiguity so intimately now that I am pretty sure I am changing my entire thinking pattern.

So, back to the carpool. By this point I had moved into my apartment and Ryan was to arrive two weeks later. During a PD session when people began to bring up their concerns about the money and getting to work, the advice of the workshop leaders was that ADEC would eventually get everyone the money and to wait until we got to our schools to arrange carpools. Well, I didn't have to wait that long. Somehow, through word of mouth a woman in my building found out I would be at the same school as her and two other women in our building. I now have the BEST carpool group!!! Me and two of the women are teaching second grade so we plan together and share ideas. It has been wonderful to ride to and from work with these women. We have had some very deep conversations and sometimes I have laughed until tears have come out of my eyes.

My first day of school was September 14th. This was unlike ANY first day of school I have EVER experienced. Teachers, brace yourselves. As you probably have guessed, we did not have any pre-school prep time in our classrooms. On September 14th we thought we were seeing our school, our classroom and our students for the first time. We had no curriculum. On the first day of school the principal had not arrived yet. There were no students. The students had not been split into classes. We were not assigned classrooms. We were not assigned grade levels. We had no books. No internet. No computers. We talked and drank tea for 5 hours and then went home. We did not meet the principal. We returned the next day, the last day of the working were told what grade level we would be teaching and attended a meeting with the principal. When we left on that day we still did not know where our classrooms were and we had no books. Sunday was the first day of the working week and that Sunday one of my friends aptly called, "The 3rd first day of school."

On the "3rd first day of school" I found my classroom just before the students. It was mayhem. Parents were confused. Teachers had no information. The poor students were lugging these crazy heavy rolly backpacks up and down stairs. Lots of crying on this day.

I was assigned second grade, my favorite age and grade to teach. During our hours of down time I made a sign for my door and when I went home I got some crayons as well as alphabet and number flashcards. We found a print out in one of the teachers' things from last year that I copied and had ready for my students along with a letter of the alphabet to color. My first class. I can barely remember it well. It seems so long ago.

The students were so well behaved and seemed to enjoy their time in class. I am a staunch believer in the methods that Dr. Harry Wong has in his "First Days of School" book. That book SAVED me my first days, weeks, and month. I will be using it all the time.

One student really stands out in my mind. Her mother was in class with her. I started teaching and meeting the students. I noticed that this kid was looking really wary so I didn't bother her. Then all hell broke loose when her mother tried to leave. I had placed a letter to color on her daughter's desk but she refused to do it. Her mother tried to encourage her but she was defiant. Then, MAN, it got downright CRAZY!! The mother tries to leave and this kid is hanging onto her mother for dear life. I honestly have never seen anything like it. Then her mom calls me over gives me her daughter's hand as she dashes out of the room. Y'all, this kid went berserk! I had to let her go because she was throwing herself on the floor, hard. Meanwhile, I have this class of 20 something students staring in absolute shock...silent. Once I let her go she ran out of the room and you could hear her screaming for her mother all the way down the corridor. Me and my new students just looked at one another for a moment and went back to work. A few minutes later the social worker comes with the girl in tow and sits her in a desk. She isn't crying now but she is raging inside. Livid is the only word to describe her expression. I found that the desks were too close as students trickled in and when we tried to move her desk she refused to move so I moved her chair with her in it. She threw herself on the floor and sat there. I let her stay and kept working with the other students. As if that wasn't enough. Who should come through the door but Barney and one of his friends. This is a teacher's worst nightmare for the first day of school. Here I am trying to set the tone for the year and I have a mom in class, her daughter going crazy, and now BARNEY!!!! BUT, as I have found with being flexible, sometimes you get an unexpected outcome. Barney and the social worker got the girl off the floor, in her desk and SMILING!!!! Dude, it was weird. This kid went from livid to happy in a nano second and was all about participating in class afterwards. Believe it or not, this girl was in the wrong class the whole time. That was the first day.

Ryan arrived on the 15th of September. It has been wonderful having him here. He is over jet lag now, making new friends, and working on his resume. Most of the time he gets up early in the morning with me to make my breakfast and lunch. We are hoping that he finds a job soon.

The days following the "3rd first day" have gone MUCH smoother. I focused mostly on classroom management and routines the first few weeks. My students are really starting to respond well. I am ready to take them out of rows and put them in groups.

My most exceptional student was my biggest challenge at first. I think maybe a week or two into teaching one of my students arrives with another little girl. I realized right away that this new student was completely blind. I was not told that I would have a blind student and that she was sent with a student and not a teacher was unbelievable to me. I had nothing in my classroom for her. I had almost nothing for my sighted students. I was angry. Not at having a blind student but at the lack of consideration for her and for me. How was I supposed to teach her? Much later in class a special ed teacher shows up and starts asking me for things to use for the blind student. Pissed is what I was. She interrupted my class, wants my undivided attention, and was talking to me as if I had known all along and was prepared for Asma. Eventually one of my teacher friends gave me some cut outs of letters and numbers. I remembered the movie, "The Miracle Worker" and wrote letters in Asma's hand. When I think about it now she must have thought I was crazy.

I think I had Asma in my class for about three weeks before there was a meeting called for all of her teachers. I was sooooo happy after this meeting!!! I met her previous English teacher and she was AMAZING!!! A beautiful, high spirited soul with love oozing out of every pour. Asma came too and I watched in amazement and sadness as she typed on her braille machine in English and responded to her teacher's requests in English. I was amazed because this child was worlds ahead of my entire classes and I was close to tears, sad that I had not known it. I remembered the days when I was still establishing classroom management and rules, when the rest of the class had my entire attention, she sat quietly in her desk for hours doing nothing. I did not know what to do with her. I was so angry every time the special ed teachers would come because I would not know they were coming, they brought no resources, they were not helpful, it made it hard to manage my class, and they kept talking to me as if I was supposed to know what to do. Her previous teacher Suneeta is my angel. We work closely together. She typed up for me the braille alphabet and I was able to start Asma on practicing typing letters, words, reading, and spelling. I have found ways to include her in class but also let her do work independently so she can keep building on what she learned previously.

Now I have Asma working on something most days and I push her because I know that she is capable of more than the others at the moment. I now have a brailler in class. I send Suneeta the lesson plans a week in advance so she comes to class once a week with lessons typed up for Asma. It has been a wonderful process of learning and growing as a teacher.

So, how do I teach, you may ask. First, I greet my students at the door. I shake their hands, look in their eyes, and call them by name. I have some simple task ready on their desk. (Weeks of repeated practice to bring backpacks to the back of class, take out pencils and colors, sit at your desk...led up to this.) They know that this is a quiet activity. Then I use, "1, 2, 3 Eyes on me." and they reply, "1,2,3 Eyes on you" every time there is a transition. They know to put down their pencils and colors because they are going to get some directions. I have the class agenda on the board and when we move from one subject to the next I use something called Power Teaching...T: Class. S: Yes? T: Learning positions. S: OK! T: English time or Math time or Science time. Of course, all of this was practiced ad-infinitum for a couple of weeks as an intro, as a game, and a practice activity. As a teacher I know that I am teaching more than writing, reading, math, the five senses. The students have to feel that they know what is expected of them. They need this to feel at ease learning. Predictable routines and expectations are so important.

So, this has been my first couple of months teaching. The scheduled has changed so many times I have stopped counting. ADEC is loading us up with work that could have been done before school even started. Lots of ambiguity but at least in my class I see my students growing. I feel me growing and that is really all that matters. Everything else is superfluous.