School & Work - Not Boring, Surprisingly!

Thanks to House of Rose I have an important topic to talk about - school and work! How fitting that this topic should come up as I had just finished lesson planning for next week and thought that I should update my blog. Doesn't hurt that Spotify is playing an eclectic mix of music in the background as I'm typing away. 

Where to begin...

First, I must declare that everyone, and I mean every, single EMT, HoF, or whomever, has had a totally unique experience traveling to, living, and working in Abu Dhabi. Therefore, my journey is not a one-size-fits-all and cannot be considered as a generic preview of what can be expected when coming to teach in this country. In fact this is the main reason that it's fun meeting and talking to other educators, heck anyone living in the UAE, since everybody has a one-of-a-kind story to tell. I have had the pleasure of acquainting with and befriending people from England, Ireland, Cameroon, Jordan, India, Palestine, Nepal, the Philippines, Pakistan, Egypt, Scotland, Mauritania...and the list goes on and on.  

Okay, let me get into the main subject at hand, starting from the top. I must create a list/timeline to help me with this...

- I got my medical check and fingerprinting for my residency visa/Emirates ID done 3 days after arriving in Abu Dhabi.

- I found out my region placement (Abu Dhabi) and that I was on "reserve" during the general orientation, which took place on the first day of the following week (6 days after arrival)...and this was followed by 3 days of subject-area, cycle-relevant training at a hotel.

- I finally received my school placement at the end of the next week, almost 3 weeks after arrival. I'm placed at an all male-staffed, all-boys school about a 35-40 minutes drive from city center. The school serves students from Cycles 1-3 but it's divided into two buildings with Cycle 1 on one side and Cycles 2 & 3 on the other side. Due to a limited amount of space on the Cycles 2 & 3 side, Grade 6 is in the Cycle 1 building even though this grade level is a part of Cycle 2. 

Since my school is all-male staffed and teaches boys exclusively, I have been assigned there with another female EMT so that we could co-teach and manage our students more effectively together since this is a very interesting and unique situation for all parties involved - teachers, admins, pupils, etc. Nobody was sure how this would play out or how it would affect school culture and the learning environment, especially how our students would respond to us. Luckily, things have been moving along just fine and our boys work quite well with us. All limbs & fingers are still intact, our brains remain in our heads, and we are still breathing and going to work! Woot woot! They adhere to our routines and listen to our directions for the most part - well with plenty of reminders, of course, and one of the reminders involves being sent to our social workers/disciplinarians (they don't enjoy that very much so they try to redirect themselves and behave). 

Our kids are silly, animated, sometimes unmotivated, sometimes eager to learn, sometimes too much to handle, but sometimes will melt your heart...all in all I have enjoyed working with them and grown to like them quite a bit. Not that they don't make me want to pull out my hair or at least sprout some white ones from time to time but they are not vicious or violent or mean...they just eat too much candy and have too much energy for their own good. Could they be more focused? Sure. Could they behave better? Sure. Is there room for improvement? Yes and always - this goes for everybody in general. However, I can't blame them or anyone working with them for some of the challenges that are present because of the language barrier. Imagine being asked to do something that you're not good at (and don't find enjoyment in doing for some) and having to do it every day. This explains some of the frustration, lack of motivation, and disengagement.  It's an uphill battle but also a unique opportunity for everyone. There's a lot of hand gestures and facial expressions involved, that's for sure, and you have to celebrate small victories when they happen - they do happen and they will happen.  It definitely helps being surrounded by positive staff members whom you can exchange stories with and lean on for support. Healthy doses of intrigue, amazement, breakthroughs, and laughter are injected in the work week as well.  Like I said, work is definitely not boring.   

- The AMTs and EMTs at my school teach anywhere from 18 to 24 to 30 periods each week. Most classrooms have about 25, plus or minus a few students, each class.  

- We're not overflowing with resources but we're not necessarily lacking in them either. The essentials are there for the most part and we make do with what we have for the rest.  Some of us use our own funds to bring in the things we want but they're not like do-or-die items.  If it's reasonable and permission is given in advance, my school reimburses what we purchase, which is awesome.  Sometimes what we need is right there in front of us but sometimes we need to ask around and hunt those materials down. Communication is key. 

- Oh and finally, my daily routine consists of getting up around 5-5:30am, start driving around 6:15am, and get to school before 7am. The school day kicks off with a 15-minute, all-school assembly where the kids do a few exercises to get their blood pumping, sing the national anthem, and watch a presentation put up by one of the classes. Then some talented students play live music to dismiss everyone from the assembly. After a full day of teaching with a prep period or two and a short lunch break in there, I usually make my way home around 1:30pm on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays while I do the same around 2:30pm on Mondays and Wednesdays due to professional development. 

Welp, this is all I can come up with for now.  I was hoping that this entry would be more logical and structured when I first started writing but it ended up being a jumble of disorderly thoughts. I blame this on the caffeine-sugar rush I got from the cup of coffee I drank. Nonetheless I hope this post sheds some light on what the work could be like and is somewhat helpful in preparing you for what could be coming your way.