Driving through the desert on the way to Dubai...
Adventures
First, a significant news item in the paper last week: Egypt’s highest priced dates auctioned under the name Barack Obama, after the US President. Every year the auctioneers name the dates after politicians and celebrities. The cheapest dates were named after Israel’s Defense Secretary Lieberman.
My training continued this week. We met at a girl’s primary school in Abu Dhabi (2 hours away) for an orientation session that covered a background on the school system, an introduction to UAE culture, and an overview of the ambitious education reform project taking place in the UAE (more about this later). The bus ride was a chance to see the countryside and some of the development taking place throughout the UAE. But it was also extremely uncomfortable.
Compare that to a photo taken in the lobby of our hotel in Abu Dhabi a week earlier.
The pace of development here is staggering. One must remember that the country is only a little over 30 years old – though the culture dates back thousands of years (near our town there is a ruin that is over 5,000 years old). The freeway we drove on was six and sometimes eight lanes wide. The picture below shows a freeway ramp under construction – a surreal site as you approach it from around a bend in the road. I was not very diligent about taking pictures this week, but when I tell you this is a small project, I assure you I am not exaggerating.
For the most part my week was rather uneventful. Last Friday night, after drafting the first edition of this blog, I went to Dubai and stood at the base of the World’s Tallest Building (it deserves capitalizing in my opinion) and then visited the Dubai Mall. From there I walked two blocks to an AA Meeting. Yes, there’s an AA meeting in Dubai two blocks from the World’s Tallest Building. The world’s tallest building is in fact 175 stories – and they have stored cranes in the top in case they need to raise it to beat someone who tries to outdo them.
The new metro line connecting Abu Dhabi to Dubai is scheduled to open in a few months. In about ten days they will open the first ten stations. The trains are operator free, and will relieve the terrible traffic that plagues both cities. The stations are space-age and made with top of the line materials.
Basically, if something isn’t the biggest, the best and the most expensive, it’s hard to imagine The UAE being interested. I am hoping I can take a trip soon to Sheikh Zayed Mosque which is said to be the grandest mosque in the world. They say everything thing that is the color of gold is real gold.
In the mall in Dubai, there is a full-size ice hockey rink, possibly the largest indoor fish tank in the world, and a 4-story tall waterfall covering a large wall at one entrance. The skateboard shop even has its own mini skate park in the upstairs area.
But, during Ramadan you’ll notice one thing unusual about the mall: empty food courts. Because of the daily fast, the food courts are closed until about 6:45 PM.
My furniture allowance was in the bank when I went yesterday. I also signed up for online banking which has all of the features we are used to in the US, plus a cool gadget. It issues a new digital code every 60 seconds that you must enter along with your username and password when you login to your banking session. I guess one has to remember that people here are dealing with very large sums of money, and security) is crucial.
The United Arab Emirates is one of the few countries in the world with a larger Carbon footprint per resident than the United States. It also has a higher water consumption rate than the US – a rare feat. Water politics has been the subject of a week-long feature in The National newspaper and it’s quite fascinating. Today’s topic was water in Iraq.
I was struck by one similarity to living in the US when I saw the newspaper article below taped to the wall of the grocery store next to the weekly special circular. It explains the environmental impact of using plastic bags and encourages alternatives.
As part of our teacher training, we had a presentation about Masdar City – as a way of showing us the types of industries that are growing here where our students may one day have the opportunity to work. Prepare to be impressed! Masdar City will be the first Carbon Neautral – in fact carbon off-setting – city in the world. It is a massive undertaking, and yet when one has seen the other achievements in this region to date, it is hard to doubt that it will happen. Construction on Masdar City has already begun and was uninterrupted by the financial crash. In fact, Abu Dhabi – unlike Dubai – still has 60 years of oil to tap, and is weathering the financial crisis well. (Abu Dhabi is currently providing guaranteed loans to Dubai to keep Dubai’s economy afloat).
Included in the Masdar City Plan is an underground system of self-steering, fully electric vehicles that will request a destination from their passenger and then take the passengers there with no stops in between. Now that’s good public transit. If you saw Total Recall or any number of modern science fiction movies, this is pretty much what is being proposed. The system is being modeled after a baggage transport system that is in place today in one of the US airports.
You can learn more about Masdar City on their website (www.masdarcity.ae). I think this provides a good transition to a description – albeit somewhat superficial – of what I’ve learned about the seemingly conflicted goals of modernization, religious tradition, and tribal tradition of the UAE Nationals.
Modernization, Religion and Culture (Tribal Past) of The United Arab Emirates:
Much of what I describe below comes from the instruction we received during our week of training. However, I do include some anecdotes from personal experience, and conversations with people I’ve met since arriving.
On our first day of training we received a presentation from a man named Ali – whose insights about Emirate culture can be found on www.ask-ali.com – explained that when someone here – another Emirate – asks him his name, they are really asking what kind of connections he has – his “Wasta”. When he gives his name, he will name his father and grandfather etc. and the tribe, and the person asking will know if he is from a powerful family or not. Family connections are at the heart of the culture here; and, marriages and lineage play a large role in shaping one’s future. This is why there are such strict codes of conduct for family members – anyone who brings shame brings it onto the whole family.
In the case of our presenter’s name, his tribe was involved in trade and traveled camel routes throughout Arabia. Because of this, when he travels with his family, they often have passports from several countries, even though they have the same tribal name. And, speaking of passports, a UAE citizen travelling through Arabia – and indeed many Muslim countries – will receive a tremendous amount of respect at customs. The reason for this is that they are citizens of the country founded by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al Nayhan (1918-2004).
Sheikh Zayed united the emirates that today make up The United Arab Emirates (UAE). He did it with a vision of modernizing the region while maintaining the culture and religion of the people. He is highly revered today, and all Arab people hold him in very high esteem. It is said that wherever he walked greenery sprouted in his path – and when one looks at the freeways the reason for this is clear. When the UAE was young, he would walk along the land that is now Abu Dhabi and put stones where he wanted buildings to be – placing a stone on the ground he would say “this is where my people will have a hospital” – and the hospital would be built. And UAE citizens supported him universally.
Islam is the national religion of the UAE, but freedom of religion is allowed and encouraged. In practice, from what I have been able to find, this means that there are a handful of Catholic Churches. But, in several instances we have been reminded about the Muslim belief in respecting other religions. Ali explained it best when he reminded our team of teachers that Islam is a religion based in both Judaism and Christianity – insofar as Muslims follow their spiritual lineage from Abraham and Moses and Jesus Christ and Mohammed PBUH. (PBUH is the proper text message acronym for Peace Be Upon Him – which all Muslims say after using the name of the prophet Muhammed). I haven’t heard anything mentioned about Buddhists or Hindus, but it has been presented to us so far – and I have no reason to doubt it – that citizens of the UAE take great pride in following Baba Zayed’s lead of religious tolerance, and even respect.
So what about Jews? Aside from concerns about my safety, this is the most common question I’ve been asked by people back home. I think I’m able to answer now – though a bit circuitously.
Of course, all of this cultural awareness training is intended to prepare us for the classroom. We must learn and know the countries leaders, their religious and cultural customs, and the overall world-view. But, there are other sensitive issues we must be aware of. For example, the Persian Gulf – as I learned to call it when I was young – is referred to here as the Arabian Gulf. The Gulf was known as The Arabian Gulf for centuries, and we only know of it as the Persian Gulf because by the time the West started making maps of this part of the world (a few centuries after everyone else), Persia had more power. But, for centuries before that, all traders in the region referred to it as the Arabian Gulf. Therefore it would be inappropriate to use the map below in class – and even offensive.
It would also be inaccurate, because the borders with Saudi Arabia and Oman (and this week, Iran) are both still disputed – just two weeks ago UAE citizens and residents were not allowed to cross the border into Saudi Arabia with their National ID cards but instead had to have their passport. The cause of this overnight change in policy: The UAE map on their new National ID cards did not agree with the map that Saudi Arabia desired.
And, the map would be offensive for one more reason. The UAE does not recognize the State of Israel right now. This is not an anti-Jewish stance – it is an anti-Israel stance. Several presenters, and people I’ve met on the streets and behind the wheels of taxis – agree that they love and respect Jewish people. One speaker said that she would scold her child if he spoke poorly of Jews.
But there is consensus here that the actions of the state of Israel toward Palestinians are horrendous, and that Israel should not be recognized as a result. A few of these people were children before the creation of the State of Israel and they remember when Jewish and Arab Palestinians lived side-by-side in peace. Furthermore, many Palestinian’s here – my cab driver the other day, the man at the bank who opened my checking account, and a man I met at the gym the other day who later took me to tea at a hotel nearby – are refugees from their homeland and cannot return even to visit family because of travel restrictions in place by Israel.
When I asked the man at the bank where he was from and he told me Palestine, I responded that I had read in that day’s paper that their Prime Minister had reasserted a proposal for a state of Palestine with the 1967 border agreements. He smiled, pleased that I had noticed this, and hopeful that it might happen. When I left, his handshake was affectionate.
My first day in Al Ain I met a fellow in the hotel gym who was half Syrian and half Palestinian. He moved to the UAE with his family from Syria when he was three after his parents had lived a short time in Syria after the formation of Israel in 1949. He has never seen his father’s homeland. He had studied in Connecticut and earned a degree in business administration. He told me that when he was in Connecticut – studying with two other Muslims – a handful of people there had helped the three of them get settled in. They had taken them to get furniture, showed them the town where they lived, and made them feel welcome in the foreign land. Because of that he offered to take me to the top of the mountain in Al Ain so I could see the city and enjoy a cup of tea. A week ago we went and he extended the hospitality that I have begun to feel guilty about receiving. If I get anything from this trip, I hope it will be to offer hospitality to travelers.
Over this cup of tea, my friend Wasim – and I think we may well become good friends – told me about his days as a child, growing up in the public schools of the UAE; the days when schools here were good. And, he told me about the challenges of trying to get a good education for his children in the private schools for non-UAE citizens, and his wife’s work as a teacher in one of these private schools. Several years ago, the UAE public schools began a policy of limiting enrollment in public schools to UAE Citizens. And, after this pleasant conversation, on our drive down the mountain, Wasim lamented that the leaders of Israel and many Muslim countries were ratcheting up the rhetoric to such a degree that normal people’s voices were being drowned out, and that peace was becoming impossible. Interestingly, I’ve had similar conversations with Jewish friends in San Francisco. The problem seems to be the leadership of the political class.
So, what happens when modernization, culture and the tribal past cross paths? When it was decided that the UAE Air Force wanted new fighter planes they chose the F-16. The planes stopped in Israel to have the desert upgrade package installed. In pursuit of the best, the UAE will go to any length. (You may have seen in the news the other day that the UAE Armed Forces stopped a shipment of illegal weapons to Iran the other day).
One more note – my weekly film suggestion – Elia Suleiman released “The Time That Remaines” this year at Cannes. It traces Palestinian history from 1949 through a series of blackly comic vignettes. It is as critical of Palestinian political class as it is of the Israeli political class. I think these voices, these films, are important; and, I think many here would agree. See it if you get a chance at a film festival, I’m hoping it will play at the International Film Festival here in October.
All of this is just the beginning of why we are asked to use a map in classrooms that identifies the Arabian Gulf, Palestine, and the disputed borders of the United Arab Emirates.
Education
If you’re an educator, or interested in the work I’ll be doing, the rest may interest you. If you’re interested in UAE culture, this may still be interesting as so many of the practices in place are a reflection of culture – such as separate schools for boys and girls. But mostly, the rest of this just talks about my work and education.
Unfortunately, most of what I have run into in the school curriculum plans is not different than the west. The other day I sat down in a training session and was handed the same handout here that I received four years ago in Miami. The UAE has hired 8 companies of consultants (about 400 employees) that specialize in curriculum development and our group of 400 new teachers. Next year they will double the number of employees in all of these growth areas – education is a boom industry here.
It began – this reform – when Sheikh Muhammed visited South Korea three years ago and learned just how far behind the UAE schools really were. He was impressed by South Korea’s schools, and realized that the schools needed to be fixed. The overhaul is a mammoth project – like building the world’s tallest building, largest mall, or whatever. And there’s no doubt they’ll keep at it now until it’s done. The difference is that the “product” is the student, and you can’t grow children into adults overnight. Nevertheless, the leaders do seem committed to the long-term, and willing to go to any length, as they often are when they set a goal. But, the task is daunting…
Last year 3% of graduating seniors were able to enter university directly based on their exit exams. Another 70% qualified for foundation learning – or schooling to improve basic skills so they can perform in a university setting. These students consume 30% of the higher education budget, and it is the hope of the Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) that by bringing in Native English Speaking Teachers with teaching licenses, more students will proceed directly into university, and will be well-trained for the workforce.
Our teaching group has been brought in because our teaching training is based on encouraging critical thinking, collaborative learning and other western pedagogy. Traditionally, schools here have focused on rote learning – memorizing the text book for the final exam. In fact, it has been common that students would stay home the week before final exams in order to try and memorize the text.
Strangely, the changes to the curriculum are being measured against a battery of standardized tests. Students are being asked to replace memorizing their text book with memorizing and training for a standardized multiple choice exam. And, as teachers caught in the middle of the old school curriculum and the new schools curriculum, we are being asked to teach the new tests using collaborative learning techniques? Well, I’m as confused as you are, but that’s what happens to education when it becomes bureaucratic.
Of course, we are good teachers, and we’ll figure out a way to make everyone happy – bring up test scores, teach students real skills, and introduce some of the critical thinking skills that were lacking in the memorization of the text book. And, we’ll help students learn to work in teams, feel more confident speaking in English, and be better prepared for university. And, lastly, we’ll work to address the needs of parents. This last concern was probably the most interesting of all that we discussed.
Two parents spoke to us and shared a lot of insight. One was a father of a few children in the public schools. He said a lot of brilliant things, but one that stood out in my mind. “We want to modernize – not westernize or easternize”. Dressed in his Emirate clothes, he spoke eloquently about his own experience as a child in the schools, and what worked and what did not. He was invited by an ADEC staffer who had met him at Toastmasters. He is a businessman. But, he was mostly concerned that the changes in the education system not encroach upon the structure of his family or his culture.
I mentioned earlier that a policy was put in place that limited the public schools to enrollment by UAE nationals only. This was done for many reasons, but one was that when men came into girls schools, the non Emirate girls would not cover with their Abayas. The Emirate girls then felt different, perhaps rebellious? Anyway, in order to preserve Emirate culture, people thought it would be better to not expose their children to people whose children had different customs.
Last night I got my apartment. I now have two weeks to get it furnished before school starts, and some of the construction workers are still camped out in it while they finish work on the building. I also have only five days to leave the hotel where I am staying. It seems nothing happens here for a while, and then everything happens all at once. It may be a few weeks before I post again, but I do love getting e-mails from people, so please do write.
If you read this far, you’re brave and I love you. Thanks for enjoying my journal.
In the mall in Dubai, there is a full-size ice hockey rink, possibly the largest indoor fish tank in the world, and a 4-story tall waterfall covering a large wall at one entrance. The skateboard shop even has its own mini skate park in the upstairs area.
But, during Ramadan you’ll notice one thing unusual about the mall: empty food courts. Because of the daily fast, the food courts are closed until about 6:45 PM.
My furniture allowance was in the bank when I went yesterday. I also signed up for online banking which has all of the features we are used to in the US, plus a cool gadget. It issues a new digital code every 60 seconds that you must enter along with your username and password when you login to your banking session. I guess one has to remember that people here are dealing with very large sums of money, and security) is crucial.
The United Arab Emirates is one of the few countries in the world with a larger Carbon footprint per resident than the United States. It also has a higher water consumption rate than the US – a rare feat. Water politics has been the subject of a week-long feature in The National newspaper and it’s quite fascinating. Today’s topic was water in Iraq.
I was struck by one similarity to living in the US when I saw the newspaper article below taped to the wall of the grocery store next to the weekly special circular. It explains the environmental impact of using plastic bags and encourages alternatives.
As part of our teacher training, we had a presentation about Masdar City – as a way of showing us the types of industries that are growing here where our students may one day have the opportunity to work. Prepare to be impressed! Masdar City will be the first Carbon Neautral – in fact carbon off-setting – city in the world. It is a massive undertaking, and yet when one has seen the other achievements in this region to date, it is hard to doubt that it will happen. Construction on Masdar City has already begun and was uninterrupted by the financial crash. In fact, Abu Dhabi – unlike Dubai – still has 60 years of oil to tap, and is weathering the financial crisis well. (Abu Dhabi is currently providing guaranteed loans to Dubai to keep Dubai’s economy afloat).
Included in the Masdar City Plan is an underground system of self-steering, fully electric vehicles that will request a destination from their passenger and then take the passengers there with no stops in between. Now that’s good public transit. If you saw Total Recall or any number of modern science fiction movies, this is pretty much what is being proposed. The system is being modeled after a baggage transport system that is in place today in one of the US airports.
You can learn more about Masdar City on their website (www.masdarcity.ae). I think this provides a good transition to a description – albeit somewhat superficial – of what I’ve learned about the seemingly conflicted goals of modernization, religious tradition, and tribal tradition of the UAE Nationals.
Modernization, Religion and Culture (Tribal Past) of The United Arab Emirates:
Much of what I describe below comes from the instruction we received during our week of training. However, I do include some anecdotes from personal experience, and conversations with people I’ve met since arriving.
On our first day of training we received a presentation from a man named Ali – whose insights about Emirate culture can be found on www.ask-ali.com – explained that when someone here – another Emirate – asks him his name, they are really asking what kind of connections he has – his “Wasta”. When he gives his name, he will name his father and grandfather etc. and the tribe, and the person asking will know if he is from a powerful family or not. Family connections are at the heart of the culture here; and, marriages and lineage play a large role in shaping one’s future. This is why there are such strict codes of conduct for family members – anyone who brings shame brings it onto the whole family.
In the case of our presenter’s name, his tribe was involved in trade and traveled camel routes throughout Arabia. Because of this, when he travels with his family, they often have passports from several countries, even though they have the same tribal name. And, speaking of passports, a UAE citizen travelling through Arabia – and indeed many Muslim countries – will receive a tremendous amount of respect at customs. The reason for this is that they are citizens of the country founded by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al Nayhan (1918-2004).
Sheikh Zayed united the emirates that today make up The United Arab Emirates (UAE). He did it with a vision of modernizing the region while maintaining the culture and religion of the people. He is highly revered today, and all Arab people hold him in very high esteem. It is said that wherever he walked greenery sprouted in his path – and when one looks at the freeways the reason for this is clear. When the UAE was young, he would walk along the land that is now Abu Dhabi and put stones where he wanted buildings to be – placing a stone on the ground he would say “this is where my people will have a hospital” – and the hospital would be built. And UAE citizens supported him universally.
Islam is the national religion of the UAE, but freedom of religion is allowed and encouraged. In practice, from what I have been able to find, this means that there are a handful of Catholic Churches. But, in several instances we have been reminded about the Muslim belief in respecting other religions. Ali explained it best when he reminded our team of teachers that Islam is a religion based in both Judaism and Christianity – insofar as Muslims follow their spiritual lineage from Abraham and Moses and Jesus Christ and Mohammed PBUH. (PBUH is the proper text message acronym for Peace Be Upon Him – which all Muslims say after using the name of the prophet Muhammed). I haven’t heard anything mentioned about Buddhists or Hindus, but it has been presented to us so far – and I have no reason to doubt it – that citizens of the UAE take great pride in following Baba Zayed’s lead of religious tolerance, and even respect.
So what about Jews? Aside from concerns about my safety, this is the most common question I’ve been asked by people back home. I think I’m able to answer now – though a bit circuitously.
Of course, all of this cultural awareness training is intended to prepare us for the classroom. We must learn and know the countries leaders, their religious and cultural customs, and the overall world-view. But, there are other sensitive issues we must be aware of. For example, the Persian Gulf – as I learned to call it when I was young – is referred to here as the Arabian Gulf. The Gulf was known as The Arabian Gulf for centuries, and we only know of it as the Persian Gulf because by the time the West started making maps of this part of the world (a few centuries after everyone else), Persia had more power. But, for centuries before that, all traders in the region referred to it as the Arabian Gulf. Therefore it would be inappropriate to use the map below in class – and even offensive.
It would also be inaccurate, because the borders with Saudi Arabia and Oman (and this week, Iran) are both still disputed – just two weeks ago UAE citizens and residents were not allowed to cross the border into Saudi Arabia with their National ID cards but instead had to have their passport. The cause of this overnight change in policy: The UAE map on their new National ID cards did not agree with the map that Saudi Arabia desired.
And, the map would be offensive for one more reason. The UAE does not recognize the State of Israel right now. This is not an anti-Jewish stance – it is an anti-Israel stance. Several presenters, and people I’ve met on the streets and behind the wheels of taxis – agree that they love and respect Jewish people. One speaker said that she would scold her child if he spoke poorly of Jews.
But there is consensus here that the actions of the state of Israel toward Palestinians are horrendous, and that Israel should not be recognized as a result. A few of these people were children before the creation of the State of Israel and they remember when Jewish and Arab Palestinians lived side-by-side in peace. Furthermore, many Palestinian’s here – my cab driver the other day, the man at the bank who opened my checking account, and a man I met at the gym the other day who later took me to tea at a hotel nearby – are refugees from their homeland and cannot return even to visit family because of travel restrictions in place by Israel.
When I asked the man at the bank where he was from and he told me Palestine, I responded that I had read in that day’s paper that their Prime Minister had reasserted a proposal for a state of Palestine with the 1967 border agreements. He smiled, pleased that I had noticed this, and hopeful that it might happen. When I left, his handshake was affectionate.
My first day in Al Ain I met a fellow in the hotel gym who was half Syrian and half Palestinian. He moved to the UAE with his family from Syria when he was three after his parents had lived a short time in Syria after the formation of Israel in 1949. He has never seen his father’s homeland. He had studied in Connecticut and earned a degree in business administration. He told me that when he was in Connecticut – studying with two other Muslims – a handful of people there had helped the three of them get settled in. They had taken them to get furniture, showed them the town where they lived, and made them feel welcome in the foreign land. Because of that he offered to take me to the top of the mountain in Al Ain so I could see the city and enjoy a cup of tea. A week ago we went and he extended the hospitality that I have begun to feel guilty about receiving. If I get anything from this trip, I hope it will be to offer hospitality to travelers.
Over this cup of tea, my friend Wasim – and I think we may well become good friends – told me about his days as a child, growing up in the public schools of the UAE; the days when schools here were good. And, he told me about the challenges of trying to get a good education for his children in the private schools for non-UAE citizens, and his wife’s work as a teacher in one of these private schools. Several years ago, the UAE public schools began a policy of limiting enrollment in public schools to UAE Citizens. And, after this pleasant conversation, on our drive down the mountain, Wasim lamented that the leaders of Israel and many Muslim countries were ratcheting up the rhetoric to such a degree that normal people’s voices were being drowned out, and that peace was becoming impossible. Interestingly, I’ve had similar conversations with Jewish friends in San Francisco. The problem seems to be the leadership of the political class.
So, what happens when modernization, culture and the tribal past cross paths? When it was decided that the UAE Air Force wanted new fighter planes they chose the F-16. The planes stopped in Israel to have the desert upgrade package installed. In pursuit of the best, the UAE will go to any length. (You may have seen in the news the other day that the UAE Armed Forces stopped a shipment of illegal weapons to Iran the other day).
One more note – my weekly film suggestion – Elia Suleiman released “The Time That Remaines” this year at Cannes. It traces Palestinian history from 1949 through a series of blackly comic vignettes. It is as critical of Palestinian political class as it is of the Israeli political class. I think these voices, these films, are important; and, I think many here would agree. See it if you get a chance at a film festival, I’m hoping it will play at the International Film Festival here in October.
All of this is just the beginning of why we are asked to use a map in classrooms that identifies the Arabian Gulf, Palestine, and the disputed borders of the United Arab Emirates.
Education
If you’re an educator, or interested in the work I’ll be doing, the rest may interest you. If you’re interested in UAE culture, this may still be interesting as so many of the practices in place are a reflection of culture – such as separate schools for boys and girls. But mostly, the rest of this just talks about my work and education.
Unfortunately, most of what I have run into in the school curriculum plans is not different than the west. The other day I sat down in a training session and was handed the same handout here that I received four years ago in Miami. The UAE has hired 8 companies of consultants (about 400 employees) that specialize in curriculum development and our group of 400 new teachers. Next year they will double the number of employees in all of these growth areas – education is a boom industry here.
It began – this reform – when Sheikh Muhammed visited South Korea three years ago and learned just how far behind the UAE schools really were. He was impressed by South Korea’s schools, and realized that the schools needed to be fixed. The overhaul is a mammoth project – like building the world’s tallest building, largest mall, or whatever. And there’s no doubt they’ll keep at it now until it’s done. The difference is that the “product” is the student, and you can’t grow children into adults overnight. Nevertheless, the leaders do seem committed to the long-term, and willing to go to any length, as they often are when they set a goal. But, the task is daunting…
Last year 3% of graduating seniors were able to enter university directly based on their exit exams. Another 70% qualified for foundation learning – or schooling to improve basic skills so they can perform in a university setting. These students consume 30% of the higher education budget, and it is the hope of the Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) that by bringing in Native English Speaking Teachers with teaching licenses, more students will proceed directly into university, and will be well-trained for the workforce.
Our teaching group has been brought in because our teaching training is based on encouraging critical thinking, collaborative learning and other western pedagogy. Traditionally, schools here have focused on rote learning – memorizing the text book for the final exam. In fact, it has been common that students would stay home the week before final exams in order to try and memorize the text.
Strangely, the changes to the curriculum are being measured against a battery of standardized tests. Students are being asked to replace memorizing their text book with memorizing and training for a standardized multiple choice exam. And, as teachers caught in the middle of the old school curriculum and the new schools curriculum, we are being asked to teach the new tests using collaborative learning techniques? Well, I’m as confused as you are, but that’s what happens to education when it becomes bureaucratic.
Of course, we are good teachers, and we’ll figure out a way to make everyone happy – bring up test scores, teach students real skills, and introduce some of the critical thinking skills that were lacking in the memorization of the text book. And, we’ll help students learn to work in teams, feel more confident speaking in English, and be better prepared for university. And, lastly, we’ll work to address the needs of parents. This last concern was probably the most interesting of all that we discussed.
Two parents spoke to us and shared a lot of insight. One was a father of a few children in the public schools. He said a lot of brilliant things, but one that stood out in my mind. “We want to modernize – not westernize or easternize”. Dressed in his Emirate clothes, he spoke eloquently about his own experience as a child in the schools, and what worked and what did not. He was invited by an ADEC staffer who had met him at Toastmasters. He is a businessman. But, he was mostly concerned that the changes in the education system not encroach upon the structure of his family or his culture.
I mentioned earlier that a policy was put in place that limited the public schools to enrollment by UAE nationals only. This was done for many reasons, but one was that when men came into girls schools, the non Emirate girls would not cover with their Abayas. The Emirate girls then felt different, perhaps rebellious? Anyway, in order to preserve Emirate culture, people thought it would be better to not expose their children to people whose children had different customs.
Last night I got my apartment. I now have two weeks to get it furnished before school starts, and some of the construction workers are still camped out in it while they finish work on the building. I also have only five days to leave the hotel where I am staying. It seems nothing happens here for a while, and then everything happens all at once. It may be a few weeks before I post again, but I do love getting e-mails from people, so please do write.
If you read this far, you’re brave and I love you. Thanks for enjoying my journal.
This is grand. I'm so enjoying each aspect of your posts, and the totality as well.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the apartment! At least you've got some experience with that.
Beautiful. I love you.
ReplyDelete