TGIT! (Thank God it's Thursday)

It is nearing the end of my first week of teaching at my school, and I am overjoyed at the strides me and the students have made already. The end of the week you say? Yes! Because Friday is the Islamic version of Sunday, the last day of school is Thursday in the Middle East! This means that the week starts on a Sunday! Everything that you are used to is flipped upside down. Now, my "hump day" is Tuesday instead of Wednesday. It is an easier transition for me because once you get past Sunday, you almost feel a day ahead of everyone in America. With Abu Dhabi being nine hours ahead of the states, this work week change is just another one of the major transitions that I've had to undergo so far. Did I mention that school starts at 7:20am?! I have to wake up at 5:30am (8:30pm Eastern Standard Time) just so that I can make it in time. The good news is that other teachers have picked me up because I do not have a car yet. What a blessing!

I've slowed down my speech and over articulated my words (by request), understanding that words I say are being translated by every student in the class. This week, we've focused on summarizing, paraphrasing, reading for comprehension, and other skills that native English speakers often take for granted. The students have embraced every single lesson and activity I present, and that has made my job so much easier. They love to "Free Write", a great starter activity that allows students to write journal entries without an assigned topic. This strategy was a great success with my students in America and is just as poignant here in Abu Dhabi. Students are so used to the "old school" English class, in which students are fearful to write because of the threat of losing points due to spelling, grammatical, or syntactical errors. While I do correct these errors in writing, I gain the students trust by focusing more so on their ideas and content. They love to receive their journals the next day with questions and responses about their writing. Students are encouraged to write whatever comes to mind (as long as it is school appropriate) and to start with, "I don't know what to write about" if they have no ideas. This stream of consciousness eventually builds confidence while improving reading and writing. It also is a great way of gaining trust and respect from your students. I also write a journal on the LCD screen so that students see that this is just not busy work for them.

I often use voice inflection and even improvised song to get students' attention. Like my students in the states (who I miss very much by the way), these twelfth graders also enjoy my, "If you hear my voice, clap one time" and "Put your pens down, put your pencils down" call and responses. The rapper/singer side must be obvious because of one student's comment at the end of class. He approached me and asked if I sing because of how I use my voice. He wanted me to rap for the class. I told him that I have to get permission first because it may be considered "haram" (against Islamic faith) to use music. The majority of people I asked said that only inappropriate music is haram, but one student mentioned in his free write that any music is against Islamic religion. I'm guessing that has to do with the level of orthodoxy in their faith. I do not want to offend or get in any trouble so I will do my research with the faculty/principal before I unleash my SAT Vocabulary Raps. These were a major hit at my former school in Atlanta! Here is one of them. Alacrity is speed/ derelict is run down/erudition's learning, sun up to sun down/exonerated means i'm not guilty/ exorbitant is too much/ juxtaposition two things/miffed you annoying me/ solace let me comfort you/superfluous unnecessary/ tremulous means hold up dude.

Already students have told me either in person or in their journals that they want me to stay as their permanent teacher. One even said that he went to the principal and told him the same thing. This meant a lot to me because school leadership puts a lot of weight in to how students, collectively, feel about the teacher and his or her effort in the classroom. I am also learning a lot from the students. They clap for me every time I learn a new Arabic word. For example, I corrected pronounced aunt as ama and got a stirring applause from one of the classes. I am learning that Arabic students are very similar to students from America in that at the core, they just want to be respected and appreciated. They love friendly competition and motivation just like any other student. I am excited to see what new challenges and successes await in my second week at school!

I'm also overwhelmed by the level of support that I've gotten from family abroad and fellow teachers that have moved here with me at the same time. Even staff at the school that were once in our shoes have offered to loan me money until my first check comes in. A teacher in the hotel is our adopted mother and cooks meals for us often. Tonight, nine of us had a great Bible study about anxiety, worry, and fear! God is good... all the time. And all the time?