Reflections from home: Al Sorouh American School

“There are no strangers here; only friends you haven’t met yet.” - William Butler Yeats

I had a rockstar cooperating teacher. It was her first year at the school and we are the same age, so we were able to be co-teachers. We were both very willing to learn from one another, which is so good. I could not have asked for a better teaching experience. We tried many of the co-teaching strategies, including

* One teach, one observe: Simply put. However, as one teacher observes, s/he is also looking for details in the lesson to converse with the active teacher after the lesson. The teacher observing may also be looking for specific student behaviors or may be informally assessing students.

* One teach, one assist: The assisting teacher may be passing out papers, formally assessing students, supplying the active teacher with materials, laminating, etcetera. This strategy is most common during the first few days of co-teaching because the 'guest' teacher is still learning the classroom environment.

* Parallel teaching: This is when both teachers are teaching the same content at the same time, but to one half of the class. This is very beneficial because all the students are learning the same thing, but with a reduced teacher-to-student ratio.

* Stations teaching: We did not try this strategy because the students were so little and it was difficult enough to guide them in cooperative learning groups.

* Supplemental teaching: We did this quite often. My teacher or I would introduce the lesson and then the other would follow it with another medium of learning the same content. Sometimes we supplemented the lesson immediately following the lesson, later in the day, or the following day. All three ways worked for the students and worked for us.

* Team teaching: This strategy includes lesson planning together and supporting one another with feedback. Both teachers are teaching at an equal 'authority'. I personally really liked this strategy because it allowed me to share my thoughts and expertise while also learning more about the school's educational norms and the student's culture from my teacher. Loved it. I highly recommend co-teaching, especially team teaching. Team teaching abroad? Few things gets better than that.

One of the things that impressed me about co-teaching was how respectable and open my teacher and I were with one another. We would honestly critique each other. For example, she would encourage me to be more bold in disciplining students. She, in turn, would ask these excellent questions about the English language. I clearly remember one question was, "Do we say 'be quiet on the bus' or 'be quiet in the bus'?" Brillant! I had to explain that most Americans say on  the bus, even though the students are indeed in the bus.. it is just another one of those silly American rules. But I loved those questions because it revealed how much we collaborated on various levels of lesson planning. There was no pride to be broken. It was not about us. It was about the students. Whatever questions or comments that needed to be said, were said.

I take pride in my ability to learn student names quickly, but it was more difficult for me at Al Sorouh! I had never heard of many of the student names before.. except for Mohammad or Mariam. It took me a full week to learn the students' names and nearly three weeks before I could pronounce one student's name. I struggled with that one name because all the other teachers said it so fast and I could never catch it. So, I tried to blend some consonants together to vaguely make it sound like the student's name and pray that maybe no one would notice.. sometimes you do what you have to do! The student always responded, which I was glad for, but maybe it was because I would point at him and nod for him to come to the board. Sigh, I am not proud of that teaching moment, but sometimes you do what you have to to get by.

There was a week in Abu Dhabi when it rained abnormal amounts due to cloud seeding (CLOUD SEEDING!). Emilee was fortunate to look outside and notice this sweet gesture. See the stairs? Those lead to the music room. See the little hands out the window? Those are the children reaching for the rain. They just wanted to touch it. How precious. Emilee mentioned that it reminded her of our first snowfall in the States. Very true!

In the far left corner is one of the school guards who also opened the window and was smiling up at the rain falling. I think he moved me more than the children, actually. It was so tender to see this mature, elderly guard recaptured by the beauty of the rain. Because for children, it is natural to be in awe of natural phenomena, but for adults, it sometimes takes a lot for us to be amazed again.

Giggling in the car on the way to school.
There is always a chance to laugh about something
that made our day. If not, the granddaughter who rode with
us will insist to call us, "Liz Lipstick" (nice alliteration for
a four-year-old) or "Em-a-LEE!". 

Poor Emilee had to listen many a time to, "A Tooty Ta" or
"Happy Banana" during our car rides. Hey! It helped the
granddaughter and I get ready for KG!

One of Dr. Prenn's after school workshops with the
teachers of Al Sorouh. The teachers were always able to
take away at least one technique from the multiple strategies,
whether it be a Word Wall session or about how to rap with
synonyms. I tried out the last one with my KG students with 3D
shapes and they loved it! They picked up on a it
 quickly and were rocking out.. they could tell you any 3D
shape in a heartbeat.

Em and I in the art room preparing our posters for the
school. It is now a tradition for the American
student teachers to prepare an inspirational poster for
the school before they leave. Thankfully, Em and I each
had an idea of what we wanted to leave with the school.
Also, we were very grateful that the art teacher was kind enough
to let us use her room and resources to compose a poster. Look
around the room to check our her masterpieces. Note, she
is NOT one to use Pinterest. That's right. This is pure talent
and raw creativity.

Made from pumpkin seeds (maybe?), matchsticks,
leaves, and faux jewels for the center.

Maria's poster

Laura's poster

Emilee's poster

Mine. Notice the desert and the children in their uniforms?

Playground. Notice the huge tarp to protect the children
from the harmful rays. Some days it would get up to
39 degrees.. CELSIUS. 

Although empty now, during recess this courtyard is filled
with girls and boys running around playing tag or soccer.  Balls are flying
everywhere, because with that tarp, balls go up and then come down..
anywhere! The sky is falling! Also, in the tight right side of the photo,
you will notice the mosque. It is a small shed-like building that is painted
in various colors to look like a larger mosque. It was very beautiful.

"Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it."
One of my favorite quotes alongside the building.

N for nest. I believe the straight line across the rice bowl is the
Arabic symbol the makes the sound for the word "rice".
Maybe.. I could very much be wrong. 

Teaching the high-frequency word "at". 

Teaching words that start with the letter "s" with
picture cards, including sun, six, store, sock, star,
and others.

I promise that supernatural eggs and loaves of bread were not just
floating around the classroom.  My teacher had used string to run from
one wall to another. On the string, she hung photos of content-related objects
as well as numbers and the planets. So, in this photo, you can observe the dangling
produce. Yum!

Typical snack at the school. There was no lunch period, just two snack periods.
The reason for this is because the society believes in eating all your
meals with family and friends. Therefore, the students ended the school day at
2:30 p.m. in order to go eat a late lunch with their families. No lunch at school.

This is a cute montage. The boys are just hanging out in the hallway
when I call out their names...

They spot us..

... and come running in...

... to shows us their letter V that they learned in KG!
Ah, it feels good when to know that learning is fun for students!

Dear reader, I wish that I could share with you the many videos that I took of the students singing, dancing, and learning. But, those videos are not included due to privacy reasons. If you and I happen to  be together enjoying a coffee or whatnot, I would be glad to show you one-on-one.