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[lyndalorient]

Well here is my review of the school after teaching there for 3 weeks and undergoing the infamous training.

Its very different though not as bad as people make out. Maybe I am lucky as I happen to have great (Irish and American) bosses.

I also teach KG and Grade 2 so basicly 4 and 6 year olds who are handfuls but nothing compared to secondary (where I have seen the most shockingly badly behaved children)

First of all I am actually loving teaching. I think I am the only western teacher who is feeling like this.
My kids are handfuls but i keep them under very tight rules. It has really paid off for me to start strict as I mean to go on like that!

The 4 year olds are so young yet they have the same amount of time in class as me. And its not just colouring or simple things. This is work 5 and 6 year olds do in Ireland. They have to get worksheets done and its very hard on them.
In ireland kids that age go to playschool or Kindergarten for more than 3 hours a day. I cannot believe parents send their kids to school so young for a working day like that. Even 3 year olds in KG 1 are expected to do work and have assesments.

The points system is different to put it mildly. Basicly the strong keep up and the weak fall behind and its very difficult to help them. Though the admin don t balme me for the ones whi have never spoken Englsih before coming to my class. They accept that its normal they won t be as quick as other children. But apparently they catch up eventually

Its hard hard demanding work though i am amazed how I am coping with it. I have had kids crying, fightening and shouting yet now they all sit down and behave. Twenty- seven 4 year olds sitting and behaving quietly even for a few seconds was something I had never thought possible as they are so young.

They catch on so quick and I have noticed an amazing difference in their English immediately.

The school outside of my classroom (as I allow no talking unless I say so, no fighting, running or being rude) is thouroughly shocking for me. I have never seen such rude and badly behaved children in my life. Running, fighting and in general complete chaos.

Sure you can try and blame Sabis but I have seen that parents when collecting their kids, amazingly they CANNOT seem to form a simple queue and push each other aggressively out of the way. Then I wonder why my Grade 2 children were not able to stand in a line when I first had them.
Don t worry all my classes know how to form queues in an orderly fashion.

The local chilldren are mostly SPOILT ROTTEN. The parents don t seem to care if their kids run around the malls or bump into people. I have never seen such unruly and badly behaved children both in and out of the school. Other teachers report similar problems.
Some kids in my class treat my assistant from the phillipines like she is their maid. I had one boy throw his rubbish at her. Don t worry I set them straight on how you should talk to all people with respect.

Some of the young children exhibit extremely destructive behaviour like 3 year olds bringing in rock to try and break lights, spitting on each other and actually making marks on each other from slapping.

The children eat an UNBELIEVABLE amount of junk food. One boy had 5 sandwiches, chips, and 2 bars of chocolate and had chicken nuggets and French fries for lunch.
Yet we are not allowed say anything to the children or parents as we would be told to mind our own business. An Irish teacher gave out to a child for eating too many sweets last year and the mother came in screaming at her saying " who does she think she is and its none of her business" So I was advised to keep my opinions to myself.
In Ireland (with us being the "Nanny state" that we are ) healthly luches are stongly encouraged in both private and public education. In fact my little sister is allowed no chocolate only fruit and savouries and rightly so in my opinion. Here it seem they simply don t know or care about healthy eating.
Though the results of this junk food are painfully obvious
Firstly it could explain some of the atrocious behaviour and lack of concentration many of them exhibit.
Secondly I have seen so many rotten teeth in some of my four year olds(In Ireland we have nurses that will call around and check on childrens teeth in clinics so I find that really shocking that children have rotten teeth)
Thirdly childhood obesity is painfully obvious both in the school and outside. I have seen kids bursting out of their uniforms they are so fat and can hardly run. I pity these kids but who is going to stop them ending up like that over here?


The school gets crazy sometimes but I personaly find it bearable for a few reasons
1. I went in very strict and would I have all the kids sitting and paying attention
2. The kids seem to be really learning and thats a reward in itself
3. The bad ones seem to be getting better and better as they are looking at the other children
4. It can be quite rewarding to see how far some have come in just 3 weeks.
5. The hours are not so long so you have time to relax after a stressful day.
6. Al Ain is so lovely and calm. Its so nice to have an oasis of peace and quiet (and the pool of course )

If anyone is thinking of Chouefait or UAE here is my advice so far

1. If you are strong person go for it. In Chouefait you should not be sensitive.
2. If you are thinking about teaching it could be a way of seeing if you like working with very challenging children (and parents)
3. If you want something a little different don t choose abu dhabi and dubai as to me it seems just like home. I didn t choose Al Ain but i am so happy I am here now.
4. Be prepared to be strict and take work seriously but not to heart. If you take it to heart you will go completely and utterly insane
5. The training does not help at all. Really the only way you experience it is by jumping in and teaching.
6. A qualified teacher would find this very restrictive (though KG2 has slightly more flexibility). Also the kids and lack of discipline is shocking. It would take quite some getting used to if you have experienced a different way.
The best advice I was given was


"Go in as strict as you can and give them no leeway at first" That is so true. You can always soften up later but if the kids sense you are soft they will walk all over you. That advice has helped me so much here.

Chouefait is by means a normal way of teaching. However as Stoth says it is good for classroom management skills. Someone else pointed out to me if you can survive the kids at theis school everything will seem easy in comparison. So far I have survived. Its tiring but rewarding.

I am thinking about getting the PGCE and moving on but I ll see how the next few months go but I have to say even though it was a baptism of fire I quite enjoy working with the kids.

If anyone has any questions feel free to PM me!!!!