Job Discussion Forums

[johnslat]

Dear seven seas,
Please forgive me, but I must ask: How does one answer a phone in the papers?
Regards,
John

[veiledsentiments]

Ah... the old misplaced prepositional phrase causing confusion again...

Helen1, it sounds like it depends on whether your employer lets you enforce whatever rules you make. yes?

So the new teachers need to ask their supervisors about this one... and the other teachers, of course.

VS

[veralynn]

My 2 fils' worth:
In my experience the ones with the most wasta are the most charming and least likely to expect preferential treatment. But then again I have heard of teachers being hauled into the prinicipal's office and being told to change the grade of certain students..... (But that was schools rather than unis.)
Mobiles in the classroom? Totally unacceptable.

[seven seas]

John, I know, but I thought I'd leave it there for the comedy value.

[Splitting Hairs]

If a mobile phones goes off, it is confiscated until the end of the day. If it happens again they lose for the weekend or end of the week. The message is learned very quickly. These are for young adults by the way. They have it on silent and if they need to talk, they leave and answer it out of the classroom.

[ESL Hobo]

For anyone interested I found a great web site that discusses, in detail, over 20 areas of cultural knowledge that would be very useful. It's called...
Grapeshisha.com.
From my searches I am finding that one of the most important things for newbies is learning body language signals.
1) Tapping your right forefinger into your left palm = screw you!
(resist doing this for making a point about something)
2) Putting a clenched fist on your stomach = you are a liar.
(resist doing this if you are feeling hungry)
3)Never ask lingering students to come into the classroom by crooking your finger or even cupping your hand and clawing(as is done in the far east)
4)If a man holds your hand after shaking it, it is a sign of friendship, so just hold it until he lets go.
5)A finger to the side of the nose = "I'll do it"
6) A cupped hand waving means slow down.

Any other ones that might be common with students?
[/url]

[veiledsentiments]

I've never heard or seen 1,2, or 5.

You copied the information wrong on the "clawing" which is a term for it that I've never heard and wouldn't use. It is actually just the opposite of what I would do in the US to get someone to come... which is palm up and wave all my fingers towards the palm. In the ME, they put the palm down and do the same thing... bring all the fingers inward... and it is perfectly acceptable to use it anytime or anywhere. (the website agrees that it is acceptable... using only our index finger as some of us do is what is not acceptable)

The "cupped hand waving" is also a rather bad description. If you want someone to "stop" or "wait" or "slow down," you hold your hand palm up and bring your fingertips together with your thumb tip. You don't "wave it," but keep your wrist stiff and maybe move your arm just a little for emphasis.

This last one is actually very handy to use in class when students are rudely insisting that you stop working with the student that you are helping and rush over immediately to help them. I would just ignore them and use this gesture.

VS

[ESL Hobo]

Thank you VS

Funny how things get lost in translation or trying to shorten things.

[helenl]

#6 is not always considered to be polite (but usually not really rude either) and depending on who you're doing it to can depend on how it's taken.

Supposedly, a Brit used it on the highway to another driver (SHE said she was using the schway schway hand gesture - HE said it was another type of gesture ) Anyways, she ended up being arrested and having her passport taken so that she couldn't leave the country before the court date (she was not jailed). This was just before summer break so I didn't get to see if the results were published in the Gulf News (the arrest was). Probably a fine but still, better to be safe than sorry.

For myself, I dislike that gesture.

[kiefer]

VS et al,
the pinched fingers, palm up suggests, "Be patient" also, and come in handy when 20 students surround your desk asking in chorus to see their attendance records.

Avoid at all costs saying "shut up" and it's useless to ask them to "Be quiet", but shouting out "Bas!" (enough!) has some effect; at least they'll stop chattering out of surprise that you know this word.

Compliment pictures of pretty babies or cars if shown to you, but follow this up with "M'a'sh'allah!" to avoid putting the evil eye on the kid or jinx the car. It's also a nice way to say to a student who made 10 out of 10 on a quiz, "way to go"

If offered a stick of gum, a piece of chocolate, a breath mint, whatever, take it.

If a student next to you in a cafeteria line offers to pick up your tab, accept it.

If you're a married man, it is usually OK to bring up your wife in a class of females (all she does is shop and spend my money!) but not so in a class with men. Talking about your sons if OK, your daughters not.

When hectored to change a grade, shrug your shoulders and give them the same response you get at a municipality when told you need to go back five spaces and get another stamp on your form, i.e. keep repeating to them, "What can I do?" (You're just doing your job. You have no wasta. )

When asked, "Teacher, America? Why Israel?" it's OK to sternly remind them "we don't discuss that in here."

[seven seas]

Good ideas. Basically, keeping the relationship on a professional level.

[veiledsentiments]

[seven seas]

Yes they have, but do they know that in the UAE? I mean that from a stand-up comedy viewpoint.

Jokes need shared cultural references, otherwise you need to hand out instruction manuals.

Everyone knows Condie and Wolfie have moved on, but it's just funnier.

BTW who are the new Condie and Wolfie?

[johnslat]

Dear seven seas,
If you mean who's filling those jobs now:

Secretary of State: Hillary Clinton

Deputy Secretary of Defense: William J. Lynn III

Regards,
John

[veiledsentiments]

I don't think I would use that example of humor until I knew the class pretty well. Fortunately students usually don't attempt political questions at the beginning of a course. My usual response was that I had tried to discuss that question with President X, but he won't return my calls. They normally laugh... and we move on.

Since I mostly taught essay writing by the end, the students did sometimes do very political essays (world politics, not local politics) and in private conferences I had some interesting discussions with the more thoughtful students. (the internet being a great resource to send them off to find differing views)

My most difficult semester as far as questions was when my students were taking a required course at this university called "Comparative Religion" and lucky me... I was their captive "Christian." The Omani asst director told me that it was OK to answer their questions in a short answer, but not to let them hijack the class - which they would have loved to do. So, I would give a quickie answer with the basic facts and refer them back to the professor in their course if they needed to know more.

VS