Job Discussion Forums

[kuberkat]

In my admittedly limited (18 months') experience in Oman, I would say that one of the best qualities of life here is also one of the worst.

What I find most charming about the Omani people, especially in the countryside where I work, is that they generally have a very uncomplicated, almost innocent outlook on life. This means there is a certain level of kindness and honesty you certainly can't beat in the Gulf.

The downside of this is that people can be anything from superstitious to naive to downright illogical and uninformed. My colleagues and I have honestly run out of writing and speaking topics our students are informed enough to speak on, since they often have very little perspective on the non-Arab world beyond Hollywood. (Anyone who has taught from the North Star series can certainly relate to this: few Omani college students have the conceptual background to deal with curricular material- and this at a college which recruits the students who only barely missed admission to SQU.) What's more, the complete disregard for logic on the road surpasseth all understanding. (And very eloquently proves my point.) To put this in perspective, it is true that the nation has developed at a dizzying pace since 1970, so the lag is understandable, if sometimes frustrating.

Fact is, there are two sides to every coin.

[helmsman]

The information about your experiences with writing and speaking topics requiring awareness of the outside world really caught my attention as I have had similar difficulties in my corner of the gulf.

One not too original tactic I have been using is to practice creating essay outlines by brainstorming with the class and contributing a few of my own ideas when they draw a blank. My plan is to try to cover as many of the most predictable topics within the academic year as possible. The students appear to like creating the outlines more than writing a full essay on one topic in a lesson.

Some of the worst results I've had were when female students were asked to write about if war is justified in the defence of a country. The girls had obviously never been asked to comment on the issue before as it is, presumably, viewed as a topic best left to men. But, of course, as stakeholders, why shouldn't they have a valid view on it?

[veiledsentiments]

... the North Star series... pretty inappropriate stuff and I was teaching Muscat kids mostly out of private schools. I was never able to use more than half of the text... the other half being either wildly inappropriate or just incomprehensible culturally.

The most frustrating thing about teaching writing at almost every level was the total lack of appropriate texts (for reading too). I was happiest when I was in situations where they had sensibly decided to use no text and I was able to gather bits and drabs from here and there combined together.

I found it easiest in same sex classes because of shared interests and life experience... it was hardest with sexually integrated classes as is the norm in Oman at tertiary level.

VS

[carnac]

"lack of appropriate texts":
We are locked into Headway. Ok for an ESL text in UK, maybe; abysmal as an EFL text in a specific cultural/linguistic setting. (Try counting, in Headway Beginner thru Intermediate, the number of references to alcohol). Why would a Muslim student care about pubs and Vicars and Molly the Nun (or whomever the bucktoothed twit is)and how tough it is to be a teenager in Hollywood. Yeah, culture comes with language and vice-versa, I speed thru Headway and get internet stuff plus my own inventions to teach real, usable English. (If anyone is not sure what this means, look for a new job, maybe selling cars.)
In response to the original question: Each country has its good and bad points. Of the many countries in which I have lived and taught,(less than some of you; more than most) I can say that Oman is for me almost Eden.Flaws? Certainly. Could be better? Of course. Anything bad to say? The goods so very heavily outweigh the bads that there is really nothing to say. I read the forums about life in other countries, and am so very happy I am here, sitting on my balcony, drinking expresso and pondering my good fortune.
It's not having what you want; it's wanting what you have. Chiasmus.

[Aliskander]

Anything bad to say about Oman - yes, but not that i am going to make public on this forum!
Things to be aware of of locals:
Honest - no.
Sly and devious - yes.
Calculating - yes.
Lazy - yes.

Having been here for 10 years, i do feel that the above small comments are pretty accurate. I have worked literally all over Oman in cities, the desert and villages so i have come across a huge variety of students and people in general. Yes there have been improvements in the physical side of Oman, but the mentality has not progressed and that is what is actually holding back the country.

There are of course many good things in Oman, but this post asked about the bad things! So i have replied in that vein.

[kuberkat]

A

[kuberkat]

Aliskander wrote:

[veiledsentiments]

[Aliskander]

Well, i would have thought that after 36 years the mind set would have changed a little. The constant belief that it is ok to 'help' their friends in exams, that it is ok to use a GSM in an exam, that they deserve a certificate simply because they are Omanis and so on.
Where i work we have a very forward thinking dean - however he faces constant battles with tribal members when their relations are failed, usually due to lack of attendance, no homework produced, missing exams etc etc. The fathers, uncles, walis etc come to the college shouting and demanding their relations are not failed because 'you are one of us, you must help us, we are from ...... family' etc etc. Where is the understanding that to progress and achieve anything in this life you have work for it? You don't get something simply because of your nationality.
How can you say a nation of students is not lazy when they take 2 extra weeks for Eid holiday - because it is 'more importnat' than studying. Our students have missed 3 extra weeks of studying (on top of the Eid holidays) simply because they decided to go home. When they finally returned, they then complained that there were things they had not studied! Well, DUH - you have to attend college in order to study - sitting in your home in the mountains, Ibri, Muscat etc etc is not going to help with your future.
There was also a situation (before i came to this work place) when the students asked a member of staff to demonstrate a dance move that had come up in one of their class topics. The next day the students went to the dean and complained and reported the teacher for being disrespectful. How devious and calculating is that!?

I am not anti Oman or Omanis - as Duffy knows i have a great passion for Oman, Omanis and their culture. He knows my personal life and my situation very well. However, i don't wear rose tinted glasses and accept that like every culture and country in the world Oman has it's problems. Let's not paint it and it's people as perfect - let's be realistic.

[Stephen Jones]

[veiledsentiments]

I don't think it is rose-colored glasses, Aliskander... I would consider it accepting reality and that these tribal attitudes take generations... probably many generations to disappear... not one or two or even ten. Sorry, but 36 years are nothing when it comes to cultural and tribal traditions. It took them over ten years to enforce attendance of women in the village schools because they knew that they had to move slowly or run into a brick wall of religious fathers.

The cheating problem is endemic to students, not just Arab students who call it helping. Where the change has to first be made is in administration and the key is allowing the teachers to control it and then be able to fail students. And through the years, I have failed many Omani students. At the end of every semester at the private college where I last taught, the parents would troop in and try to force grade changes, but they did NOT succeed. The Omani management did NOT allow it. And they lost students because of it.

As a teacher in the ME, it seems that this is just one of the frustrations we either deal with or leave. But it is the Omanis who will have to bring about the changes and some of them are... at least in Muscat. It will take longer to spread around the country. I always felt that the best of my students... the ones who understood the cheating problem... and did their own work... and deserved their good grades... will eventually be some of the tribal and national leaders. That is when things will begin to change.

VS

[Aliskander]

[quote="Stephen Jones"]

[veiledsentiments]

[Aliskander]

Umm, i thought this thread was about the good / bad side of Oman - not about testing or exams in other countries. Obviously my mistake!

[Aliskander]