This is the wall chart for my blue class where I keep track of their rewards & punishments.
My desk in the teacher's lounge
View from my desk. Katie W. is on one side of me, and Joelle is on the other
Another view of the English teachers' lounge. The week after school started, they fixed up the place and put in little desks and work areas for each of us.
Joelle
Abby always has her head phones on & is listening to music
Mhairi on the other hand is always on the computer checking her email or screwing around
Hard at work grading exams
Esmat & Mohamed. Esmat is Dr. Nagwa's husband, (the main school Director), and he is the one who looks after us the most here. He set up with a bank account for us, and he makes sure things in our apartments are working ok, gets us medicine if we are sick, etc. He is kind of like our surrogate father.
Mohamed and Ashli admiring Mhair's work. She's reading Jack London's "A Call of the Wild" with her students and was trying to make a cut out of a wolf for the classroom
These are two of the boys from my Green class. The one on the left is Karim, and he's one of my trouble makers. The one on the right is Shawky, my absolute favorite; he is an angel and a great student
Some of the boys from my Blue class
This is my Yellow class, and also my smallest class. The girls in this class are wonderful, but most of the boys are a handful, except the two farthest in back on the left. They are Hakim and Samy, two of my best boys in Prep 3
My blue class got in BIG trouble from me after we had a class party and they decided to have a food fight when I went outside of the room for a minute to talk to one of the hall assistants. I was so pissed that I made them clean the entire room, including sweeping and scrubbing the floors on their hands and knees, and then I gave the rest of their food away to the cleaning ladies. They felt really bad afterwards, and made me this sign.
Me with some of the students from my Green class. The boy behind me is Ali, and he loves to push my buttons. Despite this, he's still one of my favorites because he's very intelligent and he always makes me laugh.
Farah, my smartest student; she's also very sweet and kind
With Omar, Ali and Amr, some of my boys from the Green class
Another photo from the Green class. Behind them you can see some of their work from the project we have been working on learning about foreign countries
Lacie getting supplies in a little store near our school; there is no cafeteria so many of the teachers and students live off of chips and soda
Rain in Egypt is a rare event;this was the first day it had rained in over 9 months. It poured that day, and the students had a blast splashing around in the puddles
I teach Prep 3 English, (which is the equivalent of 9th grade in the States), and I have 3 different classes: Yellow, Blue, and Green. Each of my classes is in a separate room; the students stay in the same classroom all day long, and the teachers come to them. I have 75 students total in all three classes, and I teach an hour and a half lesson to each class.
Every morning school starts at 8:05 am, and all of the students and homeroom teachers have to meet in the courtyard for morning assembly. Morning assembly starts with the students doing stretching exercises, (well, they are supposed to do the stretching exercises, but the older students don't do them because they think it's stupid, so usually just the little ones participate). After the stretching exercises, the students sing the Egyptian national anthem and say a pledge to their flag, and then one or two students usually reads a poem or a short story that they have written. After assembly, everyone leaves for their homeroom class and the first lesson of the day begins.
Every morning school starts at 8:05 am, and all of the students and homeroom teachers have to meet in the courtyard for morning assembly. Morning assembly starts with the students doing stretching exercises, (well, they are supposed to do the stretching exercises, but the older students don't do them because they think it's stupid, so usually just the little ones participate). After the stretching exercises, the students sing the Egyptian national anthem and say a pledge to their flag, and then one or two students usually reads a poem or a short story that they have written. After assembly, everyone leaves for their homeroom class and the first lesson of the day begins.
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Let me take a moment to explain the school systems in Egypt. The public schools in Egypt are free to attend, but they are also terrible and notorious for providing children with bad educations. Therefore, most children attend private schools, and many of the private schools are language-based schools like Sakkara, the school where I teach. The children who attend private schools are from middle and upper class families, and their parents have to pay tuition for them to attend. All schools, however, whether private or public, are overseen by the Egyptian Ministry of Education. The Ministry of Education doesn't dictate what exactly the students should be learning, but they do control the school holidays and the school exams. In Egypt, children are given a major exam every single month and then a comprehensive exam two times a year, once in the winter before the first semester ends, and once in the spring before the school year ends.
About 95% of the students' grades come from the exams, with the other 5% coming from homework, attendance, and behavior. Since most of their grades come from the exams, many of the students don't take homework seriously because they know if they don't do it, nothing will really happen to them. They will still get a good grade as long as they do well on their exams. Sakkara School doesn't have any type of a discipline program set up for the students either, so they are never punished for not doing their homework, which makes motivating the students even more difficult.
I do a lot of work and reviewing with my students in class, so I don't think homework is always necessary, but the problem with this entire system is the parents. If you don't assign homework for the students every night, the parents get upset and think their children aren't getting enough practice. So, we have to assign homework every night to appease the parents because if the parents get upset, then the school gets worried that they're going to remove their children from the school. But when we give them homework, half of the students don't do it, but we still have to spend time grading it. Grading homework is a complete waste of time because it doesn't really count towards anything for their grades.
I often feel like the students at our school are babied. The Ministry of Education demands that the students have to take exams every month, so this means that 1 week out of the month is spent taking exams. Under the parents' instructions, however, we aren't supposed to give the students ANY homework that week because it's such a stressful time for the students that we can't possibly burden them with homework. Besides the fact that we spend an entire week each month giving exams, we also have to spend one whole week every month reviewing for the exams. The week prior to the exams is review week, and we are supposed to spend every lesson that week going over in detail for the students what is going to be on the exams. For review week, the teachers have to make an exam outline for the students, which tells them what topics are going to be on the exam, how many points they are worth, what they should be studying, and what types of questions will be on the exam, (multiple choice, short answer, essay, etc.). It's basically spelling out for them everything that's going to be on the exam. The teachers also have to make revision sheets for each topic that is going to be on the exam so that the students can practice everything. It is a law under the Ministry of Education that we have to make an exam outline and revision sheets for each exam. For example, if one lesson is on grammar and I'm putting verb tenses on the grammar part of the exam, then I need to make up a bunch of practice sheets for them to go over in class. Then, the next day I have to have a bunch of sheets to practice what vocabulary is going to be on the exam, etc. It's ridiculous because everything is done for them. A little old fashioned studying would be just as effective in my opinion, and would also teach these students responsibility.
Basically then, this is how each month goes: week 1 & week 2 I give my lessons and present the new material to the class (grammar, vocabulary, literature, reading, writing, etc.). Week 3 is reveiw week when have to type up an exam outline and 10 different review sheets so that the students can practice everything from weeks 1 & 2, and then Week 4 is the week of exams. After the exams are taken, the cycle starts all over again.
It's quite frustrating sometimes because I feel like I have to teach to the exams, and it is difficult to work in a school where there is no discipline system and most of the students don't understand the value of a little hard work. However, as a teacher you have to be flexible and adaptive, so I've just had to change a few things to make it work. I understand that most of my students don't care about their homework, and some of them think they don't have to be respectful and quiet during lessons because the school won't do anything to punish them. To counteract this, I have tried to make my class fun and interesting for the students so that they want to be there, and I also try to reward hard work and positive behavior.
The students hate doing grammar worksheets, so to make the grammar lessons interesting we have 'grammar chat' and 'slang day.' During the grammar chat lesson, I take the topic we are focusing on, like verb tenses, and I help them practice it by having a discussion, (chat), on topics that are interesting to them. The key is that while we are having the chat, they have to focus on and practice the verb tense we are using. For example, one time we talked about the best concert or show they had every seen using past simple tense, and they each had to share their experience using past simple while they talked. For slang day, we do a lesson that focuses on slang. When people are learning a foreign language, it is very important for them to understand the colloquial or slang phrases in the language as well, so for these lessons I teach the students a bunch of new phrases using slang words. Some of their favorites that I have taught them so far are: 'two-timing,' 'just for kicks,' and 'shut your pie hole'. One day while I was trying to teach a lesson in my Green class some of the boys were being unusually obnoxious and noisy, and they kept interrupting my lesson, which was getting me upset. Shawky, my favorite, who sits right in front, just looked at me with his big, brown eyes and said sweetly, "Ms. Sarah, just tell them to shut their pie holes, they'll listen if you do!" It was so cute; I burst out laughing.
To help with behavior, I also made up a contract with my students that we signed the first day of class. The contract says that if they agree to come prepared for class, do their homework, and be quiet and respectful during the lessons, then I promise them a short game at the end of every lesson, a review/game day every Thursday, and a class party once every month. If we get through everything in the day's lesson and they work hard and pay attention, then I spend the last 10 minutes of the class with them playing games like Jeopardy, Pictionary, or Charades, (great for reviewing vocabulary). If they are good all week and do their homework, then on Thursday, the last day of the week, we spend the entire lesson playing games to help them review for the exams. I make up questions going over everything we've covered that week and they have so much fun they don't even realize they're learning while they're playing the games!
To enforce the contract and to keep record of homework and behavior, I have a chart hung on the wall of each class that has the students' names on it. If a student comes late to class, doesn't do their homework, or interrupts the class or the lesson, I put a skunk up on the chart next to their name. If they get more than 5 skunks a month, they can't come to the class party. If they do something outstanding, like get 100% on a quiz or do a really great job on their homework, I put a Mia Mia on the chart for them, (mia mia means excellent in Arabic). Every time they get 2 Mia Mias, they get a prize from the class treasure box. They love to get the Mia Mias and they really work hard to get them.
Besides the game times and the monthly class party, I also have a student of the week award and a class of the month award. Each week I pick a student who has worked really hard, done all of their homework, and paid attention in class, and I print out an award for them with their name on it and give them a doughnut that they get to eat in class. Even the worse kids have been competing lately to become my student of the week. I also do a little friendly competition between my 3 classes each month and give a class of the month award for the class that has had the best behavior and has worked the hardest. For the class of the month, I also print an award, and then I bring in doughnuts for everyone and spend the lesson watching a movie or something fun. What I try to do is reward the positive instead of focus on the negative, and it seems to work.
We had our first parent teacher's conferences in the end of October, and I had a lot of parents come in to meet me who told me their kids talk about English class all of the time and that they think I'm a great teacher. That made me feel really good, and it's nice to know sometimes that all of the stress and effort is worth it. Overall my students are great kids, and I really want to make a difference in their lives and in their education.
About 95% of the students' grades come from the exams, with the other 5% coming from homework, attendance, and behavior. Since most of their grades come from the exams, many of the students don't take homework seriously because they know if they don't do it, nothing will really happen to them. They will still get a good grade as long as they do well on their exams. Sakkara School doesn't have any type of a discipline program set up for the students either, so they are never punished for not doing their homework, which makes motivating the students even more difficult.
I do a lot of work and reviewing with my students in class, so I don't think homework is always necessary, but the problem with this entire system is the parents. If you don't assign homework for the students every night, the parents get upset and think their children aren't getting enough practice. So, we have to assign homework every night to appease the parents because if the parents get upset, then the school gets worried that they're going to remove their children from the school. But when we give them homework, half of the students don't do it, but we still have to spend time grading it. Grading homework is a complete waste of time because it doesn't really count towards anything for their grades.
I often feel like the students at our school are babied. The Ministry of Education demands that the students have to take exams every month, so this means that 1 week out of the month is spent taking exams. Under the parents' instructions, however, we aren't supposed to give the students ANY homework that week because it's such a stressful time for the students that we can't possibly burden them with homework. Besides the fact that we spend an entire week each month giving exams, we also have to spend one whole week every month reviewing for the exams. The week prior to the exams is review week, and we are supposed to spend every lesson that week going over in detail for the students what is going to be on the exams. For review week, the teachers have to make an exam outline for the students, which tells them what topics are going to be on the exam, how many points they are worth, what they should be studying, and what types of questions will be on the exam, (multiple choice, short answer, essay, etc.). It's basically spelling out for them everything that's going to be on the exam. The teachers also have to make revision sheets for each topic that is going to be on the exam so that the students can practice everything. It is a law under the Ministry of Education that we have to make an exam outline and revision sheets for each exam. For example, if one lesson is on grammar and I'm putting verb tenses on the grammar part of the exam, then I need to make up a bunch of practice sheets for them to go over in class. Then, the next day I have to have a bunch of sheets to practice what vocabulary is going to be on the exam, etc. It's ridiculous because everything is done for them. A little old fashioned studying would be just as effective in my opinion, and would also teach these students responsibility.
Basically then, this is how each month goes: week 1 & week 2 I give my lessons and present the new material to the class (grammar, vocabulary, literature, reading, writing, etc.). Week 3 is reveiw week when have to type up an exam outline and 10 different review sheets so that the students can practice everything from weeks 1 & 2, and then Week 4 is the week of exams. After the exams are taken, the cycle starts all over again.
It's quite frustrating sometimes because I feel like I have to teach to the exams, and it is difficult to work in a school where there is no discipline system and most of the students don't understand the value of a little hard work. However, as a teacher you have to be flexible and adaptive, so I've just had to change a few things to make it work. I understand that most of my students don't care about their homework, and some of them think they don't have to be respectful and quiet during lessons because the school won't do anything to punish them. To counteract this, I have tried to make my class fun and interesting for the students so that they want to be there, and I also try to reward hard work and positive behavior.
The students hate doing grammar worksheets, so to make the grammar lessons interesting we have 'grammar chat' and 'slang day.' During the grammar chat lesson, I take the topic we are focusing on, like verb tenses, and I help them practice it by having a discussion, (chat), on topics that are interesting to them. The key is that while we are having the chat, they have to focus on and practice the verb tense we are using. For example, one time we talked about the best concert or show they had every seen using past simple tense, and they each had to share their experience using past simple while they talked. For slang day, we do a lesson that focuses on slang. When people are learning a foreign language, it is very important for them to understand the colloquial or slang phrases in the language as well, so for these lessons I teach the students a bunch of new phrases using slang words. Some of their favorites that I have taught them so far are: 'two-timing,' 'just for kicks,' and 'shut your pie hole'. One day while I was trying to teach a lesson in my Green class some of the boys were being unusually obnoxious and noisy, and they kept interrupting my lesson, which was getting me upset. Shawky, my favorite, who sits right in front, just looked at me with his big, brown eyes and said sweetly, "Ms. Sarah, just tell them to shut their pie holes, they'll listen if you do!" It was so cute; I burst out laughing.
To help with behavior, I also made up a contract with my students that we signed the first day of class. The contract says that if they agree to come prepared for class, do their homework, and be quiet and respectful during the lessons, then I promise them a short game at the end of every lesson, a review/game day every Thursday, and a class party once every month. If we get through everything in the day's lesson and they work hard and pay attention, then I spend the last 10 minutes of the class with them playing games like Jeopardy, Pictionary, or Charades, (great for reviewing vocabulary). If they are good all week and do their homework, then on Thursday, the last day of the week, we spend the entire lesson playing games to help them review for the exams. I make up questions going over everything we've covered that week and they have so much fun they don't even realize they're learning while they're playing the games!
To enforce the contract and to keep record of homework and behavior, I have a chart hung on the wall of each class that has the students' names on it. If a student comes late to class, doesn't do their homework, or interrupts the class or the lesson, I put a skunk up on the chart next to their name. If they get more than 5 skunks a month, they can't come to the class party. If they do something outstanding, like get 100% on a quiz or do a really great job on their homework, I put a Mia Mia on the chart for them, (mia mia means excellent in Arabic). Every time they get 2 Mia Mias, they get a prize from the class treasure box. They love to get the Mia Mias and they really work hard to get them.
Besides the game times and the monthly class party, I also have a student of the week award and a class of the month award. Each week I pick a student who has worked really hard, done all of their homework, and paid attention in class, and I print out an award for them with their name on it and give them a doughnut that they get to eat in class. Even the worse kids have been competing lately to become my student of the week. I also do a little friendly competition between my 3 classes each month and give a class of the month award for the class that has had the best behavior and has worked the hardest. For the class of the month, I also print an award, and then I bring in doughnuts for everyone and spend the lesson watching a movie or something fun. What I try to do is reward the positive instead of focus on the negative, and it seems to work.
We had our first parent teacher's conferences in the end of October, and I had a lot of parents come in to meet me who told me their kids talk about English class all of the time and that they think I'm a great teacher. That made me feel really good, and it's nice to know sometimes that all of the stress and effort is worth it. Overall my students are great kids, and I really want to make a difference in their lives and in their education.
