Rock Star Teacher

Alison is working on her Masters in Curriculum and Instruction through Michigan State, and some of her assignments require her to complete projects in class.  Since she's not actually teaching at the moment, she used my class as her "lab" for her research project.  And because our classes our short, I told the students before hand that she was coming, that I expected their best behavior, etc. to cut down on the confusion and chaos and have more time for instruction.

I was surprised at how excited they were! Part of it is probably because I always use Alison and Eva as examples in class, so they hear about them a lot.  Alison was actually supposed to come a couple weeks ago, but because of the unrest, we had to reschedule a couple of times.  They were always disappointed.  

I had this conversation a couple of times with students:

Student:  Is Eva coming?
Me:  No.  Everyone would be too distracted.
Student:  Are you staying at home with her?
Me:  No, I'll be here at school.
Student: So where will Eva be?
Me.  Well... at home.
Student:  Alone!?!?!
Me.  Yeah.  If Mrs. Alison and I are both here, who else would be with her?
Student:  

Sometimes I came clean and sometimes I didn't. 

So today was the big day.  Alison didn't come to school right away, so when one girl came to my class before school even started, she panicked and asked, "Where is Ms. Alison!?!" I had to reassure her that she was coming a little later, but would be here for her math period.  She signed a sigh of relief.

Alison came, taught, and left.  The kids enjoyed it, or at least they pretended to for our sakes.  Alison also got to connect with the people she knows from working at Al Raja previously. Even some former students came to say hi.  Tomorrow the kids will have a test, and then it's back to the grind with their normal, boring teacher.  Well, as I tell my students, "whatever doesn't kill you only makes you stronger". 

Weekend in Qatar

This weekend, I took 6 students to a Model United Nations conference in Doha, Qatar.  If you are unfamiliar with Model United Nations, students simulate a United Nations meeting where each student represents a different country and discuss an issue and try to determine what the UN should do about the issue. Issues range from human rights issues such as migrant workers to security issues such as the crisis between North and South Korea.

At this particular conference, students from all over Europe, Africa and Asia attended, with one school even coming from the US.   It's great because the kids get to meet and interact with a wide variety of cultures and perspectives.

One of the best things about MUN is that the students need to represent their country from that country's perspective.  For instance, it is difficult for a student from a Persian (Iranian) background to speak from the United Kingdom's perspective regarding nuclear weapons!

A conference like the one in Doha is great for a couple reasons.  First, the students spend multiple days in their respective committees debating and negotiating with other delegates.  It's great to see them persevering over the long haul.  Second, because the conference is multiple days long, I get to float between the various committee sessions, listen to the debates, and get a good chunk of reading done!  Really, it's a lot of sitting around, but I'm a-ok with that.  Third, we stayed at a four star hotel (with cable!) and great restaurants.  The breakfast buffets were fantastic.

All in all, a great time.  The students were challenged, got to see Georgetown University School of Foreign Service Qatar (the hosts of the conference) and have a generally fun weekend away from home!

What time is dinner?

In class this last week, I was talking about Eva (as I often do).  For some reason, I was talking about what time we feed her dinner.  I said something along the lines of, "so when it comes to around 5 o'clock, she starts getting fussy and we feed her dinner."  At this point, the kids almost fell out of their seats.  A mixture of hilarity, shock and wonder filled their faces.  One kid said, "What time do you feed her lunch - 12 O'CLOCK!?!?"  He then proceeded to laugh as if he'd told the funniest joke in the world. 

The thing is, everyone else laughed because they DID think it was the funniest joke in the world!

Here, the daily schedule is a little bit different.  People often work from about 7am till 2 or 3 in the afternoon.  At this point, people leave work or school to go home and eat lunch.  In fact, there is no prescribed "lunch break" at Al Raja.  There's just a 15 minute break at about noon.  If anything, kids will eat a snack.  But full on lunch isn't until 2 or 3.  Then comes the nap time. 

So when is dinner?  I asked my class and they said no earlier than 9pm.  Sometimes as late as 10.  So you can understand their surprise.  This actually works out quite well for us because that means that if we go out to eat, restaurants quite dead till at least 8.   So we always get fantastic service - we're often the only one's like that? 

So why do they eat lunch and dinner so late?  Well - I might ask you why I eat so early.  But I do have a hypothesis.  Air conditioning is the savior of life in the Gulf, but before that, it is just too darn hot in the afternoon to do anything.  So what else is there to do besides take a nap?  When it gets dark and a little cooler, people would often return to work an return home for dinner late in the evening.  The pattern has stayed even with the advent of air conditioners.  Its not so much different from our system of summer breaks. I wouldn't give it up, but it comes because families needed kids during the farming season.  That purpose is outdated, but the tradition is still there (thankfully!) 

It was kind of fun to see the shock and horror on their faces when they learned this fact about me.  I'm sure there'll be more stories as the year goes on!

Bargaining: The Arab Superpower

Those of you who have spent some time in the Arab world will know that bargaining is essential if you ever go to the markets.  This essential cultural feature became poignantly real for me yesterday. 

On Saturday, Al Raja School hosted a small Model United Nations conference (though I'm not working there, I am helping out to direct the MUN program).  If you have never heard of MUN before, you can go to this wikipedia article and read about it.  Essentially, students from multiple schools research a country and represent it at a Mock United Nations conference to solve a pre-determined issue.  This time, our school hosted the conference, which was organized by two of our students, two girls from Al Raja. 


About two hours into the conference, we realized we had a problem when fewer students showed up than expected, and we were not going to have enough money to cover the food we had ordered from the caterer.  The dinner was going to be 225 dinars and we only had 140 left.  Uh-oh.  I explained this to our student-directors, and so one of them took on the challenge of working with the caterer.

Now, you need to understand that already with in the last 5 days, we had changed the time twice and the number of people at least once.  And here we were trying to change the number of people - AGAIN! 

So I looked at one of the girls and said, "The stereotype of Arabs is that they are bargainers.  What do you think you can do?" She smiled at my joke and said she would call him and see if they could get the price down. This girl is ambitious, so I figured that she would be able to knock a little bit off, and then I would have to cover the rest out of my own pocket.

She came back about 20 minutes later with a huge smile on her face.  100 dinars.  From 225 down to 100 dinars.

Oh. my. goodness.  My jaw dropped.  I couldn't even believe how she had gotten the caterer to drop the price.  I was just stunned.  "Its... its like your secret weapon!  If you were a part of the Incredibles, your superpower would be bargaining!"

She responded, "My mother and grandmother are going to be so proud of me!  I can't wait to tell them and see their faces when I tell them!"

In an attempt to harness her superpower, I will be hiring her as the designated shopper for Alison and I.  I'm going to see if I can get my rent cut in half.

Physics is Phun! And Projectiles are the Icing on the Cake

Really, what boy doesn't like projectiles - particularly throwing his own projectiles. Now, just imagine the excitement that comes from CREATING something that can launch projectiles! That's what I call homework. Incidentally, that's what Alison calls homework, too.

In her 10th grade physics class a few weeks ago, she had them all do a project where they needed to create a catapult that could project a ping-pong ball at least 50cm. I'm not sure what the unit was - probably something to do with motion and projectiles (she has thus informed me that "projectile motion" was the name of the unit. I get an "A").

The students had a good time doing it, and I was duly impressed with the projects and posters hanging in Alison's classroom. The students obviously worked very hard on these. If you look closely at two of the pictures, you can even see the pingpong ball being launched. Much further than the required 50 cm. You can see four of the catapults in the pictures below.*

So to all of her students - congratulations on fantastic projects! Yes - that's right. I know you read this blog. There are more pictures, and if you're interested, tell Ms. Alison and I'll post the rest of them on my picasa site (see link on the right), and you can download them yourself.

Setting up the catapult just so.

Watching carefully as the ball is launched.

I must say - that's quite a large catapult!

Small, but obviously very effective.

This makes you want to teach or take a physics class, doesn't it!
*You will notice an equal amount of pictures of boys and girls. This is to highlight the fact that we are equal opportunity teachers. We believe that both boys and girls have the same potential to do fantastic things in physics and we encourage all of them to go on and be famous scientists that will revolutionize the world with their inventions. I also believe they will all make stellar economists in 12th grade!

The Last Week of School

I think I mentioned last week that we are on our last leg of the school year. Last week, the students finished up exams, and us teachers have finished grading the exams and have since turned in the grades. So if all that was done last week, what are we doing this week? Well, in a day or two the report cards will be printed, and we'll be stuffing envelopes with report cards, but until then, there hasn't been a whole lot to do. Some administrative work and organizational work, but Alison and I largely finished that last week.

However, we have been working on something far more important: Settlers of Catan. This board game can be described as a mix of monopoly and risk. I played it in college, and Alison and I have gotten hooked on it this year. We've been playing at least two games every day at school. I've won a few games, Alison has won a few, and in general its been a good time. I've even started tracking the statistics of how many times each number gets rolled. Should be very interesting.

Alison and I will be bringing this game with us this summer, so we'll be able to play it all throughout the summer. Good times are a comin'!

I am James Bond

There's no big news to share at the moment, just the hum-drum of normal life. I guess here are a few highlights of the last few weeks:

1) Entertainment: Lost - If you watch it, you know its awesome. If you don't... its like trying to explain a 3 dimensional world to a two dimensional creature. You just have not context for it. On a semi-related note: Star Trek was phenomenal. Everyone should go see it.

2) School: the seniors finish classes this week, and then have exams next week. This is nice for both alison and I as our class load shrinks a little bit. However, we only have 3 more weeks until the rest of the students are done. I, for one, am scrambling a little bit, trying to squeeze every last drop of life and joy out of my students by making them suffer in my class. Or, at least that's the story they would tell you.

Alison and I also chaperoned a school dance last night. I was really impressed with the organization by the 11th graders. I also got to wear a black suit and bow tie. Very James Bond-ish. I will post a picture when I get one.

3) Good Times: We went out with some friends on their boat a few weeks ago. We were up and at 'em by 7:30 and on the water by 9am. Awesome. We went to an island about 10km off the shore of Bahrain, which is actually just a sandbar until the tide goes out. It then turns into a 10 foot wide, 2km long island on which you can make sand castles and fish from.

4) Snorkel Gear: I am on a mission to use the snorkel gear my parents bought for Alison and I last summer. I've used it in Lake Michigan (too cold/cloudy), Malyasia (no marine life), UAE (too much toxic algae) and now in Bahrain. I am proud to say that yes, it does work. I found some white fish about a foot long, some seaweed and some clams that may or may not have had pearls in them.

I'm sure more exciting things will happen in the future, but you will just have to be patient.

Life Under Stalinist Russia

Today was a good day at school. I mean, I have lots of good days at school. But sometimes there's just a story to share.

We have been studying Communist Russia in this last unit, and today I had a series of short readings on various aspects of life under Joseph Stalin. some of the categories included the Cult of Stalin, Religion, Family Life, etc. Once they had the hand out, they were broken up into groups and they were assigned various stations around the room.

Each station had a series of questions on one particular topic. After the questions was an activity. For instance, for Cult of Stalin, students had to write a birthday party announcement for Stalin's birthday celebration, or compare and contrast Family in Russia to Family in Bahrain.

Unfortunately, each station took longer than I expected. Students were only able to complete two sections in the reading (out of three). So near the end of class, I tell them to return to their seats.

"But there's still one left!" exclaimed one student.

"I know, but the bell will ring in a minute."

It was nice to know that they wanted to continue with the activity.

Its nice to know that sometimes the activities engage them.

A Day Off

I heard a few months ago that there is only one country in the world that gets more school holidays than Bahrain. Lebanon. I'm not sure if that's true or not, but I imagine that Bahrain is near the top of the list.

Such hard lives that Alison and I live.

Today is the Prophet Mohamed's birthday, so today is a holiday. Alison and I slept in, ate pancakes, went to the gym, and I am now sitting in the facility's lounge area, using free, unlimited internet (I have cap on the gigabytes I can download each month at home). I am currently downloading all the NPR, How Stuff Works History Stuff, and LOST video podcasts I can in the time that I have.

In other news, I've joined the world wide web in other ways. I've started a class website. I haven't debuted the site to my students yet, but that will come soon enough. There's a schedule for them to follow for tests and major assignments, important documents and a link to a discussion blog (which will be part of their assignments). There are even a countdown to graduation!

This is my third attempt at some sort of online interaction. We'll see if it works out.

A Student's Comment on Philosophy

Today in history class I mentioned two philosophers - Karl Marx and Fredric Engels. The question from students, of course, was "what is a philosopher?"

"A philosopher is someone who thinks, specifically about what is really real (among other things)," I answered.

Most students didn't quite understand that explanation, so I gave them a "philosophical" question.

"How do you know that all of this - the classroom, me, your classmates - is real? How do you know its not just a figment of your imagination?"

Most of them answered, "Because we know! I can see it!"

"But how do you KNOW for sure!" I said.

Answers one student: "Because if this were really a figment of my imagination, there would be dragons and everyone would have swords."

You can't argue with that.

FYI

For those of you who have been waiting in suspense, I have successfully connected all the pieces in order to create an interactive white board for my classroom. It will be awesome.

+

=

A Smart Board - for $70. Sweetest thing EVER.

Have you ever used a SMARTboard? Or an interactive whiteboard? Basically, when you project a computer image on an LCD screen, you see what is on the computer. An interactive whiteboard makes the actual image on the board your screen. You can go up to the screen and touch it, move the mouse, draw, etc. I used one in my student teaching - they're really nice. But they're also really expensive.

A friend cued me into a similar concept for 5 percent of the price. A guy named John Chung (check out his videos, too) took a wii remote control, hooked it to a computer through bluetooth and used an infrared light as his mouse. For about $70 he's created an interactive whiteboard. I was able to get all the parts I needed - a special infrared "pen", a bluetooth usb adapter and the free software (actually, I still need the wii remote). By next week I should have this all worked out. It's pretty sweet.

In other news, things have been slow at school, at least for Alison and I. The students had exams this week, so we didn't do a whole lot. The kids, I'm sure, stressed over their exams. They do have a lot of them. I was pleased, though, with their results on my tests. I've got a good bunch this year. Things will pick up next week though as we swing into a new semester.

Alison and I have booked our tickets for the states for the summer, as well. We'll be back at the end of June and then coming back to Bahrain in the middle of August, so if you're either in Michigan or Texas, let us know and we'll get together.

National Day and Thanksgiving

Today at school, our last day before break, the school had national day celebrations activities, and students could wear red and white (national colors) or wear national clothes (thobes and habiyas). So Alison and I decided to go to school in Bahraini clothes. I wore a thobe and gutra, while Alison wore a habiya. We were quite the talk of the school, I think.

You can see some more National Day pictures here, at my picasa album.

I learned that I was not wearing traditional Bahraini clothes - at least not dress. More like bedouin clothes with an Emrati style gutra (head piece). But I learned all about the Bahraini style of clothing.

Not only this, but thanksgiving was last week! Alison cooked two turkeys for 14 people and 2 babies. It was quite the feast. A few other people brought food, silverware and drinks. A few people from church came as well as some of our neighbors. It was quite a good time.

Of course, you can see some more Thanksgiving pictures here, at my picasa album.

Wimps.

Philadelphia Schools Close Due to Heat.

It was 96 degrees today and it actually felt a little refreshing. Of course, we have air conditioners.

In other news:

• I have moved into my new apartment and enjoying it
• Today was the last day of teaching classes!
• Only 54 days left till Alison and I get married
• I have been reading two fascinating books: Geography of Thought and The World is Flat.
• Al Raja's first graduation is tomorrow, so I'm looking forward to seeing the seniors off one last time (they've been finished with exams for over two weeks, but they keep coming back).
  

Another quote for you: "Ninth graders aren't people. They're hormones."

Truer words have rarely been spoken.

Facebook: The Israel Conspiracy

I hear the most random things. Here are a few of the conspiracies that I have unmasked since I've lived in Bahrain.

1) Facebook is controlled by Israel: It makes perfect sense, says my Arab friend. I mean, Israel wants to take over the world. Facebook is a way to gather all sorts of information on people. People put all kinds of crap on Facebook - phone numbers, addresses, pictures, videos. Its all there for Israel to catalog and track. I mean, who else would want this information!? DUN Dun dun!!

2) Fluoride - the sedative for Americans: Did you know that most American cities have fluoride added to their water? Yes? Well do you know what this fluoride does!?!? I can tell you right now.

Fluoride is a way to control the population. It make men impotent and therefore keeps them from impregnating their wives and girlfriends. Of course. Otherwise we'd spread like rabbits.

Fluoride is also a way to brainwash Americans. The fluoride makes us more sensitive to the subliminal and subversive messages from our evil and world dominating government.

3) George Bush is bent on world domination: Actually, this one is a pretty understandable viewpoint. I don't claim to know Bush's or any other US government officials reasons for the current US foreign policy, but its easy to see why people around the world hate President Bush.

Axis of Evil

This last week in World History, with the 11th graders, we have started covering World War II, which of course includes the Axis powers of Germany, Japan and Italy. I try to connect and apply everything I can, and this provided a great opportunity.

In his 2002 State of the Union Address, President Bush coined the phrase, "Axis of Evil". We can debate for hours whether or not he was correct... though the President's continued hardline stance is a little disconcerting considering the recent United States report that Iran had ceased their nuclear program in 2003 (and the possibility that he's known about this report since July).

The following article was found on satirewire.com. Enjoy.

No Fair! We wanna be in our own Axis!
Andrew Marlatt (oligarch of Satirewire.com and author of Economy of Errors)

Bitter after being snubbed for membership in the “Axis of Evil,” Libya, China and Syria today announced they had formed the “Axis of Just as Evil,” which they said would be way eviler than that stupid Iran-Iraq-North Korea axis President Bush warned of in his State of the Union address.

Axis of Evil members, however, immediately dismissed the new axis as having, for starters, a really dumb name.

“Right. They are Just as Evil… in their dreams!” declared North Korean leader Kim Jong il. “Everybody knows we’re the best evils… best at being evil… we’re the best.”

Diplomats from Syria denied they were jealous over being excluded, although they conceded they did ask if they could join the Axis of Evil.

“They told us it was all full,” said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

“An Axis can’t have more than three countries,” explained Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. “This is not my rule; its tradition. In World War II you had Germany, Italy and Japan in the evil Axis. So You can only have three.

“And a secret handshake. Ours is wicked cool.”

International reaction to Bush’s Axis of Evil declaration was swift as, within minutes, France surrendered.

Elsewhere, peer-conscious nations rushed to gain triumvariate status in what became a game of geopolitical musical chairs. Cuba, Sudan and Serbia said they had formed the Axis of Somwhat Evil, forcing Somalia to join with Uganda and Myanmar in the Axis of Occasionally Evil, while Bulgaria, Indonesia and Russia established the Axis of Not So Much Evil Really as Just Generally Disagreeable.

With the criteria suddenly expanded and all the desirable clubs filling up, Siera Leone, El Salvador and Rwanda applied tot be called the Axis of Countries That Aren’t the Worst But Certainly Won’t Be Asked to Host the Olympics, and Canada, Mexico and Australia formed the Axis of Nations That Are Actually Quite Nice But Secretly Have Nasty Thoughts About America.

While wondering if the other nations of the world weren’t perhaps making fun of him, a cautious Bush granted approval for most axes, although rejected the establishment of the Axis of Countries Whose Names End in “Guay,” accusing one of its members of filing a false application. Officials from Paraguay, Uruguay and Chadguay denied the charges.

The End is Near

So it has been over a month since I’ve posted anything, but not because nothing has happened.

Standard opening line of most blogs I’ve read in the last few months. BOH-ring.

Every once in a while I will stop and think, “I should post something soon – but nothing interesting has happened.” But then I remember that I live on the other side of the world, and how can that NOT be interesting.

Um... yeah.

But it is near the end of the year. We only have two weeks of school left, and both of those weeks are full of exams. Which means a little more free time for me.

I did have an interesting conversation with a student. The student told me that he had started talking to an American online - probably on MSN or myspace or something similar. They started asking usual questions: Whats it like? How do you live? etc. The ends of the earth have exotic and fantastic ways of living that fascinate us. So, in pictures, I shall show you how I live.

This is how I get to school every day:

This is the outside of the school:

And here is the entrace to my apartment.

Ok, so maybe I'm lying. But this is apparently what some people have in their minds.

Of course, you are probably dying to know what these pictures are and where they are from. And I didn't copy them from the Internet. I (or my dad) actually took them.

Click here to enjoy.

Some Friends!

Maryam - the new addition to the family! She's only a few weeks old.




















The Proud mother and father - Mona and Abdul Fatah















Mohamed being silly with his sister




















"Ok, fine dad. I won't be silly."





















Hanging out a Geant Mall with the Boumati's

The 1st Week

This has been a week full of "firsts". Firsts embedded in firsts. And thus I have decided that the second week of February will for ever more be dubbed thus: The First Week.

In my first time living over seas, I was driving the first car that I did not pay for, yet drive regularly (except for my parents cars - but those don't count). After driving for two weeks, I had to fill it up at the gas station for the first time. I paid a mere $12 to fill it up - the first time I've spent less than my life savings on gas (though probably due to the fact that, for the first time, my income is actually able to increase my lifesavings fairly significantly). It was the first time I was so greatful to oil-rich countries who provide their residents cheap gas.

However, today I had my first flat tire. Ever. It was the first time I had to replace a tire on my own car, and for the first time, I figured out how to use those stupid little car jacks that come as part of your car.

And now for the finale: On thursday, for the very first time, I went ice-skating. Yes ladies and gentlemen, I lived in WI for 12 years and MN for 4 years without ever having laced up a pair of blades (and who would've thought my first time would not only be overseas, but in a desert country land). I went with the school, so all the teachers and students were there. I've rollar-bladed, so my first time wasn't too bad. It took me a minute or two to get used to, but after a while, I was doing my first cross-overs on ice. During this experience, I threw a snow ball at a student for the first time (I'm such a bad example).

Unfortunately, I did not get any pictures documenting any of these "Firsts". So, and not for the first time, you'll have to take my word that all of this actually did happen. But next time I go ice-skating, I'll take some pictures - for the first time.

PS - my first shout out. Ryan Lang is pretty cool. I talk to him on skype. Also, he has lots of great skills. Like finding girlfriends in China and teaching 5th graders.

Mr. Joshua: Teacher, Traffic Director, Firefighter

I am many things to many people. Mostly, I am a teacher. But please, don't put me in some sort of box. I have many skills.

My new favorite activity is standing in the afternoon desert heat. In pants and long sleeves and a tie. After school every day, parents come to pick up their kids and attempt to wade through the sea of cars within the narrow, narrow street. Teachers are always outside turning this street into a one way road (which the neighborhood residents don't appreciate). I have traffic duty twice a week.

However, this week, I added a new job to my list: firefighter.

I was standing near my room watching students move to and fro during their break. I can see down the hallway and outside, and as I'm staring blankly down this hallway, a student runs in, grabs the fire extinguisher, and runs away. Mischief was in the air.

As I tore off after the punk, the kids are saying to me, "Mr. Joshua, there's a fire!" And I was thinking in my head, "I'm sure there is. Go to class." As I follow our little thief around the building, I see smoke billowing from the bushes at the back of the school. As I got nearer, I saw the flames. We're not talking about small flamelets. I'm talking about large LARGE flames. Large enough for about 30 people to roast marshmallows on. Of course, I started freaking out.

I grabbed the fire extinguisher and got in as close as I could and started spraying it. I soon finished that one and before I was done putting out the fire, about 4 fire extinguishers had been used up. I didn't even know we had four fire extinguishers at the school. My clothes wreaked of campfire smoke for the rest of the day.

What caused the fire, you're probably wondering. I'm wondering, too. Student mischief comes to mind, but I don't know.

What matters is that I win this week's "hero award".