Hello all! I have decided to dedicate this blog to my daily routine during the school week. Settle in.
If I am not awakened by morning prayer at 4:30 a.m., my alarm goes off and a new day begins. As I am getting ready for the school day, I hear the intermittent cooing of the pigeons outside my window, which doesn't offer much of a view, but that is okay. I am usually out of my door at twenty to seven and calmly stroll to school, located a block away. As I walk, I wonder about the surprises that will greet me throughout the morning and afternoon, some of which are rewarding...others that don't have the pleasure.
I arrive at school around 6:45 a.m. and make my way up to my room to prepare for my first period class. On a side note, an interesting thing (one of many) about the school is that everyday is a different schedule. Three days a week, I have a first period class. Everyday, I have two 55 minute planning periods...a great gift! There is break duty that needs to be attended to and if I am lucky enough, I will have the pleasure of substituting for an Arabic class with a group of students I have never had. Wonderful fun!!! On Tuesday afternoon, I have a Humanities Department meeting. Back to the day. At 7:10 a.m. I make my way down to the playground area where all the boys (grade 1 through 12) are getting ready for flag ceremony and morning assembly. This is done every morning, which is nice as the boys need routine and consistency. When the music begins to play, all students line up according to grade level. When the music stops, three students chant into the microphone. They chant three different salutes three times. From what I understand, they salute the flag of Kuwait and the Amir! All students repeat the chants. If one is not quite awake, the chants will help. The soaring voices fill the outside playground area. After the chants, the national anthem of Kuwait is sung. At the end of the anthem, passages of the Quran are read and sung. The young lad who sings is very good and I always enjoy listening to him. After the morning assembly, the principal greets the boys who politely greet him back. The principal then dismisses the students grade by grade. Now, let the day begin.
Basically, the days are very chaotic. For each lesson in grade 7 and 9, I take some time to settle the boys down, have them do a daily warmup and after 20 minutes, we dig into the daily lesson for the remaining 35 minutes. It is hectic but after each lesson, I am always able to say to myself, "We got work done!" I have come to accept the notion that the boys like to talk, enjoy "play fighting", and must have directions repeated 17 times. They need to be busy. Bottom line. Thirty seconds of freedom and the students could be talking to each other, getting out of their seats, and/or walking up to me and asking me questions. So just like that, the class can be out of control. After two or three minutes, I get them to sit back down and be quiet and we begin again. However, as the weeks go on, the students are getting better and better at being on time, completing the warm-up, and sitting still for the lesson to begin. It is definitely an experience.
At the end of the day, I sit in my room. Just me! For about five minutes, I take in the silence. No pen clicking. No finger tapping. No blowing noses and no furniture scraping across the cement floor. It is beautiful.
I am able to sign out at 2:30 p.m. I make my way home and figure out something to do during the evenings. Fahaheel comes to life after 7 p.m. but that is another blog. All in all, the job is an experience. Something different happens everyday and I do enjoy the variety. However, the days are draining and I really look forward to the weekends!
So, thanks for reading! Eid holiday begins on Thursday and I am off to Jordan on Saturday! I will post after the vacation.
-Peace
If I am not awakened by morning prayer at 4:30 a.m., my alarm goes off and a new day begins. As I am getting ready for the school day, I hear the intermittent cooing of the pigeons outside my window, which doesn't offer much of a view, but that is okay. I am usually out of my door at twenty to seven and calmly stroll to school, located a block away. As I walk, I wonder about the surprises that will greet me throughout the morning and afternoon, some of which are rewarding...others that don't have the pleasure.
I arrive at school around 6:45 a.m. and make my way up to my room to prepare for my first period class. On a side note, an interesting thing (one of many) about the school is that everyday is a different schedule. Three days a week, I have a first period class. Everyday, I have two 55 minute planning periods...a great gift! There is break duty that needs to be attended to and if I am lucky enough, I will have the pleasure of substituting for an Arabic class with a group of students I have never had. Wonderful fun!!! On Tuesday afternoon, I have a Humanities Department meeting. Back to the day. At 7:10 a.m. I make my way down to the playground area where all the boys (grade 1 through 12) are getting ready for flag ceremony and morning assembly. This is done every morning, which is nice as the boys need routine and consistency. When the music begins to play, all students line up according to grade level. When the music stops, three students chant into the microphone. They chant three different salutes three times. From what I understand, they salute the flag of Kuwait and the Amir! All students repeat the chants. If one is not quite awake, the chants will help. The soaring voices fill the outside playground area. After the chants, the national anthem of Kuwait is sung. At the end of the anthem, passages of the Quran are read and sung. The young lad who sings is very good and I always enjoy listening to him. After the morning assembly, the principal greets the boys who politely greet him back. The principal then dismisses the students grade by grade. Now, let the day begin.
Basically, the days are very chaotic. For each lesson in grade 7 and 9, I take some time to settle the boys down, have them do a daily warmup and after 20 minutes, we dig into the daily lesson for the remaining 35 minutes. It is hectic but after each lesson, I am always able to say to myself, "We got work done!" I have come to accept the notion that the boys like to talk, enjoy "play fighting", and must have directions repeated 17 times. They need to be busy. Bottom line. Thirty seconds of freedom and the students could be talking to each other, getting out of their seats, and/or walking up to me and asking me questions. So just like that, the class can be out of control. After two or three minutes, I get them to sit back down and be quiet and we begin again. However, as the weeks go on, the students are getting better and better at being on time, completing the warm-up, and sitting still for the lesson to begin. It is definitely an experience.
At the end of the day, I sit in my room. Just me! For about five minutes, I take in the silence. No pen clicking. No finger tapping. No blowing noses and no furniture scraping across the cement floor. It is beautiful.
I am able to sign out at 2:30 p.m. I make my way home and figure out something to do during the evenings. Fahaheel comes to life after 7 p.m. but that is another blog. All in all, the job is an experience. Something different happens everyday and I do enjoy the variety. However, the days are draining and I really look forward to the weekends!
So, thanks for reading! Eid holiday begins on Thursday and I am off to Jordan on Saturday! I will post after the vacation.
-Peace
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