globalmidtown

i have come to abu dhabi as a teacher … an ESL instructor, although my employer does not refer to me in those terms. according to my employer i am an ‘english medium teacher’ … meaning i am to teach reading, writing, arithmetic, and science using the medium of english. but the truth is – i am an ESL teacher. english is the second language for EVERYONE in this country, with the exception of the very small population of western expats.

i teach kindergarten. for most of my students, this is their first exposure to english. their parents don’t speak english, their friends don’t speak english, their arabic teachers don’t speak english, the clerks at the market don’t speak english, their nannies don’t speak english…. in most cases i am my students’ sole link to the english speaking world. therefore, it is safe to say, i am an ESL instructor.

how CUTE are they?

i like the idea of being an ESL teacher. i like what that can mean. for me, it means i am a bridge.  through language we learn to understand each other. the west and the east are very different worlds with extraordinarily different cultures, religions, dress, customs, beliefs… simply put – a different way of life. we tend to be cautious – even fearful – of those different from ourselves and this can lead us down an ugly path … a path of racism, classism, ethnocentrism …

through dialogue we may be able to avoid this path, as dialogue is the first step to understanding, taking away the fear – the ‘caution’.

i’ve come to abu dhabi to teach english – in hopes of being that bridge. however, i’ve also come to expand my knowledge, my understanding of a world so different from my own. i’ve come to satisfy my thirst for other cultures, different peoples, new experiences, varying perspectives ….

i am learning so much here through my job. this has been a complete surprise for me. i have learned, first, that schools are schools… even on the other side of the globe.  you can’t escape the politics, the gossip, the paperwork, the bureaucracy …. sigh. this has been a disappointment.

however, i have gained so much knowledge and insight  through my students, my co-teachers and colleagues, through the parents of my students, through the ‘cleaners’ and other workers at my school. an absolute wealth of knowledge and perspective.

the differences between how we treat children in my country and here are amazing …

during my first week of teaching, a little girl had head lice. i mean head LICE – as in her head was literally crawling. this child is barely five years old.  my co-teacher was visibly disgusted…. she shooed the little girl away, with a look of repugnance  on her face, as she sent her to the nurse. i asked what was going on, my co-teacher told me “she has ants in her hair. there is no reason for this, we have soap and water, one should be clean”.  (ants?! i love esl speakers) about an hour later the nurse, unable to contact her parents, brought the child back to class. she told us to isolate the little girl from the rest of the class. naturally, my co-teacher promptly announced “class, no one is to go near this child. she has a dirty head. stay away from her.” as i watched in my western horror, a small table was set up in the corner for her to sit. i made many trips over to check on the little girl, worried about her ‘feelings being hurt’ or the possibility of embarrassment. to my dismay, the child was completely fine. she was not upset, did not seem sad or embarrassed or uncomfortable … how can this be? in my experience as a teacher in the states, we tip-toe around such issues … don’t let the rest of the class know who has the lice … send the child home discretely then send a vague note home with the rest of the students so all of the parents can check carefully in the safety & privacy of their own homes.  it’s all top secret so as to protect the child’s ‘self-esteem’.

since this incident, this same little girl has had lice approximately 6 times … 6 times in 6 months. did i mention that i teach bedouin children?

last week a little boy came to class with lice in his head so big he sat on the carpet during ‘circle time’ and picked them out with his fingers. he would reach up, pick out a louse, study it closely, and set it on the carpet. he was sent home only to return the very next day with bugs still crawling through his scalp. the nurse called his parents and required that they shave his head before he returned to school. the next day he was back, bald.

emiratis love sweets. i mean love sweets … quite unlike anything i’ve ever seen. and the children eat sweets all day. chocolate sandwiches for lunch followed up with a candy bar for dessert, all chased down with a 100% sugar ‘juice’. it’s impressive.  the obesity rate is very low, however, diabetes is at epidemic status. and so is tooth decay. the vast majority of my students have  several teeth rotting away. i have some students  who have whole mouths full of rotted teeth …  however, this is not cause for embarrassment or teasing … they are kids, they will get new teeth soon.

tea time

a few weeks ago, as we walked our class to the playground,  i watch as my co-teacher’s head wrap got caught in a child’s hair bow. my co-teacher walked several steps, dragging the child by the hair, before she noticed. once she disentangled herself, her concern was to her head scarf … did this entanglement cause her head scarf to get snagged? not once did she ask the little girl whose hair was just pulled out at the roots if she was ok.

the children in my school run everywhere. i mean run at full speed … through the corridors, down the hallways, across the assembly hall, in the library, to the bus … everywhere they RUN. no one stops them. no one says “slow down!” or “walk!”.  at home, every adult in sight would tell the child to knock it off … here, it is how kids get to & fro. when i first stared teaching, i would tell the kids in the hall ‘sway sway’ (slowly … or slow down) .. they literally laughed at me as they ran by. i quickly decided it was silly. now, i watch calmly as they fly by me through the library.

this way of travel for 3, 4, & 5 years olds is not without it’s downfalls. i have seen so many kids fall .. and some fairly nasty falls. the adults who are around have one of three reactions: 1 – zero reaction, like they didn’t even see this kid bust open their lip on the corner of the table while sailing across the room; 2 – laughter, really – they laugh at the kid – but usually only if the kid isn’t hurt too bad and if the fall was in some ungraceful way; or 3 – yelling – this is usually when the kid who is bleeding from a fall interrupts their tea or conversation. i am yet to see an adult react with compassion or  check to see if a kid is ok.

having said that, if a child is hurt badly enough to need medical attention, it is received promptly and with great care. so, please do not get the idea that these children are neglected. it appears that everyone involved, adults and children, know that a scratched knee or busted lip will heal … and that these are the ways we learn to control our bodies.

these kids are SMART!

the differences in how adults treat children here and in my home country are great. observing this has given me new perspective on my own country and our children. each day i work hard at observing this culture in which i live without judging, without trying to push my values on the people here. that is not my place. at first, not judging, not thinking ‘wow, in the states we …’ could be a challenge sometimes & i actively had to make myself not have those thoughts. however, i no longer even begin to have thoughts such as that. now, what i find, is i often compare the kids here to the kids at home.

i see the kids here … children who are set free to be children. the children who are not checked on, the children who do not have scheduled activities, the children who are ignored when they have minor hurts, the children who are not encouraged to be individuals, who are not told they are ‘special’, the children who are reprimanded at school for being absent, the children who are publicly  ostracized for having head lice … these kids are smart, they have amazing humor, and they are extraordinarily lovable. i see these kids and how amazing they are. how unique each one is. how sure of themselves they are. how little they need outside reassurances or boastful talk from parents and teachers. and i realize: in my country we are raising fragile babies. our kids depend on the adults in their lives to give them ‘self esteem’ … we tip-toe around topics so as not to make our kids embarrassed or uncomfortable … we teach them to hide things … we teach them that they are the center of our lives – ‘our future’ …. we tell them how great they are and don’t ever let them discover this on their own.

my wish for the children in my life ~ i want them to know how great they are without anyone ever telling them … i want them to KNOW, not be told.