Jennifer's classes

Greetings all,

After my last posting about school starting, I received many questions, and I realized that our post raised more questions than it answered. I will try my best to explain further. As students were changing grades and moving from boys' only or girls' only programs to the co-ed program, our classes, grades, and schedules were adjusting constantly last week. Now it is slightly clearer, but change seems to be the key word this year ...

As of today, the first day of our second week of school, we have a girls' only school which is located in an upstairs wing of the school, though many of the girls have been more than happy to have some classes in the co-ed section of the school, as well as to eat lunch in the co-ed cafeteria. We have no more boys' school. All boys moved into the co-ed component of the school, which made most teachers very pleased. Now I am teaching the eight 6th graders Language A (English/ Language Arts), and my colleague teaches them on alternating days for humanities/social students (Ancient Civilizations - Egypt, Greece, and Rome). In 6th grade Language Arts, we are working on reading, discussing, writing, grammar. Though the students have varying abilities in English, they seem to be trying really hard, and there is always one Saudi boy who is comfortable enough to translate for the others. Last week we introduced the components of a story (setting, rising action, conflict, anit-climax ...) to our students with a children's story that belongs to our family. I copied the story and read it aloud while the students read along - about a knight, a princess, a dragon, and a battle. The students said they loved it. Later I asked the kids to let me know with a five-finger rating system how much they had understood, and all students raised either 4-5 fingers, showing thorough understanding of the story. It was a fun lesson and it gave me a sense that they understand more than they can sometimes express. One boy who I thought didn't understand English well, enthusiastically offered many predictions for the story, and he was right in each case! Tomorrow they will have their first quiz!

I also teach 7th grade humanities. There are more than 20 students, so my colleague and I have split the class into two sections. Again we alternate days between Language Arts and social studies. Today we drew maps from memory on large completely blank pieces of paper. It's a very hard exercise which really shows how much awareness of the world people have. My three Saudi boys, try as they might, really only knew Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and a few countries around the Arabian Peninsula. That's okay. Think how much they will know by the end of the year!

We do have teachers on staff who are trained in English as a Second Language (ESL), and they come into the class or offer ideas whenever asked. This has been tremendously helpful. All teachers have to balance between students who are native speakers of English and are 'ready to go' and students who are primarily learning English as we go. I am grateful that most of my students are trying really hard and seem pleased to be here. As is always the case, once you begin to get to know your students, to see their strengths, and to see some successes, you just care more and more and want to help them continue to learn. I am buoyed by the idea of what all of my students will be able to label on a world map by June - and what that will offer their world perspective!

Over the weekend, we spent one day doing errands in Jeddah - buying a vacuum and a blender, a desk (again at IKEA), some food we cannot get here in the mini-mart, and other household items. On Friday we stayed home organizing our house, installing a water filter system in the kitchen (no more need for bottles of water), cleaning and vacuuming, doing laundry. It felt good to settle in. We also enjoyed a relaxing brunch at the cafeteria where we can get omelets, smoothies, waffles and pancakes ... more than we are cooking at home at the moment. The super market on campus will open, inshallah, in December, and the mini-mart just cannot keep up with all food needs, thus the campus-wide free food until ... who knows?

Thanks for reading - and for all the positive comments about Hayden's blog. He is ready to try another. -- Jennifer