In typical Saudi fashion, information reached us by way of rumors, most of them self-generated out of boredom. We invented worse case scenarios, best case scenarios, and scenarios that would be absurd anywhere else, but that were remarkably typical for here. The truth about summer school will no doubt be some combination of all three. The only thing we know for sure is that we won't know anything until the last possible moment. Here is the first official email we had about Summer School (It's good to keep in mind that our weekend is Friday & Saturday instead of Saturday & Sunday):
"Right now, on Thursday afternoon, we don’t have any specific plans or assignments for the summer sessions. But rumors are flying around. We may have to teach kids and/or adults. We don’t have any
specific information on ages or numbers of students, curriculum,
objectives, goals, books, timing, or duration of classes other
interesting information. But it looks like We may have some students
on Monday. We may be doing placement
tests or we may be starting
classes."
So, basically, we didn't really know anything at all, and probably wouldn't know anything until the day we were going to start teaching
On Sunday, our first day back after the weekend, we had to proctor exams. I initially thought we were proctoring the make-up tests for students who didn't show up for their final exams, but we were actually proctoring placement tests for summer school. This placement test consisted of 25 multiple choice questions. These questions ranged in complexity from easy, to mildly challenging, with some confusing and strange thrown in. None of the questions really tested anything more than basic vocabulary, so they weren't really going to help us understand much of anything about our students levels.
Sample question:
On Sunday, our first day back after the weekend, we had to proctor exams. I initially thought we were proctoring the make-up tests for students who didn't show up for their final exams, but we were actually proctoring placement tests for summer school. This placement test consisted of 25 multiple choice questions. These questions ranged in complexity from easy, to mildly challenging, with some confusing and strange thrown in. None of the questions really tested anything more than basic vocabulary, so they weren't really going to help us understand much of anything about our students levels.
Sample question:
Soda comes in a
a: jar
b: can
c: box
d. bag
About an hour before we left for the day on Sunday, Chris, or boss, held a meeting with the selected few who would teach summer school. As you might imagine, this placement test didn't tell us a whole lot, other than that some of the students could read English and some of them could not. We graded the tests, and found that most students either did extremely well, or extremely poor. There wasn't much in between. We also had a range of ages from 7 to 32. What she had decided to do was split the groups up more or less by age, and then ability level. We would be teaching with a partner, one of us taking the first teaching session of an hour and 15 minutes, and the other taking the second session of 1 hour and 15 minutes. She announced out teaching partners, and I was happy to be working with Sue, an experienced and energetic Jordanian woman. We had a group of older (20 and up) girls with an intermediate level of English. Sue and I sat down to start planning what we were going to do the first day for ice breakers and such since we had no books and didn't want to end up doing the same activities. We even planned to do a project at the end of each week like an international day or a fashion show. I was excited.
After we talked, I was chatting with my friend Sara who had been assigned to work with a group of 13 to 19 year olds of mixed ability. She was not happy with the co-teacher they had put her with. I knew that she was somewhat new to teaching, and so I was worried that they had given her the most challenging group to work with. Her students were mixed in both age and ability level, which would be hard for any teacher, let alone a new one with a co-teacher she didn't get along with. I suggested that she ask Chris if she could switch with someone. She suggested that she switch with me. I was happy to switch, because for me it didn't matter much, but I told her we should ask the other co-teachers if they minded first. Luckily, neither of them minded. I told Sara to go ask Chris if it was okay to switch, but she asked me to come with her, so I did. Sara is a little timid, so when we got to Chris's office, she didn't say anything but looked at me. I looked back at her. Chris stared at us both. It became clear that when she said "come with me to tell her" she actually meant, "I'll stand next to you while you tell her." So I asked Chris if we could swap. I didn't really want to be the one to ask because I didn't want to seem like I was complaining or being difficult, but I guess I shouldn't have worried because she didn't seem to mind and said it would be fine. So, we switched and I was happy for Sara, but had absolutely no idea what I would do when it was time to teach my mixed group the next day. I spent that evening coming up with a series of activities that even beginners could handle, but that would also give me a better understanding of each person's level. I was looking forward to the class at 9:00am.
When we arrived at work at 8:30am, my new co-teacher told me that I was working with Sue now. I was confused because I thought we had worked it all out the day before. Apparently, Sue had wanted to switch back or something, so I went and asked Sue if we were working together and she said, no she was with Sara now, and I said that is what I thought too, so what was going on? It turned out that Sue actually wanted to work with the younger group of mixed ability girls because she wanted a change from the older girls we teach during the school year. So she wanted to switch classes, but not co-teachers. So much for trying to get Sara out of the harder class, and so much for all of my plans for lower level students. Sue told me she was too busy putting together an activity that would start in a few minutes, and so could I please go tell Chris that we were switching classes. I started to point out that I also needed to go teach in the next 10 minutes, and now had to create a whole new lesson plan before I went, but figured that in the time spent arguing with her about it, I could already have it done. So I went to Chris and explained the new arrangement, and she looked at me with those boss eyes, you know, the eyes that say "I hate that part of my job is trying to placate all the whiney teachers who want everything their way." And I tried to explain that it wasn't me, that I had been happy all along and that I was just the messenger, but she wasn't buying it. I didn't have time to argue, so I left and scrambled off to class.
I needn't have rushed. Classes start at 9, but students didn't start arriving until 9:10. Which was okay because the first day was chaos. None of the students knew who they had been assigned to, or where to go. Even the teachers had no idea. We only received our attendance list and class assignments around 5 minutes before classes started. Imagine 150+ nervous students anxiously awaiting the start of summer school at a real University and 8 teachers wandering the halls like chickens with their heads cut off no one sure where they were supposed to go, or who their students were. We had to walk around the hallways, butchering names in Arabic from our lists and gathering our students. By the time I had rounded up a majority and herded them down the hallway to my assigned class, it was well past 9:20. Imagine my dismay when we discovered another delay. The door to my assigned classroom was locked. So we sent for the key and by the time we finally got everyone in and settled, it was already 9:45, and classes ended at 10:15. With the remaining half-hour, I attempted to learn their names through a name game, which they seemed to like. Probably because they got to watch me struggle with Arabic pronunciation. I was starting to get a better sense of how much English they had, which would definitely make the next day easier. I still don't feel like I know them well, but it was a start.
It felt really good to be teaching with a class of my own again after having been paid to more or less sit around for two months. It was a rocky start with last minute changes and confusion (haven't I learned by now not to expect anything less), but I think it will be pretty smooth sailing for the next four weeks. I'm really looking forward to summer school.
After we talked, I was chatting with my friend Sara who had been assigned to work with a group of 13 to 19 year olds of mixed ability. She was not happy with the co-teacher they had put her with. I knew that she was somewhat new to teaching, and so I was worried that they had given her the most challenging group to work with. Her students were mixed in both age and ability level, which would be hard for any teacher, let alone a new one with a co-teacher she didn't get along with. I suggested that she ask Chris if she could switch with someone. She suggested that she switch with me. I was happy to switch, because for me it didn't matter much, but I told her we should ask the other co-teachers if they minded first. Luckily, neither of them minded. I told Sara to go ask Chris if it was okay to switch, but she asked me to come with her, so I did. Sara is a little timid, so when we got to Chris's office, she didn't say anything but looked at me. I looked back at her. Chris stared at us both. It became clear that when she said "come with me to tell her" she actually meant, "I'll stand next to you while you tell her." So I asked Chris if we could swap. I didn't really want to be the one to ask because I didn't want to seem like I was complaining or being difficult, but I guess I shouldn't have worried because she didn't seem to mind and said it would be fine. So, we switched and I was happy for Sara, but had absolutely no idea what I would do when it was time to teach my mixed group the next day. I spent that evening coming up with a series of activities that even beginners could handle, but that would also give me a better understanding of each person's level. I was looking forward to the class at 9:00am.
When we arrived at work at 8:30am, my new co-teacher told me that I was working with Sue now. I was confused because I thought we had worked it all out the day before. Apparently, Sue had wanted to switch back or something, so I went and asked Sue if we were working together and she said, no she was with Sara now, and I said that is what I thought too, so what was going on? It turned out that Sue actually wanted to work with the younger group of mixed ability girls because she wanted a change from the older girls we teach during the school year. So she wanted to switch classes, but not co-teachers. So much for trying to get Sara out of the harder class, and so much for all of my plans for lower level students. Sue told me she was too busy putting together an activity that would start in a few minutes, and so could I please go tell Chris that we were switching classes. I started to point out that I also needed to go teach in the next 10 minutes, and now had to create a whole new lesson plan before I went, but figured that in the time spent arguing with her about it, I could already have it done. So I went to Chris and explained the new arrangement, and she looked at me with those boss eyes, you know, the eyes that say "I hate that part of my job is trying to placate all the whiney teachers who want everything their way." And I tried to explain that it wasn't me, that I had been happy all along and that I was just the messenger, but she wasn't buying it. I didn't have time to argue, so I left and scrambled off to class.
I needn't have rushed. Classes start at 9, but students didn't start arriving until 9:10. Which was okay because the first day was chaos. None of the students knew who they had been assigned to, or where to go. Even the teachers had no idea. We only received our attendance list and class assignments around 5 minutes before classes started. Imagine 150+ nervous students anxiously awaiting the start of summer school at a real University and 8 teachers wandering the halls like chickens with their heads cut off no one sure where they were supposed to go, or who their students were. We had to walk around the hallways, butchering names in Arabic from our lists and gathering our students. By the time I had rounded up a majority and herded them down the hallway to my assigned class, it was well past 9:20. Imagine my dismay when we discovered another delay. The door to my assigned classroom was locked. So we sent for the key and by the time we finally got everyone in and settled, it was already 9:45, and classes ended at 10:15. With the remaining half-hour, I attempted to learn their names through a name game, which they seemed to like. Probably because they got to watch me struggle with Arabic pronunciation. I was starting to get a better sense of how much English they had, which would definitely make the next day easier. I still don't feel like I know them well, but it was a start.
It felt really good to be teaching with a class of my own again after having been paid to more or less sit around for two months. It was a rocky start with last minute changes and confusion (haven't I learned by now not to expect anything less), but I think it will be pretty smooth sailing for the next four weeks. I'm really looking forward to summer school.
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