Ok so I've been rather deficient in updating my blog. Wish I could say I've been so super busy with work and fun that it just slipped my mind buuuuutt that would be a lie. I've just been lazy. I get home, well to the hotel, and I kinda want to do some planning but then I get distacted and before I know it I'm yawning and it's bed time. I get ready for bed, lay down then my body decides it was a false alarm. So for the next two hours I attempt to put myself to sleep only to successfully get about 3 or 4 hours of rest a night. What does any of this have to do with updating my blog? Well, no idea. It's just part of what my life is like over here.
Now, onto today's events. One sidenote: I purchased my fridge and stove so hopefully I'll get everything delivered before ADEC realizes I should have been out of the hotel on Sat. One of the few perks of being off the beaten path! So today, I was informed by my head of faculty that part of my job is to mentor other teachers. News to me but whatever. I figured I would be modeling best practices for the Arabic teachers I would be working with. However, that was not what she was talking about. It appears my principal wants me to show the other LT how to teach kindergarten. Yea. Now because of this I'll be having everyone in my room on Wed. I mean my principal, vice principal, head of faculty and the other LT will all decend on my classroom to watch me teach small group. Oh and it gets better. The Cluster manager, prinicpal and head of faculty have now decided to change how we'll be teaching. We'll now be co-teaching some lessons. Which ones? No clue. What days? No idea. But they want it starting next week. Needless to say I need to move this weekend so the other LT and I have time to get a game plan together.
When this news was announced this afternoon I had mixed feelings. I have co-taught and it works well when both people are on the same page. I now have to convince the other LT that I'm not going to take over while at the same time modeling in a manner that everyone above me thinks is appropriate. On the other hand this new teaching format will give us considerably more time to teach than what we currently have. Woohoo! How will it all work out? We'll see. But we did win the battle of plan time. We've now been given 2 hours a week of pure plan time. I know my fellow teachers at Shepherd would have a heart attack at the idea that's all we get in school yet are expected to produce high quality instruction. But hey, you take what you can get.
The idea that "my perception is my reality" is something that we're all grappling with. In that we have to change the perception of the Arabic staff on what quality early childhood education looks like and that is changing their professional world as they know it. And this comes after years of being told what a wonderful program they have. So it's not unexpected that there are many little battles that we fight...some we win, some we lose, others we table till another time. Plus the language barrier doesn't help much. Shway shway(slowly, slowly) it will be done.
Now, onto today's events. One sidenote: I purchased my fridge and stove so hopefully I'll get everything delivered before ADEC realizes I should have been out of the hotel on Sat. One of the few perks of being off the beaten path! So today, I was informed by my head of faculty that part of my job is to mentor other teachers. News to me but whatever. I figured I would be modeling best practices for the Arabic teachers I would be working with. However, that was not what she was talking about. It appears my principal wants me to show the other LT how to teach kindergarten. Yea. Now because of this I'll be having everyone in my room on Wed. I mean my principal, vice principal, head of faculty and the other LT will all decend on my classroom to watch me teach small group. Oh and it gets better. The Cluster manager, prinicpal and head of faculty have now decided to change how we'll be teaching. We'll now be co-teaching some lessons. Which ones? No clue. What days? No idea. But they want it starting next week. Needless to say I need to move this weekend so the other LT and I have time to get a game plan together.
When this news was announced this afternoon I had mixed feelings. I have co-taught and it works well when both people are on the same page. I now have to convince the other LT that I'm not going to take over while at the same time modeling in a manner that everyone above me thinks is appropriate. On the other hand this new teaching format will give us considerably more time to teach than what we currently have. Woohoo! How will it all work out? We'll see. But we did win the battle of plan time. We've now been given 2 hours a week of pure plan time. I know my fellow teachers at Shepherd would have a heart attack at the idea that's all we get in school yet are expected to produce high quality instruction. But hey, you take what you can get.
The idea that "my perception is my reality" is something that we're all grappling with. In that we have to change the perception of the Arabic staff on what quality early childhood education looks like and that is changing their professional world as they know it. And this comes after years of being told what a wonderful program they have. So it's not unexpected that there are many little battles that we fight...some we win, some we lose, others we table till another time. Plus the language barrier doesn't help much. Shway shway(slowly, slowly) it will be done.
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