ELT Musings and other tidbits

Not a great day today for education at my school.

The rumour is that we have to save money, and to do that the internet might have to go. Funny, this is happening in the same country that could afford to build a metro line for US$7.5 billion.

Fact 1.  We have a shortage of teachers-  2-3 English teachers are needed.

Fact 2. Students will have three 60-minute periods (180 minutes) without a break.

Fact 3: Some great official advice for discipline: 1. Don’t be too friendly with the students 2. Pray to Allah and be patient; eventually the headmaster will get rid of the troublemakers

Fact 4: We will have 33-34 students in each class. Last year I had serious discipline problems even with 22.

These are not very encouraging signs, I’m afraid.

It does make the challenge even more exciting, though: 35 demoralised, exhausted, bored students with demoralised, exhausted, bored teachers. No Internet – well let’s start building a professional, student centred, innovative, engaging classroom and implement modern methodologies.

Wish me luck; I’ll need it.

And here comes the “What are you going to do about it?” bit:

At the first meeting next Sunday I will ask my teachers to make a list of 5 things they would like me to do. Then we’ll discuss all their points and decide how to proceed with them. This will give a good indication of what they perceive my job to be. It will also help me get a better grasp of their expectations and create an action-plan that might help push things forward. I will also get a better picture of the professionalism of my colleagues. Half of the answer is always there in the question.

One thing I am planning to do is to split some of the classes with the teacher I am supposed to be observing, and take those kids to the computer room. This is what the computer room looks like at the moment but I am sure there will be some clever clogs among them who will be able to get the system working.

The project I am most excited about:

I will have an “open class” for every grade level (10-11-12). The open class will happen twice a week. Students get the headmaster’s permission to attend the English class where we work on a project of their own choice. The project has to have a tangible outcome that can be demonstrated to the school management. There will be a project every semester. Fifteen students can sign-up for each class. Students will be enrolled on a first come-first served basis, and the maximum number will be 10-15.

I will use this space to keep you informed about the latest developments. Your suggestions, ideas are always greatly appreciated.

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