When I prepare to teach a lesson, I have every intention of
getting the knowledge to each student and making sure he/she understands the
information that has been presented that day. Unfortunately, however, I spend
more class time telling students to be quiet or to stay seated than actually
teaching them anything, and for the administrators at my school that’s okay as
long as the financial investors (parents) are pleased with the students’ grades
and well-being. In other words, I work at an instructional day care.
After expressing my dismay about student behavior and other classroom
disasters, my co-workers assured me that my expectations for respect and
cooperation from the students were too high, and my best option would be to
assimilate into the Arab culture where children are given free reign to do and
say whatever they please. Coming from a
family where even LOOKING at my parents the wrong way warranted an immediate
negative consequence, learning this information did not sit well with me. I have certainly tried to remain positive
about the situation, and I even incorporated 15 minutes of meditation into my
morning routine; nonetheless, I have come to the realization that I have
nothing to gain from this situation and if I stay here I will be plummeting into an abyss of negativity and ignorance.
I live by the quote “adversity causes some men to break,
others to break records,” so in most tough situations I would tell myself to never give up and continue to tough it out until the end, but since
receiving a Warning Letter and pay deduction after a student disrespected ME
and I accidently scratched him, I know for sure this is not the type of
environment I want to be in or the type of educational community I want to be a
member of. I think the experience was definitely eye opening and I do not
regret my decision to come here, but I will be returning to the US soon to find
somewhere where I can make a difference and my voice can be heard.
- FBG