Loose lips sink ships.

But I’m not exactly sure about airplanes.

It has been forever since I’ve deposited a little update here for two reasons: 1. Lack of affordable and reliable internet (I really hope this changes soon!) and 2. Information and situations are constantly changing.

As it stands, I am teaching grade 2 at a very small primary school on an Air Force base outside of Abu Dhabi. Our day starts with an approximate 45 minute drive off-island, a quick trip into the base security check, a pass through a gate complete with armed guard, then just a bit down the dusty road to school. (In case you’re wondering… it’s an Emirati base, not a foreign power.)

The school is KG-3rd grade with only about 120 students, most of them kinders. Very small. Despite the small number of students, there are plenty of teachers. Primary schools in UAE follow a system closer to our secondary schools with a specialized teacher in each subject. It’s unusual for a teacher to teach more than one subject. I feel very fortunate at my school. Other Western teachers were in the uncomfortable position to witness the local teachers being fired to make room for the new teachers. As far as I can tell, and honestly I don’t know the half of what is going on, no teachers have been let go where I am.

Wednesday, the 23rd was the first day of school. This year has been a bit crazy so far despite being only two days in. First, school was delayed a month until after the holy month of Ramadan. Then the first day of school landed the day after Eid, which is a 3 day festival following Ramadan. For us it would be similar to beginning school on the 26th of December on a Thursday. Everyone wants to extend the holiday. As a result, out of 20 students in my class, 6 arrived. Attendance was so low that The National ran a story to highlight the deficiency.

For me, it turned out to be a blessing to have only 6 students. As you can see… my classroom wasn’t quite ready. Due to Ramadan and Eid and the cleaners just plain not showing up… my room still needed to be painted, cleaned, and put together. Thankfully, another teacher let me use her space for my three periods. Have I mentioned that I only teach 2 hours a day (40 minutes per subject)? (Knock on some serious wood because that could change).

Despite the light teaching load, it is by no means an easy job. Teaching students with very limited English skills literacy, math, and science concepts is quite daunting. I actually laughed when I read the grade 2 standards. I think we’ll be tackling the alphabet before we dive into discussing “the ways in which a visual text contributes to the meaning of a written text.”

xo, jill