This entry has to begin with a disclaimer: The following comments are the result of my own experiences in both Wyoming and Kuwait. With all the money available in Kuwait, I find the school lacking in so many areas that I am used to. Educators in Wyoming may not know how lucky they are to have the resources and tools that are available for them to do their jobs. Universal American School is among the top three schools in Kuwait in regards to the fees that they charge for students. They are also among the top three regarding the quality of education. BUT with that said, they are sadly lacking in many areas when compared to Wyoming. We are very lucky.
I was just thinking about the lack of a paper cutter in my room and how much time I waste while running down to the office to do simple chores. It was that thought that incited me to write about the differences between my teaching experiences in Wyoming and here in Kuwait.
Here is my list of things lacking and how they compare:
1) No help for IEP students. UAS is not equipped to help IEP students, so it places a large burden on teachers. The school supposedly is a college prep school and many of our students are never going to have the ability to attend college. They would benefit from a school that is focused on providing the services that the student needs. In the States, public schools have to take any and all students. BUT there are programs to help them. In WY, I had aides to help with classes with IEP students. I had a special ed. department with teachers who were properly trained and who were so helpful to me when I had questions and problems and needed to discuss issues.
2) Lack of book sets. In WY, there were books of all kinds available. I could have all of my students reading the same book at the same time. Here in Kuwait, I have several (not many) small sets of books that are strange, considering the culture. And some previous teacher ordered a small number of Julius Caesar books, even though the play is in our textbook. What a waste of money. I could have my 10th graders reading Huckleberry Finn but that is a hard book for American kids to read, much less ESL students who don't even have knowledge of the historical background.
3) Hard to get supplies. For office supplies, I have to fill out a request for every little thing I need. And all I can get is a small box of staples at any one time. The secretary makes me count out the number of hanging file folders I can get....cannot just get a box at a time and use them. I had to bring my own manila file folder labels because the school had none. Am I the only teacher who reuses folders??? As for supplies such as posters, DVDs, and language resources, they are hard to get in Kuwait because they have to be ordered through an international ordering company and many of the suppliers don't play nice. I was unable to get 6 Traits of Writing posters through one of the companies that I have done business with before because they don't send to the Middle East. In WY, I received a budget and was able to order any items that I deemed needed. If I needed 10 boxes of markers or colored pencils, I ordered them. If I ran out of whiteboard markers, I went to the supply cupboard and got some. So different.
4) No printer in rooms. I was spoiled by having a printer in my room in WY. Here, it is not available unless we purchase our own. That means that every piece of paper I print requires a trip to the office. This is time consuming and also can disrupt class if a student needs a particular item. On a positive note, I do get my exercise. On a negative note, my shoes wear out faster!
5) Lack of technology. My computer is an old, recycled one from the middle school. I am on my third monitor because the first two were older than Grace and were hard for me to look at for any length of time due to the "flickering" of the screen. I am used to having a Smartboard or Promethean board and had converted many of my powerpoints to Promethean. I do have a projector, so I can project information, but cannot do anything interactive. I cannot even have my projector focused on the white board so we can write things because it is too hard to focus, so the maintenance men have it projecting on the wall near the ceiling. We have no computer lab in the high school. There are computers in the library, but not with student files, so all students have to have a flashdrive, but they don't usually have one available. Plus, the computers are spread out all over the library, so it's hard for the teacher to keep an eye on what everyone is doing. Students cannot use technology in our rooms because there is no wi-fi available.
6) No carpet. Everything is marble: floors and walls halfway up. Any noise echoes through the room horribly. It's amazing how much sound is stifled by carpet. Plus, I really like to have the ability for my students to be able to work in groups on the floor, if they choose. In GHS, I supplied beanbags and pillows for the kids to sit on to do their silent reading. The desks are uncomfortable old things and the students have to sit in them for 7 hours/day.
That's the end of my rant for the day.
I was just thinking about the lack of a paper cutter in my room and how much time I waste while running down to the office to do simple chores. It was that thought that incited me to write about the differences between my teaching experiences in Wyoming and here in Kuwait.
Here is my list of things lacking and how they compare:
1) No help for IEP students. UAS is not equipped to help IEP students, so it places a large burden on teachers. The school supposedly is a college prep school and many of our students are never going to have the ability to attend college. They would benefit from a school that is focused on providing the services that the student needs. In the States, public schools have to take any and all students. BUT there are programs to help them. In WY, I had aides to help with classes with IEP students. I had a special ed. department with teachers who were properly trained and who were so helpful to me when I had questions and problems and needed to discuss issues.
2) Lack of book sets. In WY, there were books of all kinds available. I could have all of my students reading the same book at the same time. Here in Kuwait, I have several (not many) small sets of books that are strange, considering the culture. And some previous teacher ordered a small number of Julius Caesar books, even though the play is in our textbook. What a waste of money. I could have my 10th graders reading Huckleberry Finn but that is a hard book for American kids to read, much less ESL students who don't even have knowledge of the historical background.
3) Hard to get supplies. For office supplies, I have to fill out a request for every little thing I need. And all I can get is a small box of staples at any one time. The secretary makes me count out the number of hanging file folders I can get....cannot just get a box at a time and use them. I had to bring my own manila file folder labels because the school had none. Am I the only teacher who reuses folders??? As for supplies such as posters, DVDs, and language resources, they are hard to get in Kuwait because they have to be ordered through an international ordering company and many of the suppliers don't play nice. I was unable to get 6 Traits of Writing posters through one of the companies that I have done business with before because they don't send to the Middle East. In WY, I received a budget and was able to order any items that I deemed needed. If I needed 10 boxes of markers or colored pencils, I ordered them. If I ran out of whiteboard markers, I went to the supply cupboard and got some. So different.
4) No printer in rooms. I was spoiled by having a printer in my room in WY. Here, it is not available unless we purchase our own. That means that every piece of paper I print requires a trip to the office. This is time consuming and also can disrupt class if a student needs a particular item. On a positive note, I do get my exercise. On a negative note, my shoes wear out faster!
5) Lack of technology. My computer is an old, recycled one from the middle school. I am on my third monitor because the first two were older than Grace and were hard for me to look at for any length of time due to the "flickering" of the screen. I am used to having a Smartboard or Promethean board and had converted many of my powerpoints to Promethean. I do have a projector, so I can project information, but cannot do anything interactive. I cannot even have my projector focused on the white board so we can write things because it is too hard to focus, so the maintenance men have it projecting on the wall near the ceiling. We have no computer lab in the high school. There are computers in the library, but not with student files, so all students have to have a flashdrive, but they don't usually have one available. Plus, the computers are spread out all over the library, so it's hard for the teacher to keep an eye on what everyone is doing. Students cannot use technology in our rooms because there is no wi-fi available.
6) No carpet. Everything is marble: floors and walls halfway up. Any noise echoes through the room horribly. It's amazing how much sound is stifled by carpet. Plus, I really like to have the ability for my students to be able to work in groups on the floor, if they choose. In GHS, I supplied beanbags and pillows for the kids to sit on to do their silent reading. The desks are uncomfortable old things and the students have to sit in them for 7 hours/day.
That's the end of my rant for the day.
