Summer School

When Ben and Frankie were in elementary school, every summer they would work on the school curriculum that would be taught the following year.  I wanted to be sure that they were solid academically.

As black boys growing up in America, I knew they would be labeled, and as much as I could, I wanted to control those labels.

As a concerned parent, I once shared with an administrator that if three boys walked into a school - one Asian, one White and the other Black - the assumptions would be the Asian kid is above average, the White one at least average, and the Black one, below average and a behavior issue.

I was not going to let those assumptions describe my boys.

So, the journey began of preparing them.

Let me stop now and say, I screwed up in many ways over the years, in my role as parent.  So please don't see this as bragging or boasting.  It's just I believe this is one area I got right.

I was reminded of this yesterday, when I briefly took over a class of 5th grade boys. They were rowdy and energetic, but the thing that was most apparent, was how low they were academically.

Yes, the school, and the school system, have a responsibility to provide a sound educational experience, but the role of the parent is crucial.  It is a rare kid who wants to learn for the sake of learning.  The importance of getting an education has to be affirmed and drilled into kids by their parents or other significant adults in their lives.

Although there are exceptions throughout the ages of students defying the odds and excelling without a strong parental framework, but it is rare.

As much as I, too, believe that education is in need of reform, those necessary changes must include the role of parental responsibility.

Students with active, involved parents, attending to the academic achievement of their kids, do better in school.

That's a fact.

So, if you're an educator in a situation where parental support is not there, do you throw up your hands and give up?  Of course not.  You do the best you can and hope it's enough to thrust the kids forward.

To all of you out there who are not teachers, let me share something that every teacher knows - this is one of the hardest jobs on the planet.

So take a moment to salute teachers.

They deserve it.

A Sacramento Kid

A genius among us and the argument against acceleration.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSYCwxt78jY

http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/14/against-accelerating-the-gifted-child/?src=rechp

Thoughts?

What If Money Was No Object?

Fascinating!

http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2012/10/what-do-you-desire.html

Agree?

Surfing in the UAE!

Surfing in the UAE!

I love this picture!

Although the UAE coastline has to be one of the most beautiful in the world, you rarely see nationals taking advantage of its beauty.  There is a huge issue of modesty in dress at all times while in the public, but these ladies are not letting their clothes prevent them from having fun in the sun.  One of them is a 31 year old mother of four.  Two of her kids were paddle boarding with her.  Below is the whole article from today's paper.

http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/surfing-in-an-abaya-its-a-swell-idea-for-dubai

Enjoy!

Tidbits

Things you won't find here -

Hardware stores.

There's an Ace in one of the malls, but it should be against the law for them to call themselves a hardware store.  If you have something that needs fixing, you call someone and they take care of it.  I'm guessing these folks have to buy supplies, but where they get them from is a deep, dark secret.

You won't find -

Beauty supply stores.

Like a Sally's or the many storefront beauty supply stores in the US that sells hair and nail products.  Again, there are many salons that provide these services, so there are few folks who do it themselves.

You won't find -

Bluetooth devices for cell phones.  Somehow having the wire hang down out of your ear is cool.

You won't find -

Monthly rent.

Rent payments for housing and commercial property are paid up front once, or if you're lucky, twice a year.  One of the property managers in Dubai just ran off with the checks for 7000 tenants!  Yes, Interpol is looking for him.

Housing for all teaching staff is provided.

You will find -

Starbucks.

They're in the malls, but we have one that is a stand alone with a real drive thru. YEAH!  The only other drive thru places have employees who hang around outside to take orders and deliver the food.

You will find -

McDonalds.

With added Arabian choices on the menu.

Burger King.

Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Pizza Hut.

Appleby's.  

TGIF.

And . . .

You will find -

Movie theaters.

They're in the malls and some of the hotels.  And they have assigned seating, even if you're the only one there.

Speaking of movies, there's a film festival going on in Abu Dhabi this week, and Richard Gere was there promoting his new film, "Arbitrage."  It is available to rent on iTunes, so I watched it.  It was better than expected, and it gets my recommendation, for all that's worth.

Anyway . . .

These, my dear blogging buddies, are the tidbits for today.

More soon.

Motivation

I want one of these!

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=yEH4Yum4nN4

Helping to save a life or doing this?

I don't know.

Kidding!  Kidding!

Hat tip to AB.

Saving Lives

Saving lives one video at a time.

Huge thanks to Ann, once again, for sharing these lifesaving videos.  This one is on what to do when someone is suspected of having a heart attack.

http://www.heartrescuenow.com

In case you missed the earlier video one on the new cpr techniques, it follows.

http://ahsc.arizona.edu/node/730

School Supplies

A fixture among supplies for the US school is crayons.  They are a rare find here. I'm guessing it's because it's so hot, they would melt.  Instead the students use colored pencils.

Butcher paper is nonexistent.

Same with construction paper.

I searched high and low for filler paper, and finally found some.

The binders are two-hole instead of three.  I'm not a fan.

Students use notebooks that are about 8" X 6".  They buy their own.

There are no electric pencil sharpeners.  The manual crank ones are available, but the small hand-held ones are what's used the most.

A standard size piece of paper is referred to as A4.  The large 12" X 18" size is called A3.  The smaller size I referred to earlier is A5.

Finding whistles was a real chore.  When I did finally find a store that sold them, I bought them all.  A whistle is a must in school crowd control.  We issued them to all staff at my schools in the US.

We're still waiting for textbooks.  We have whole classes without them.

There is no book or set curriculum to teach English.  This makes for interesting living.  Our current Western staff comes from Houston, Phoenix, Detroit, San Diego, Omaha, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Sacramento (me), Huntsville (AL), Columbia (SC), the U.S.Virgin Islands, South Africa, Ireland, Haiti, Canada, and Australia. We all speak English, but the way we approach teaching and learning is as varied as the places we come from.

The folks who are over curriculum for the government schools are from New Zealand, where this methodology of no set curriculum is used.  Apparently teachers utilize whatever books/curriculum they want, with no evidence of whether they were successful in reaching their students or not, apart from their records. They don't give country-wide exams until 10th grade, whereas we begin state-wide testing in 2nd.

Different way of doing things, for sure.

It's only 6:30, but I'm tired and headed to bed.

There were eight teachers absent on my side alone, with one sub.

Crazy day.

We have a break in a couple of weeks, and I'll be on the road again.

I'm looking forward to it.

Good morning to you.

Good night to me.

This and That

It has cooled down to a high of 102, with lows in the low 70's.  While shopping today, I noticed all the heavy winter gear - sweaters, coats, boots, etc. for sale.  I'm guessing any temperature below 70 is cause for alarm and plenty of winter clothes.

The kids have been complaining that it's cold in the building, but for all of us Western folks, it's just right.

I also noticed that lawn furniture is on sale now.  It's way too hot to consider sitting outside in the summer, so now that it's cooling off, it lounging time.

Finally . . .

Yesterday I had to leave work early and followed one of the busses from our school. It stopped right in front of the building to let a kid off.  This child could have been home a half hour earlier, if he had simply walked home.  In fact, it was a longer distance to walk through the building to the designated area to catch the bus, than to walk to his home across the street from the entrance of the school.

Remember, living across the street or not, every student rides the bus.

OK.  These really are my parting words . . .

At the end of last year, all eleven busses continued to run their routes four times a day, even though there were no kids the last four weeks of school.

Amazing.

Tempering Enthusiasm

How do you temper enthusiasm without dousing someone's flame altogether?

How do you say, "Whoa.  Slow down.  Everyone is not where you are."

How do you deal with people who think they have to ride folks to get the best out of them?

How do you teach people to recognize and appreciate the gifts and talents of those around them?

How do you teach folks to "walk a mile in other people's shoes."

How do you teach people that leaders are in service to those they lead?

How do you teach folks that their job is to support, not pile on with unnecessary and meaningless work, so that they can check a box off somewhere.

Another day with lots of questions, and few answers.

Up, Up, and Away - Part 2

This is a quick video of my balloon ride.  I'm on the left dressed in black with the hat.

Up, Up, and Away . . . in My Beautiful Balloon

I have always been fascinated with hot air balloons.  There is an annual hot air balloon festival in Lake Tahoe or Reno that I always wanted to go to, but the date was always Labor Day Weekend, and I was preparing for another school year that began the day after Labor Day, so I never made it.

Well, today I made up for those lost opportunities.

I was with 15 other people flying high over the desert in a hot air balloon.

What a sight!

This is the buddy balloon.
I'm in the basket of our balloon
as we're flying next to it.

I met the group at 5:00 this morning, about an hour from home.  We then drove deep into the desert where the balloons were laying flat on the ground.  A controlled blast of fire/heat was used to inflate the balloon and there were ropes that formed the framework of the balloon that were used to steer it once we were airborne.  Mostly, the altitude and direction was controlled by the frequent blast of blistering heat.

The crew is inflating our balloon.

The basket holding us was divided into five parts, two on either side, with the captain housed in the center.  Each part held 3-4 people.  There were 16 folks in our balloon, including the captain.

There was a second balloon that had about the same number as ours.  It was on its maiden voyage.  I was fine riding in the older one.  It had a proven track record.

Once we were all inside, the ropes keeping the balloon tethered to the ground were unfastened, and off we went.  Regular blast of the intense flame kept us high and on track.

Buddy balloon as it's taking off.

It was such a serene experience.  Very calming, almost mystical.  The ride lasted about an hour, but I could have stayed in that ballon all day . . . just floating around.

View of a camel farm.
The camels didn't like the noise that the blast of fire caused.

We had a briefing before we boarded the ballon, demonstrating the position we needed to be in when landing.  We had to face in the opposite direction of the way we were landing.  So, with our backs to the target, we held on tight to the ropes that lined the inside of the basket.

Great view of the thousands of sand dunes.

Buddy Ballon sailing away.

And down we went.

One bounce.

Two bounces.

Three bounces.

And we're on the ground, then . . .

We're tossed on our backs.

Although this position was a little disconcerting, it ended up being great because it made climbing out of the basket a breeze.

This was so much . . . fun!

I loved every minute of it

And

I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Cocktail Trees

Have you heard of this?  A tree that bears four different kinds of fruit?

http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2012/10/an-orchard-in-a-single-tree.html

Amazing!

Driving Blindfolded

In one of my earlier posts, I mentioned that there are no addresses in this country. This fact makes it really colorful trying to find places.

I was in Abu Dhabi today looking for a conference hall.  I searched the internet for more than two hours last night trying to find GPS Coordinates of the building or something nearby.

No luck.

As a last resort, I got directions from Google Maps.  Because of all of the building in the area, they were useless.

Another challenge to finding places is remembering street names.  Below are examples of some.

Sheikh Zayed Bin Zayed Street
Khaled Bin Sultan Street
Zayed the First Street
Hazza Bin Sultan Street
Nhayyan Al Awwal Street

Stopping for directions is pretty pointless.  Folks assume you know your surroundings and rattle off landmarks and names that mean nothing in isolation.

I wonder if the lack of addresses has something to do with the desert.  There are no landmarks in the desert.  Just mounds and mountains of sand that shift with the blowing wind.  Somehow the locals had to figure out where they were and where they were going.  I'm guessing, when they starting building the cities, creating a way to find them for outsiders wasn't considered.

So, round and round we go.

It just occurred to me (ding dong, ding dong) to search for a gps app for my phone.  I found several. I'm hopeful that my days of driving blindly are over.

While driving around, I saw some amazing sights though.

The bluest water I've ever seen.

Yas Island.

The Port of Abu Dhabi.

And Ferrari World.

So, all was not lost.

Excuse the pun.

Now that I have these handy apps, I hope to spend less time sightseeing and more time efficiently getting from point A to point B.

Have a great day!

Overcoming Lies

Have you ever been taken aback by lies.  Out of the blue.  Totally unexpected, uncalled for lies?  Lies told to save face?

My Mom used to say, you tell one lie, you have to tell a whole lot more to keep that one covered up.   And before you know it, you've spun a web of lies.

One of the things that I think folks respect - maybe not like because the truth can be hard to face - is the fact that I'm honest.  When given a choice, I will tell the truth. Whether it puts me in a bad light or not.

And of course, I expect honesty in return.

At 56, I shouldn't be surprised when people lie and hurt or disappoint me, but I am.

Yes, I will forgive and shake it off, but the level of respect I had for these folks has diminished greatly.

And life goes on.

Could I, Would I - Part 2

For those of you didn't tackle the long article that I referred to a few posts ago, below please find a video clip that gets to the heart of it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhnvB4KJbo4

Huge thanks to Shana for sharing this.

Giving Thanks

Have you ever been around folks who were skeptical about giving thanks for a job well done for fear the folks receiving the gratitude would slack off?

In my experience, the exact opposite almost always happens.  The more gratitude and appreciation a person gets, the more they want to do and the better they perform.

Conversely, when fault is always found, no matter how good the work is, it's not long before discouragement takes root and the desire to do anything diminishes rapidly.

Everyone needs encouragement, and just by nature, some more than others.  I pride myself on striving to do a good job in whatever I'm doing, and will do it anyway, but thanks would go a long way in keeping my wheels turning.

I know I've been guilty of not recognizing and appreciating folks like I should have. I'm learning to make a conscious effort to do so.

"Thank you" are two little words that mean so much.  My goal is to never miss an opportunity to use them.

Revamping Systems

It is very much a part of the culture to "bum rush" the counter when buying/needing something.  The concept of standing in line and waiting your return is foreign at all level of this society.

And so the kids at school were doing what they do - rushing to the front counter by the hundreds to purchase their lunch.  It was maddening!

The biggest issue besides them being at the counter en masse, was that there were only four folks selling to these hundreds of kids, and that just wasn't enough.  We asked for more help, but that didn't happen.

So, we assigned tables, and requested that the folks selling the food to prepare baskets of sandwiches and drinks to put on each table and the teacher accompanying her students would be in charge of selling the items to her students.

Thank God, it's working great!  The kids come in and sit down at their assigned tables and receive their food in a fraction of the time.  Now they actually have time to eat in their twenty minute break.  The clean-up is a 1000 times better/faster, and there is plenty of time to get ready for the succeeding lunch periods.  We have a total of four - boys, girls, boys, girls.  Remember, there are over 1100 students, with a staff of more than 75 teachers.

On those days when I get frustrated with the way things are happening, I remind myself that this country is only 40 YEARS OLD!  It was founded in December 1971! I was a sophomore in high school - wasn't that just yesterday?

When I think of how young this country is, the strides that have been made are nothing short of miraculous.

More soon.

New CPR

A dear friend forwarded this video clip to me explaining the new, and easier CPR.  It eliminates mouth-to-mouth in aiding adults, and you don't have to be certified to help someone.

Watching this could save a life.

Thanks Ann!

http://ahsc.arizona.edu/node/730

Toilets, Part 2

Remember how I've described toilets as "real" like the ones we're used to (thank God), and the other kind being the hole in the floor?  Well, all rooms that have water - restrooms, kitchens, etc., all have large round drains in the floor, and all the toilets have the magic hoses.

I think our Arab sisters use the drain instead of the toilet.  Here's the hint.  The floor is always wet in the restrooms.  And in public toilets, there is usually someone in there to squeegee the floor after each use.

This makes for interesting living because we all wear long skirts, dresses, and abayas.  So we have to remember to pull up our clothes from the floor so they don't get wet, while also pulling them down to take care of business.

Going to the toilet here takes forethought and dexterity.  Think about this the next time you race in and out.