I am sure there is a lot I missed about the curriculum and structure of the students' day while on our tour as I explored each classroom. Clicking the picture below will take you to the school's website if you'd like to learn more about it or the Canadian curriculum. Can you see the flag silhouetted against the night sky? The little dot is the moon. (Yes, I'd like to learn more about nighttime photography!)
A lot of the classrooms and work resembled those I am familiar with - student work displayed for all to see, small groups and/or rows of desks. It appeared that the teachers chose different classroom layouts for themselves. I was able to see small group spaces, carpet time, and desk time spaces all available.
Students wear nametags - hung here neatly under the VERY clean chalkboard.
Several teachers had this (or similar) display. I liked how everyone starts the day on the happy face, regardless of yesterdays behavior. It's nice to have a clean slate.
This is a KG (Kindergarden) classroom. They are learning shapes, colors and numbers - both in Arabic and English (I think!).
The computer lab had a very nice display about the internet - I would be interested to observe a teacher using it with their students.
The crafts they did in this classroom were really neat. I was thinking this octopus would be an easy one to adapt into a math activity. You could use the dots on the legs to illustrate some concepts - addition, multiplication and division.
A sweet way to teach this shape
There are some differences between a school here in Kuwait and one in the US or Canada of course - space in this small country is at a premium, and of course, grass doesn't grow in the desert. The yellow "mushroom" here is one of many shade-providing cement structures on the play yard. These have benches below them where children can gather to talk or play.
Eventually the school will have two stories instead of one, and house up to 1300 students on this one city block. School days are very structured, hallway order is strictly maintained, and discipline is immediate. In this way many students can be very well educated even when there is not a lot of space to use.
A cute door decoration. All teachers are addicted to things like this, aren't they? :-) This was the only chalk smear I observed in the ENTIRE school. Everything was clean and neat. One very large difference between this school and ones where I have worked is that a team of maids keep it clean for the teachers.
Here's something not found in the US or Canada - an illustrated reminder guide to the prayer format. There is a temple room where students go for their prayers each day. I think they may have it three times during the schoolday, but am not sure. Remember, Arabic reads right-to-left, so start with the upper right-hand picture, then on the right side of the second line to follow this guide.
The Arabic ABC's. Again, start at the top right.
Minarets visible in the near distance - just outside the school walls.
Night:
I'm sure there are a thousand things I've missed - many differences and similarities with the models I am familiar with, plus lots of ideas to borrow. The Canadian Curriculum was chosen when they created this school because it is considered one of the top three in the world. If you'd like to read more about it, here is their website.
Students wear nametags - hung here neatly under the VERY clean chalkboard.
Several teachers had this (or similar) display. I liked how everyone starts the day on the happy face, regardless of yesterdays behavior. It's nice to have a clean slate.
This is a KG (Kindergarden) classroom. They are learning shapes, colors and numbers - both in Arabic and English (I think!).
The computer lab had a very nice display about the internet - I would be interested to observe a teacher using it with their students.
The crafts they did in this classroom were really neat. I was thinking this octopus would be an easy one to adapt into a math activity. You could use the dots on the legs to illustrate some concepts - addition, multiplication and division.
A sweet way to teach this shape
There are some differences between a school here in Kuwait and one in the US or Canada of course - space in this small country is at a premium, and of course, grass doesn't grow in the desert. The yellow "mushroom" here is one of many shade-providing cement structures on the play yard. These have benches below them where children can gather to talk or play.
Eventually the school will have two stories instead of one, and house up to 1300 students on this one city block. School days are very structured, hallway order is strictly maintained, and discipline is immediate. In this way many students can be very well educated even when there is not a lot of space to use.
This school, like most in Kuwait, requires their students to wear uniforms. From direct observation of teenage girls, I really do think uniforms are a great way to go. How long does it take a teenager to pick an outfit? An hour? Kids can go from PJs to "out the door" in about 7 minutes. It's such a load off of their minds remove "peer judgement of their clothing" from the long list of concerns one has at this age.
A cute door decoration. All teachers are addicted to things like this, aren't they? :-) This was the only chalk smear I observed in the ENTIRE school. Everything was clean and neat. One very large difference between this school and ones where I have worked is that a team of maids keep it clean for the teachers.
As a reaction to the H1N1 scare, maids disinfect the desks, doorknobs, and surfaces of each classroom daily. That's certainly a service not found overseas. Teachers have a lot of support with those kinds of tasks so they can focus on their true purpose -teaching. I'm sure you teacher folk would appreciate that kind of help in your classrooms.
Here's something not found in the US or Canada - an illustrated reminder guide to the prayer format. There is a temple room where students go for their prayers each day. I think they may have it three times during the schoolday, but am not sure. Remember, Arabic reads right-to-left, so start with the upper right-hand picture, then on the right side of the second line to follow this guide.
The Arabic ABC's. Again, start at the top right.
Minarets visible in the near distance - just outside the school walls.
Day:
Night:
I'm sure there are a thousand things I've missed - many differences and similarities with the models I am familiar with, plus lots of ideas to borrow. The Canadian Curriculum was chosen when they created this school because it is considered one of the top three in the world. If you'd like to read more about it, here is their website.
More soon....Thanks for reading!
xo
b
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