Aaronsons Adapting to Arab Life

Retired educators Art and Kristina Aaronson of Rochester are living in Dubai for a year, where Art was hired by the Ministry of Education to be a principal mentor to a public high school. The following is excerpted from the latest installment in an ongoing diary sent to their friends.

By Art Aaronson

I am truly enjoying the experience of working in an Arab high school. Sometimes I feel like an ambassador of good will, rather than a principal mentor.

I work closely with the school team leader, a young man from Australia. He is more directly involved with making sure that all of the English teachers are following the new curriculum that has been developed. I focus on broader changes that we can make to reinforce the teaching of English at the high school. We just had some signs in English put alongside all of the Arabic signs throughout the school. We are going to work on a bilingual web site, which should be a challenging project for the students.

The school day begins with a morning assembly at 7 a.m. held in a large outdoor courtyard in the center of the school that is covered by a large tent for protection from the sun. The assembly begins with individual students reading passages from the Koran, followed by the playing of the United Arab Emirates national anthem and announcements.

I am continually impressed seeing all 350 students in their traditional long white robes. It is a wonderful sight. This week we are going to try to have the more proficient students present something in English at these daily assemblies. In general, the level of English is limited but the students are great and very much like teenagers anywhere in the world. During the morning half-hour break, there is always a soccer game going on, while other students are buying snacks.

I am taking Arabic lessons every day and dutifully studying the language, but it is not an easy task. I am gaining more respect from the faculty when they see me studying with the Islamic studies teacher and when I greet everyone daily in Arabic.

One of the reasons I enjoy being at Al Safa Secondary School for Boys is that teachers and students have been so welcoming to me. The students are very polite and always make an effort to say hello and shake my hand. There is a lot of hand shaking when everyone arrives at school. Teachers greet each other with a handshake and it is a big "faux pas" if you do not shake hands in the morning. When I walk into a room, it is essential to walk around and greet all of the teachers and shake everyone’s hand.

Arab Education, News

The ruler of Dubai, who is also the vice president of the country, Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid al Maktoum, is continually in the news, initiating some multibillion Dirham (the local currency) project to improve the quality of life in this country. Many of the programs are focused on education, which is admirable, although the public schools really need some extra attention. In this country, there are dozens of private schools like British, American, Indian, etc. So many people send their children to private schools that this has led to the neglect of public schools everywhere in the U.A.E. This situation makes my job more necessary because there is a definite need to focus on improving instruction in the public schools.

I do read the Gulf News, a major English language newspaper, and it has an amazing amount of international as well as local news. As an avid newspaper reader, I am impressed with the quality of this newspaper although it has been an eye opening experience to read the Arab/Middle East view of the world.

Weather Report

Today was our first cloudy day since we arrived in August! Apparently, there is a cyclone headed for Oman, the country that borders the United Arab Emirates. We will be spared the brunt of the storm, but it may actually rain tomorrow. Someone told me that when it rains during the school day, it is like the excitement a snowstorm generates in New England schools. I have yet to see this, as it hasn’t rained a drop.

Now, in November, the temperature has dropped down to the low 90s and it feels so much "cooler." Local talk is all about getting ready for "winter." They have just heated our swimming pool and adjusted the air conditioning in our apartment building. We are looking forward to friends and family visiting, starting in December.

____________