Question about schools in Britain

Dear iman0493,

Children usually know when they have done badly in any kind of test, so it should not be necessary to tell them what they already know. Whenever the children in my class make a mess of something - and they certainly do, from time to time - I emphasise that it's not so bad if they see where they went wrong and then make sure that they don't do the same thing again. "How can we do better?" is the important question, whether we score nine per cent or ninety.

Yes, Maths is definitely an important subject and one in which we want the children to do well, but destroying a child's confidence and giving him or her unnecessary worries does not seem right to me.

So my son had to take a final exam last week to "pass" 6th year at AJA. He failed the math part miserably. His ghastly teacher made a point of telling him how disappointed she was in him and informed him that she would be forwarding his scores onto his new school. My god, she won't let up. Now he is worried about how the new school will react.

The points discussed in this thread is very much interesting.

I, as a parent of 10 year old, who is likely to move into qatar

could see the point of many arguements and observation.

Some eye opening thoughts also.

Well done everybody.

Well, iman0493, I have been teaching for more than twenty years and I believe in the truth of the old saying, "The Devil makes work for idle hands." The Danish existentialist philosopher Soren Kiekegaard, whose name I have most probably mispelled, put it slightly differently: "In a child's imagination lies everything we call the life of the mind." In other words, schools ought to provide their students with a wide variety of challenges: practical, intellectual, artistic, sporting, musical and so on. Children who are bored are bound to get into mischief sooner or later.

I can see it now- by October my son will have the worst reputation in school and you will think to yourself "What a horrid boy!" (Just kidding!)

At any rate, congratulations. I hope all the teachers there will be as caring and professional as you seem to be. At least you are becoming familiar with the educational drama of Doha ahead of time!

Dear iman0493,

I was very interested to learn that your son will be going to Newton International School in September. I have just accepted a teaching post there. What a small world!

Those are excellent points, and I think many of the students are quite intimidated by this teacher. What really bothers me is that my son is learning to behave in a way to please a bigger/stronger person rather than use an internal sense of right/wrong. Unfortunately, the bar seems to be always too high for him to reach, and reinforces the idea that he will never get it right. By the way, he passed the test for Newton and is registered for the fall. Hallelujah!!!!

There are some interesting comments on this thread, but no one really has addressed the original question.

As a teacher for more than twenty years, I would say that the things described in the original posting are NOT acceptable. If you feel that your child's self-image is being damaged by the way he or she is being spoken to by his or her teachers, than you have every right to complain to the school's principal. In my present school, The British School of Bucharest, it is seen to be a positive thing to praise children in front of their peers and their parents. When criticism and discipline are needed, this should be done on a one-to-one basis, whenever possible, not in front of the whole class or half the school.

As for shouting, well, this is a bit tricky. On the whole, I find that my students listen more attentively when I lower my voice, not when I raise it. Shouting also tends to make some children nervous and panicky, so they are not going to concentrate well and come up with the right answers or the appropriate behaviour.

Just a further note on re-reading about your child, and suspected AdHD.

Hvae you spoken to the teacher about the actual work being given?

There could be a number of reasons.

Either the work is not challenging enough, or the level of communication to the child is not plain/simple enough. Either way, i have encountered children in my professional career - they simply get bored either way, and seek attention from others with what may be seen as inappropriate behaviour.....I dont believe there is such a thing as a 'naturally bad' child. After all, racists, thieves,rude, arrogant people aernt born..they are taught it in some way, some place....with possible key factors as a trigger. Get a professional to talk to you AND your child to ascertain the level of work...you may be pleasantly suprised!..Good Luck!

Iman, thanks very much for this vital info!.They are phoning me here in Thailand about taking a position there, so this is very useful when I ask about planning, and what is in place - will be interesting to hear their response. You cant usually tell when a school is bullshitting until you arrive (like my current school!)..many thanks again..and good luck with your children!

R

Serendipity- thanks for the advice. I actually am going to have my son tested for ADHD at Hamad to make sure there is nothing medically wrong. His teacher doesn't think he has ADHD, just that he is a bad child. I don't accept that. I firmly agree he has a different learning style, and a challenging one at that. He is very physical and mobile, he has tremendous difficulty sitting still and quiet at his desk for an hour at a time. And she is so hostile and combative with him that he has no respect for her and thus no desire to cooperate. In America, teachers in our public schools were trained to handle and teach children of all sorts. Here, not so much.

rpmba- What I know is that the school is coeducational, private and international. It was opened in 2006 by Mrs. Afaf Al-Moadhadi and Dr. Jabr al-Noaimi but is managed by an international staff. Teachers and administrators come from Britain, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. It follows the National Curriculum of England and Wales. The student body represents 30 nationalities.

What I like about it is that they don't have a website yet and in the public ads I've seen, they are only advertised as a primary school. The secondary school is probably the best kept secret in town, so I hope their classes will be small in size, at least this year. The thing that worries me with a new branch of the school opening is that it might be a bit chaotic or unorganized to start with. I tried to ask a staff member there last week if there was any information (curriculum,schedule,etc) specific to the middle school and nothing about the program is available yet.

iman, a while ago I attended a training seminar about different learning styles.

It was given by someone who had encountered problems in the British educational system during childhood, and it turned out that he was quite severely dyslexic. Once this was recognised and he used different techniques to adapt he went on to do a degree and establish a business consultancy.

While the techniques he explained and used were particularly helpful to dyslexics, they also had wider relevance. Everyone has their own learning style. Personally, I'm not dyslexic but I'm aware that my learning style is very much visual, with a touch of kinesthetic. If I had to just listen to something and then learn it and repeat it, I would really struggle. I need to be able to write down what I hear so that I can see it. I have a really good memory with respect to things I've seen, but not so good at remembering things I've heard.

Here's a little bit more information about different learning styles:

http://otis.scotcit.ac.uk/onlinebook/otisT102.htm

If your child is, e.g. visual it might be a good idea to write flashcards or pictoral crib sheets, if they are aural, then maybe make a recording so they can listen over and over. Clues as to which style your child has can be picked up by listening to the way they refer to things. Saying stuff like "I see what you mean" indicates a visual preference, saying "I hear what you're saying" indicates aural, and "I feel we're in agreement" might indicate kinesthetic. Many people aren't one or the other learning style though, most people are a bit of a mixture of maybe a couple (or more), but with one style dominant.

Also, if you haven't already done so, make sure that your child's hearing and optical tests are up to date. If your child has some mild hearing or sight problems they may not be aware of how much they are missing out on. And think about the possibility of dyslexia too. With any of these things, if they're picked up early action can be taken to correct them or make accommodations.

Or it may be that your child experiences test/exam nerves and there are techniques that can be used to overcome this problem too.

Can you give me any info on Newton??...I may have the opportunity of a job there,..but cant obtain anything useful..management, staff etc,,..can you help?

RP

Well, I am an actual british teacher - and yes,..in very bad schools in the UK, yelling,intimidating etc...is rife. However, in defence,..Iam now an international teacher, and am extremely suprised this is going on in an international setting. I have never met kids that need this sort of response in an international setting.

Sure, i have had to raise my voice a few times, but nothing more serious than that.

You see, in the UK, many schools are badly managed, and the teachers are in the front line...especially where disadvantaged and/or special needs kids are concerned.

Example;

I recently spoke to a teacher who took over my role in the UK a year ago.

The kids had never liked him,he had never settled, so he resigned. The result?...The kids totally trashed his car..windows, lights, slashed the tyres,..and the soft top roof...unfortunately, this is common in difficult schools in the UK. Teachers are constantly sworn at, abused, objects thrown at them,..even stabbed on occasion. Therefore, i empathise with UK teachers - this is what we have become used to. However, unheard of in an international setting......so i find it very strange. If the teacher is getting abuse then it is a management problem being unable to deal with it; both the issue of behaviour management of its kids, and its teachers.

RP

If you don't like it lump it or leave. That's the deal with schools.

these schools situation are really bad aren't they? as bad as rent hikes.

Mind you british accent teacher, doesn't mean they are british.

I hope so, iman0493, I just hope the owners of the new schools don't see them just as a lucrative cash cow. Good luck to you and your son.

My son is taking the entrance test for Newton secondary tomorrow. The problem is that he tests very poorly, he doesn't retain information well even though he knows the material. I suggested to them that he take tutoring at Cedars for the rest of the year to make sure he is up to snuff and they said that would definitely help him to be admitted in the fall. I suppose the good news is that new schools seem to be opening every fall so let's hope things lighten up from here.

Unfortunately Al Jazeera Academy has good facilities but from what I've heard from several parents now the rest isn't up to scratch.

The school situation is very difficult now. Long waiting lists. closed waiting lists, capital charges... It never ends.

It's al Jazeera Academy. I have rationalized the behavior for 8 months now- she's having a bad day, it's so hard being a teacher, my child must be really bad, blah blah blah. I guess I'm looking for a new excuse. I am trying to move him to a new school in the fall.

I think you answered my question though. What school do your children attend?

What school are you talking about. We have no problems at the school our kids attend. We find the British teachers kind, considerate and very attentive to the needs of the kids.