My experience so far in both my boys schools is that the
boys are very bored by the uninspiring curriculum. The teachers are very strict and make use of
the rod even for minor offences such as lack of homework. In both my schools and Kate’s, the boys schools
employ ex-soldiers whose specific role is to inflict physical punishment –
hardly a positive inducement to study.
I think the negativity of the school approach is responsible for the
low standards and dislike of studying. This
is coupled with the lack of interesting resources and large classes. It is common for the boys to be unable to put
two words together after six years of learning English.
Last week was my first week in front of a class in one of
these schools and it was very difficult, particularly with the oldest boys. In the final year class a tall boy (really a
young man) sitting at the back simply refused to participate in my group activity. He said, ‘Arabic not English’, and that was
that! I said, ‘You can like Arabic AND
English too,’ but to no avail. Imagine
my surprise yesterday when during the breakfast break he and a group of his
friends came up to me. He pointed at me
and said, ‘Are you crazy?’ I said,
‘Yes!’ He was clearly taken by surprise
by my answer. He then pointed at my
slightly hairy chin and said, ‘Ugly’.
Then he pointed at his new beard and said, ‘Beautiful’ and pointed at me
and said, ‘Ugly’ again. I was laughing
by this stage. I pointed at him and said
‘Handsome for men, beautiful for women.’
The ice was completely broken and we shook hands.
I think he must have spent the entire week working out rude things
to say to me in English. Yes, he was
doing his best to be insulting, but at least he had spent that time and
effort. I was delighted. I think it was also great that his friends
were listening. Hopefully they will
all relax and start to enjoy learning English now, which is what I am trying to
achieve. This has been my greatest
success so far and I feel like celebrating.
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