Here There and Everywhere

First Day of School

School is just starting up today in Qatar. Many parents are sending their children only reluctantly; they are afraid of the H1N1 flu. School was already delayed long past its normal opening by Ramadan and the Eid al Adha, but now there are no more excuses.

AdventureMan has called twice, stuck in traffic. What is normally a 45 minute commute to work has gone well over an hour, stuck in the gridlock of bumper to bumper traffic, parents taking children to schools. Although some of the schools have buses, many parents still have to take their children to school, or they have their drivers take the kids to school, or they pay a taxi to take them every day.

This town needs a monorail, a good, well maintained public transportation system that can whiz us all over town and is air-conditioned. It is going to have to be fast and attractive to entice people out of their cars.

Update from today’s Peninsula:

Call for delaying school reopening
Web posted at: 10/4/2009 0:52:57
Source ::: The Peninsula

DOHA: A vast majority (78 percent) of respondents to a survey conducted by Al Sharq on the schools reopening today say they favour the move to be further put off for a week. Only 20 percent of the interviewees said they saw no need for any further delay in re-opening the schools, while two percent said they were undecided.

The schools had already taken effective measures to deal with the situation, so there was no need for keeping them closed to students. Khalifa Al Kuwari said he preferred a further delay as school buildings needed some modifications, especially the doors of the classrooms are too narrow so they should have been widened.

There really is little protection against any flu. The flu shots may help some, Tamiflu may help with the symptoms, but viruses mutate. Anyone who has ever worked in a school knows that colds and flu are just a part of life, and it may be a good thing to help us all gain immunity against more bugs.

What I really don’t understand is the low value placed on education by so many parents in this area. For example, many parents place little value on getting kids into their classes on time. Teachers complain that the kids don’t do their homework, and get little personal attention and encouragement from their parents to complete it, and then the parents come in and yell at the teachers for not teaching when the child gets a low grade because the homework has not been completed.

Children are kept out of school for any excuse, like “I needed her at home to watch the smaller children” or “he didn’t want to come to school.” Few children get enough sleep at night, and are consequently drowsy in the classroom. Last and not least, few of the children are instructed on classroom behavior, and when the teacher tries to instruct – and enforce – mutual respect and polite conduct, once again an angry parent shows up on the doorstep asking how he/she dare to discipline this child?

The teachers here are truly heroes.

October 4, 2009 - Posted by intlxpatr | Community, Doha, ExPat Life, Family Issues, Living Conditions, Work Related Issues