in denial

i went into class today and started assigning students a partner so that they had someone to do their tasks with.  one student, abdullah, however, told me that he didn't want a partner and that he'd prefer to work alone.

abdullah, an 18-year-old saudi first year medical student in his country, is here on summer holidays.  he seems to think that he is better than the rest of the class.  he doesn't seem to get along very well with the rest of the students in his class.

the class were given analogies to work on today and abdullah was unable to solve most of what was in the handout (the material presented on the handout was designed for grade 4 students in american schools).  ah, an indication of an inability to think critically and to see relationships between things.

he told me one day that he ought to be in level 7, two levels higher than where he is currently and that the only reason why he was in level 5 is because that is the highest level offered by the centre this month.

when asked to write, he produces very minimal work. he often asks to be excused from class and leaves class early.

is he in denial that he can't produce?  is his ego getting in the way of his progress?

what makes a person so arrogant at such a young age?

a day without the arab brats

how wonderful it would be if i could just spend my days reading books and not have to worry about having to educate arrogant and pig headed arab brats.

okay, okay...there are a handful who are absolutely great students but they are too few and far between.

i get friday off --- yay!!! the kids are off on a field trip and i'm certainly not complaining.

the thought of having a long weekend without having to deal with their demands certainly feels super blissful!

hmm... think of all the things that i could do... gotta plan, gotta plan!!!   :)

Air Head

Some people are just full of BS. They are full of talk but when it comes to getting down to getting the job done, they suck.

Professionalism? Doubt if they have even heard of the word. I hear her often saying "I've done this, I'm doing that, I'm earning XXXXX for just three days' work, I don't need this job, blah, blah, blah...".

Then I discover, her grammar sucks. Sheesh!!! Some people really have the cheek to make claims when they do such a shitty job.

what i've been reading

i haven't been updating the list of books that i've been reading lately so here they are...:

the mike gayle book inspires me to start a to do list of my own but am i going to create one that is possibly as long as his 1277 item to do list? i think that would be quite unlikely.  i'll keep mine short and sweet.

The Girl in High Heels gives an interesting insight as to what happens in a high class strip club in London.

a lot of what you say says a lot about how you want to be perceived

an adult iranian student proudly informed me that she is unable to ear rice with her hand.  while this fact saddened me, she viewed this as a good thing.  it was her way of  telling me that she was from a well-off family.

unfortunately, i don't share that view.  i think you're culturally poor if you're no longer able to do the things that others in your culture are able to do.

there is nothing to be proud of if you no longer are able to eat using your hand, sit on the floor comfortably, and do other things that is performed with ease by others in your culture.

while i would like to believe that i am westernized, i would like to believe that i am being open to accepting different ideas and ways of doing things while remaining true to who i really am.  i am proud of my culture.  it is who i am.

"why should i use my dictionary when i have you?"

a few days ago, in a reading task, a student asked me for the meaning of a word that he didn't know.

in the quest of trying to make him an independent learner, i suggested that he use his dictionary.  he said to me that he didn't like using his dictionary and why should he use a dictionary when he had a teacher to ask?

it's not easy trying to make an arab student an independent learner.  their culture is as such that they prefer being told than seeking for the answers for themselves.  seeking for answers seem to not be a challenge that arab students embrace.

on learning

before one can learn, one must acknowledge that one does not know before one can proceed to the next stage of looking for the answers. It is the process of seeking for answers that constitutes learning and not the answers in themselves.

there are many people out there who are in learning institutions but who really don't know what it takes to lear

the frame of mind of "I know" hinders one from progressing with the learning process.

learning also requires one to be humble and not to be defensive. it's difficult to learn when you have your guard up.

in this day and age, it is about making technology work for you. it is not about knowing everything but about knowing where to get the information when you need it.

many are still of the frame of mind that what they need to know will be taught to them by their teacher. they understand not that by doing so, they are limiting themselves.

question is --- why limit yourself to just one teacher when you can have so many other teachers out there?

learning in the age of the information technology is liberating but it only liberates those who want to be liberated.

many people think that they want to have an education but are they prepared to make what is available to them so that they can not only acquire knowledge but also contribute towards the bigger body of knowledge? now that is the real question.

do these "students" really know what it really means to be learners?

on being "right" all the time

why do some people seem very adamant about being right when they are clearly wrong?

why do some people pride themselves in knowing everything when they clearly don't?

why do some people not know how to accommodate others?

in the end, being "right" is not really all that important is it?

i think, in the bigger picture, it's about knowing how to play in the sandbox and knowing how to accommodate others along the way that really matters.

relections

many blog for fame. strangely enough though, i blog to remain anonymous.

how is that so, i hear you wonder... it doesn't really matter to me that i don't have a following. 

this is more of my space, written for me and in my time.

it is a place for me to reflect and ponder and put things out there in writing.

to see my thoughts in writing while being aware that i also need to be politically correct at the same time... that's what this is all about...

Cleo by Helen Brown

I'm currently reading Cleo by Helen Brown. It's about a kitten who changes the lives of the family members who adopts her.Certainly a must read for cat people :)

A Friend of the Family by Lisa Jewell

I finished reading this book on Saturday.

claiming to know stuff when one clearly doesn't

why do some people not want to admit that they may not know everything and that that is not the end of the world???

why are some people not open to the fact that they may not know everything??? 

why do some people want to argue on things that are so clear cut???

fancy claiming that you "grew up in Australia" and still claim that glasses and trousers are singular nouns and thus sentences should sound like this ...."My glasses was broken" (instead of "My glasses were broken" and "That trousers" (instead of "Those glasses").

So much for "growing up in Australia", huh?

what gives???

Somebody at work was telling me that she was going to get married by the end of the year --- that's her deadline.

Well, that sounded pretty normal only that there's a small problem here --- she's not seeing anybody at the moment!!! Yes, it is a pretty strange situation.

On top of that, she says that this man she will marry (note that he is, at this very moment, still very much a concept) has to be no less than 6' 4" in height.

So, here's the next question --- how tall do you think this woman is? If you think that she's tall, you've guessed wrong --- she's vertically challenged!!!

So, the question is this --- is she being idealistic and dreamy and keeping away the real man who may be the love of her life (but who may not be a 6'-4" Greek god) or is it right for her to demand for this person and not to entertain anyone else who falls short (literally) of her wish???

Could this possibly be her escape from reality? From having to explain to the world out there why she's without a man (not that the world is interested in her private matters, really).

Personally, I think that some of us set unrealistic yardsticks for the people we would allow into our lives. Greek gods come with problems of their own. They are high maintenance not unlike beautiful women really.

Personally, I prefer the ordinary Joe but hey, that's me. Okay, so he may not be drop dead gorgeous but he's the sweetheart who would try to make me happy and really, that is what it really all about, isn't it?

my current read

i'm currently reading the journal of mortifying moments...it's hilarious and i'm enjoying it  :)

The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards

i finished the last book over the weekend and this is now what i'm reading.  the first few pages is intriguing, i must say.

 i found myself taking that extra 5 minutes to read in bed this morning only to find the extra 5 minutes turn into an extra 30 minutes (horrors!).

my current read

i finished reading The Piano Teacher today and am now on my next book, the Chinese Whispers.

books, books and more books

i have a mountain of books that i purchased at warehouse sales that i have yet to read....not that i'm complaining really. 

it's really very comforting to know that i have a constant supply of books to read. the only problem is that i don't seem to have enough time to indulge in my book reading habits.

...sigh... if only i had more time to hang out with my books more... nothing like a lazy morning in bed curled up with a book...

my current read

i finished reading A Thousand Splendid Suns last night and this is my current read...

back to the grind

it's back to work for me tomorrow  :( 

where did my 5 day break go???

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

...and this is my current read. I started reading it today.

It's by the same author as The Kite Runner. I bought both books in the same warehouse sale.