Some weeks are better than others... (aka the Wet Blanket post)*

For the last few weeks, I've been sick. It has mostly been characterized by exhaustion and lethargy, resulting in several trips to the doctor's office or urgent care clinics where I have been prescribed or treated with things to deal with the congestion (it doesn't seem to go away), allergic reactions, headaches, throat pain, and dehydration. I have been a barrel of fun.

Part of the cause, I am sure is that I am in the culture shock period of rejection. I wish I had been placed in Abu Dhabi and not Al Ain; I am annoyed at the lack of resources at my school; I am worried about my daughter's education and keeping her on par with her US classmates; my husband is not embracing this experience; our flat is in the middle of a construction zone which NEVER stops working - making it impossible to sleep; there are no kids near our flat for our daughter to play with; there is nowhere for her to safely play outside our building; you get the idea.

On Wednesday I had my first classroom observation (which I learned about the day prior). Wednesdays are my ping pong days, not only do my normal back to back classes not happen, but I am going from one end and one floor of the building to another, and one grade level to another, after every block.  So my first period observation was on my best day of the week.

It was not a perfect class (when are they ever), but my girls were well-behaved, focused on the lesson, and for the most part, on task. But when I had my post-observation meeting, there was a list of things I didn't do well and what I should never do for an observed lesson. This upset me in part because I don't believe an observed lesson should be any different than any other lesson. I do a really good job of blocking out the observers because my focus needs to be on my students (comes from years of having stage fright and yet being a cheerleader/actor).  And for those who have known me as a student, worker, or teacher, you know that I hold myself up to standards that exceed "fine". I don't ever want to be fine.  The quote I live by is: "May I never be complete. May I never be content. May I never be perfect."  (Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk) I am always striving to be better, but the feedback wasn't on how to improve but how to create a better performance. And I cried. I never cry in public. I hate it.

Then I came home, and tried to rest up because my husband and I had a date. We never go out without our daughter, unless we have company, and even then, usually one of us stays at home. But I had booked a babysitter the night before because we both needed an evening out with other adults, and Wednesday is the trivia night at the Rugby Club. Before our sitter showed up, Rob asked me if I was going to be okay going out because I looked like the walking dead.  But, we'd made plans to meet another couple, and we both really needed a "date". I drank juice and water, and sat in the sick corner next to another friend not feeling well, and came home before the music round. The next morning, when the alarm went off, I couldn't function. I knocked it onto the floor, and had to fix it. I tried to get up, but my eyes were gummy. I ended up going back to bed until after 10. When I went to the doctor's office, the doctor wanted to give me a sick note for 3 days.

And then I got an email from my observer hoping I had a good night at the Rugby Club drinking, and I wanted to scream. This person doesn't know me and is judging me because I took a sick day after going out to dinner with my husband, and drank cranberry juice AND water?!?

Yeah, so at this point I have two options, I can take my doctor's advice and rest, and feel better - regaining my normal optimism; or I can ignore her advice and continue to wallow in my pit of misery.  I'm pretty sure I know what I'm going to chose.




*Truth in advertising: I feel it is important to document both the good and bad of my journey.... even if this post has an inordinate amount of whining.

Sick days, sub plans, and stamps

In the US, most teachers that I know hate to be absent. Missing class means even more work because you are now required to not only teach material, but teach someone else through a short missive how to teach the material you need covered for the day. And then you have to follow up with what was successfully covered and what you need to reteach the next day (if your substitute actually followed your sub plans).  As someone who has spent time in both roles (the substitute and the teacher), I know it is easier to pop in a movie or print out some worksheets, but as someone who loathes busy work, this was not a solution I liked to resort to. So teachers are frequently the worst in taking time off when they need it, because it creates so much work to catch up.

Sick days are different in Abu Dhabi. At my school, we do not have a sub folder and emergency sub plans (staples of teaching in the US). We notify our vice principal, and if Cycle 1, the head of faculty, about our absence, and they find coverage from within our staff for the classes. For some teachers, it is a bonus bit of class time, or allows for an earlier class meeting.  The real work takes place on the part of the sick teacher. The teacher must go to the hospital and see a doctor on the day of her (I will use the feminine pronoun because hey, I'm a girl) absence. It may be a long wait depending on the hospital chosen.  The doctor will diagnosis; prescribe any medicines, vitamins, procedures, etc. to treat the sickness; and give a stamped sick note certificate to the teacher. The teacher then must go to the pharmacy to fill any prescriptions (usually in the same building). After which, the teacher will take the sick note certificate to the Health Authority for a stamp.

 The Health Authority stamp does not need to be done the same day, but it is open from 8-1:30 in my town, so if I want it stamped, I need to do it the day I am out or take time off to get it stamped.  After getting all the stamps on the sick note, the absence must be entered into our employee system, and the sick note digitally uploaded. It will require three people to sign off that the procedure was followed correctly.

It does not lend itself to a restful day, which, in truth, is probably what the teacher needed in the first place.