Thursday, October 13, 2016

Kuwaiti schools and Buses

Where do I start? Since I moved I've hesitated in moving the school location as my kids were in Surra and I am in the Abu Halaifa area but now that I'm working I had to enroll the kids in the govt school in my area which means transportation is needed. For most people it's easy as they know a lot of people and can find someone to take their kids easily but when you don't read or write Arabic and don't have any male contacts it is almost impossible. When I registered the kids I asked the principals if there were buses available and both of them looked at me like yeah right. No, there aren't any buses, ok, then what are the yellow buses with school children on them used for?

One morning as I was going to work I spotted a small van with school girls so I chased him down and got his number and the next day I had to hang out at my sons school to find someone willing to take him. So I have two payments for the bus a month. Hey people, here's an idea; Why not use the buses for the kids instead of drivers and individual buses which would cut down on traffic!? I've been told there used to be a bus system before the war and after the war it was never put back in place.

Onto a govt school related issue: what exactly are the kids doing all day at school? Why does my 7 yr old come home everyday with six pages of homework in three different subjects? Why does my daughter not know anything about English? What does the English teacher do all day? Is it fair that we as parents have to pay several tutors 20 KD an hour to do the teachers job? Is it fair that we have to pay 60 KD for each child monthly to go to an after school learning center?

I also have an issue with the ridiculous requests for costumes and outfits required. One time it will be a police uniform or a certain dress etc. that will be used one day for playing. Why is it teachers have to threaten children to get something from their parents? My daughter was freaking out because her teacher told her she needs a red shirt for sports or the teacher will give her all 0's. A teacher is there to nurture and build little humans for the next generation not get a degree for a job that you literally do nothing but eat and Snapchat. It isn't only govt schools as private schools are just as bad and you pay over 3000 KD a year for your child to be taught yet they need tutors as well.

My nephew is in a private school and the teacher told him he was wasting his time because he kept asking him questions and trying to understand the subject. Raising children in Kuwait is definitely a difficult thing to do.

7 comments:

  1. You know, I've always thought the same thing about the school buses. My daughter goes to the Delhi Public School in Fahaheel and like all Indian schools, there is a school bus service which I believe most of the children use, including my daughter. Now, when all the Indian schools reopened after the summer break, I really didn't notice any difference in the traffic on my way to work. But oh, the week all the Government schools reopened, the traffic instantly became horrific. It was like there was a parent or driver dedicated to each and every child. Come on.. why can't there be buses? Is it because the school just doesn't care? Or were parents just being too overprotective and since the buses weren't been used, they were stopped?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Honestly I have no idea what those yellow buses are for, I've seen school kids on them but what are the qualifications or how did they get the transportation? Wasta? Some things baffle me here.

      Delete
  2. Sounds similar to Oman beyond the lack of a bus system.

    My husband said the homework is for 3 reasons, (rarest: some idiot parent asked for it), possibly: the curriculam is too advanced for the level of the students or the teacher to teach it, or likeliest: they put too many kids in a class but have too full a curriculam (I can't handle more than 24 in a class myself and some classes are 35-45). Although Yemeni students in Oman say that they've seen classes with a lot more;).

    ReplyDelete
  3. With humbleness, I suggest you do take a look at how indian schools, specially Delhi public school Ahmadi and Indian Educational School Jleeb function....you will be pleasantly surprised but not at the amount of homework or project work they give... the reason is, they have to match the curriculum back home and it is overwhelming... you would also agree that it producing results....

    ReplyDelete
  4. Unfortunately there is no system (similar to ofsted) to check how teachers and school administration is performing.
    Most of the school teachers are not teaching because they want to teach, they come to school because of their financial need only.
    Children can't express easily, mostly they are victim of teachers rude behavior and mental abuse, which you can feel by comparing classwork and homework.
    Unfortunately, some parents are sending their kids in evening to almost similar teachers.

    ReplyDelete
  5. The difference between Surra and Abu Halifa is stark, in terms of demographic. I guess the sea is nice down there.

    ReplyDelete

Comments are welcome! Personal attacks are not. Thanks!