Remember how I was telling you about the princess-like feeling of having a big and beautiful wardrobe? Well….I am starting to feel like a bad kind of princess at school. We have been into school every day this week (our week starts on Sunday and finishes on Thursday) to get our classrooms ready for the first day. I have been busy finding my way around the school, locating equipment and resources in the classroom and arranging them in a way that works for me! I brought some cleaning supplies from home to dust away the inevitable sand and my classroom is really starting to come together.
Today I was called to the library to pick up my overhead projector. No biggie. But, when I got there, the business manager was lecturing the library staff in Arabic. (All of the support staff are Egyptian and speak very little, if any, English). I acted like I wasn’t paying attention and continued towards the back of the library, when I was informed that my projector was going to be delivered to my classroom instead. Hmmm….I insisted I was okay to carry it and I proceeded with the retrieval! RED FLAG. Apparently, teachers do NOT carry projectors. They do NOT move desks. They do NOT clean their classrooms. They do NOT do their own photocopying. These jobs are for the Egyptian staff to carry out. And so this is what the argument was about. Teachers are Gods.
SERIOUSLY?! Upgrade that to a Grey’s Anatomy SERIOUSLY. It is not like I am incapable. It is not like I am effecting their pay by doing it myself (because the school pays them their salary and they are not tipped for their services at school). And it is not like they would be bored to death if I did it instead of them (they work until ten at night most days). It really shocked me.
Later today, I was going to photocopy something in the staff room. I inserted the paper into the photocopier and was about to copy the page when an Egyptian staff member RAN over to do it for me. Once again, I insisted that I could do it. But she would not let me. I assume if I was caught doing “her” job, she would be yelled at, just like the library staff were.
This kind of pedestal that teachers are placed on is noticeable in other ways as well. The way the support staff apologize BEYOND what is necessary for causing some traffic in the hallway. The way they have to eat their lunch in a separate area because some teachers believe they steal food from the fridge and use the staff computers too much. And the way former teachers (who have accepted their placement on the school hierarchy) yell them at them to get certain supplies or equipment. I don`t like it at all.
I find myself really upset about this whole idea of being superior to the support staff. They clean my room so beautifully and they are always so kind. How could they be treated so differently? I am person and they are a person too.
My goal for the next few days is too learn some more Arabic (I have already learned the key words and phrases) so that I can interact with the support staff in a meaningful way. I think the language barrier creates a lot of frustration because there is some serious impatience on the “superior” side. Teachers expect the support staff to know how to speak English and are intolerant with those that don’t know the language. Why does the effort have to come from them and not from us? You can’t move to another country and expect to be accommodated completely! I have decided to enrol myself in Arabic 101, taught by………MYSELF! Cue cards – here I come!
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1 comment:
Wow. That's disturbing. Good for you for refusing to be someone who treats others like second-class citizens. It is REALLY important to have the support staff on your side - they can make your job a lot easier! Good luck with learning Arabic - that's a big, but potentially hugely rewarding, undertaking!
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