Spring and Summer at Work

Principal and religion teacher discussing the
program for the Independence Day Celebration

Just in time for the start of the new school year (August 26th is the first day for teachers to report back to school), I'd like to share a few stories about my work from the end of the school year and the summer time.  I apologize for the tardiness of this post, but I must admit that I have spent more time on vacation this summer (more on that coming soon) than time at work.

Jordan's Independence Day is celebrated on May 25th and our school put on a festival complete with guest speakers, student performances, and 10 platters of mansaf.  I concede that I did not understand much of what the speakers had to say, or should I say yell, into the microphone; nevertheless, I gather that it was primarily about great our school is, how great Jordan is, and how great Allah is.  Personally, however, I was more entertained by the student performances.  I was completely oblivious to the fact that these groups of boys had been rehearsing their plays, speeches, and dance performances.  It was certainly a treat to see my students display their talents outside of English class.

5th grade performers backstage

At my principal's urging, I even managed to convince a group of 6th and 7th grade boys to memorize and put on an adaptation of Aesop's "The Frogs Who Want a King".  I attempted to film their performance but unfortunately the footage did not come out well.  As a consolation, I do have a video of one of the more mediocre rehearsals, which I hope will shed some light onto some of the English projects that I have taken on with the boys in my village:

More pictures from the Independence Day Celebration, as well as other pictures from my school and my English clubs, can be found by clicking here.

Morning Assembly

Rob and Mohammed leading a
lesson on decision making

Moving now to the summer, I worked at three camps this year: two English camps sponsored by the US Embassy and one Brain Camp in my village.  Brain Camp is rooted in the idea of a "growth mindset", which basically means that with effort one can grow and strengthen his or her brain.  While this idea may not seem too far-fetched to American ears, it represents a radical paradigm shift for the Arab and Islamic world.  Islam states that Allah has already predetermined all events past, present, and future.  This predetermination thus leads to a complacent acceptance of the way things are.  Teachers rarely talk about students who have potential, or students who are hard-working or lazy, or students who have the ability to overcome obstacles; rather, teachers talk about students who are "clever" or "weak".  That is that; people are the way they are and little can be done to change that.

The core principle of Brain Camp attempts to challenge this widely-held cultural belief.  As described in The Wall Street Journal, students who have a "growth" or "mastery" mindset believe that they can become smarter merely by putting in more effort.  The primary goal of Brain Camp is not to discredit the culture, but rather to explain the scientific differences between a "growth mindset" and a "fixed mindset" and to let the students determine which one to adopt.

Examining students' squiggle drawings

After the foundational mindset topics are discussed, students are then taught eight critical thinking skills over a six-day period:

1. Memorization
2. Organization
3. Reasoning
4. Strategy
5. Decision Making
6. Opinion Formation
7. Perspective Taking
8. Creativity

It is imperative to note, however, that we did not merely teach these skills individually and then walk away.  Rather, the students participated in a 30-minute interactive lecture and PowerPoint presentation for each skill followed by 80-100 minutes of games and activities to practice each of the skills.  The practice games and activities ranged from sorting beans with vocabulary words written on them for Organization, to Blokus for Strategy, to squiggle drawings for Creativity.

Sorting beans

Finally, students watched a 12-minute video on the water shortage problem in Jordan and spent the last day developing a final project to help address the issue and solve Jordan's water crisis.  I have to admit that I was especially impressed by the quality and diversity of projects developed by the boys from my village.  After several brain-storming sessions the three groups developed models and presentations for the following ideas:

1. More efficient water conservation shower heads
2. Education campaign to address the water shortage and water conservation in Jordan
3. Improved technology for well digging and site location

Brain Camp certainly has been one of the most-rewarding projects that I have organized and run thus far in Jordan, but I absolutely could not have pulled this off without the support and dedication of fellow Peace Corps Volunteer Rob Delaney and Village Counterpart Mohammed Amoush.  Without both of these two amazing men working all six days, my Brain Camp would have been an utter disaster and I cannot thank them enough for supporting me and the boys from my village in this project.  For pictures of them, and from throughout the Brain Camp, please click here.

Certificates!

Lastly, please allow me to briefly mention the two other camps that I worked at this past summer.  These were both Environmental English camps sponsored by the US Embassy.  I taught drama with fellow Peace Corps Volunteer Veronica to 6th-9th grade boys and girls that participate in the ACCESS program at a village school close to Petra.  Additionally, I taught Environmental English to 7th-10th grade girls in Aqaba with Kathy and Meg.  Teaching with these three Peace Corps Volunteers was a real treat for me and I hope to have future opportunities to collaborate with them or other female volunteers as my village work and village life is almost 100% male.

Please enjoy pictures from my first SCUBA diving trip in Aqaba as well as this video of a cheer that Meg taught to the girls (and then promptly asked the male teachers to demonstrate):

Syria and Jordan

As many of you know, I can see Syria from my kitchen window.  My village and my life continue to be safe and secure; in fact, the primary way that the Syrian Civil War has affected my life has been merely an increase in prices and over-crowding at the markets.  Nonetheless, I do occasionally see or hear real signs of war from across the border.

This blog is not the appropriate place for me to discuss my personal views and impressions on the Syrian situation both in Syria and in Jordan; however, I'd be happy to share my thoughts with you directly if you contact me via email, Facebook, or Skype.

That being said, I consider it part of my duty as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Jordan to share some of the facts and realities of the Syrian Civil War and how it has affected life in Northern Jordan; therefore, I have elected to include links to a variety of recent news articles, from several sources, on the following pertinent issues.


On the Jordanian Government's official position:

• Jordan's king: "Clock is ticking" in Syria - August 5, 2012 - CBS Evening News
• Any solution to Syria crisis has to be political, preserve territorial integrity — Jordan - August 12, 2012 - The Jordan Times

On war tactics in Syria:

• Syrian govt forces and rebels committing war crimes –– UN report - August 15, 2012 - The Jordan Times
• Syria and its chemical weapons:  Watch out! - July 28, 2012 - The Economist

On the Syrian Prime Minister's (PM) defection to Jordan:

• The struggle for Syria:  An ever-lonelier leader - August 11, 2012 - The Economist
• Syria PM defects, accuses Assad regime of 'genocide' - August 6, 2012 - The Jordan Times
• Assad in control of 30% of Syria, listens only to Iranian advisors –– Hijab - August 14, 2012 - The Jordan Times

On Syrian refugees in Jordan:

• Jordan squeezed as Syrian conflict rages next door - August 14, 2012 - The Washington Post
• Police disperse angry Syrians at refugee camp - August 13, 2012 - The Jordan Times
• Jordanian source confirms border clash, says no casualties - August 11, 2012 - The Jordan Times

On minority groups in Syria:

• The Kurds:  Hedging their Syrian bets - August 4, 2012 - The Economist
• Syria’s Christians:  They’ve turned against him, too - July 21, 2012 - The Economist

On the varying groups that may vie for power after the fall of Bashar Assad:

• Syria’s rebels:  Who will come out on top? - August 11, 2012 - The Economist
• The war for Syria:  Jihadists on the way - August 4, 2012 - The Economist
• Syria:  Is there an alternative to chaos? - August 4, 2012 - The Economist