Teachers and ICDL
In the Gulf News Hanan Esmail Al Salhawi suggests that the Ministry of Education is already planning to require the ICDL and TOEFL for all UAE teachers, and suggests that they should also require a psychometric test to see if the teachers can actually teach.
I don't know if there is a psychometric test that can determine if a teacher can teach, but I have serious misgivings about the utility of the ICDL in any of the UAE schools.
I once saw a teacher working on grades. He had an unbelievable complicated formula for combining examination scores, homework and project grades, and attendance. He had more than 200 students, and each grade was taking almost an hour.
I suggested, 'I can develop an Excel spreadsheet for you that will save you a lot of time.'
'No thank you,' was his reply.
As I watched over his shoulder, I saw several mistakes in his arithmetic, and tried to point them out to him.
'No mistake,' he said.
I demonstrated, using a calculator, that his number didn't add up.
Finally he turned to me.
'Look, I know what grades management wants me to turn in. Every student will have a grade that takes into account his performance and his wasta. Management does not want anyone to be able to check and see that the grades were not absolutely honest, based on performance, and also does not want anyone with wasta to get a bad grade. With my formula, every student gets the right grades, and the formula is so complicated no one can tell how they got their grades. Management is happy, students with wasta are happy, and I'm happy because I keep my job.'
I don't know if there is a psychometric test that can determine if a teacher can teach, but I have serious misgivings about the utility of the ICDL in any of the UAE schools.
I once saw a teacher working on grades. He had an unbelievable complicated formula for combining examination scores, homework and project grades, and attendance. He had more than 200 students, and each grade was taking almost an hour.
I suggested, 'I can develop an Excel spreadsheet for you that will save you a lot of time.'
'No thank you,' was his reply.
As I watched over his shoulder, I saw several mistakes in his arithmetic, and tried to point them out to him.
'No mistake,' he said.
I demonstrated, using a calculator, that his number didn't add up.
Finally he turned to me.
'Look, I know what grades management wants me to turn in. Every student will have a grade that takes into account his performance and his wasta. Management does not want anyone to be able to check and see that the grades were not absolutely honest, based on performance, and also does not want anyone with wasta to get a bad grade. With my formula, every student gets the right grades, and the formula is so complicated no one can tell how they got their grades. Management is happy, students with wasta are happy, and I'm happy because I keep my job.'
posted by Dubai@Random at 8:40 pm
2 Comments:
can't blame a man if he's trying to "put food on his family".
a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do!
Strangely enough, this happens in the private school sector too, except the "wasta" is determined by whether or not your parent works at the school.
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