Saturday, April 7th, 2007

Hello everyone back home. Today was a momentous day in American and Saudi history as we were the first American teachers to ever visit Saudi Arabia's public schools. Previous teachers have been invited to private schools, or schools on the Aramco Compound, this was an incredible first for us and we felt very honored.

To respect Saudi culture, our team of teachers was divided into a men's and women's group. Each group traveled by different buses to a public school location in Riyahd. We were fortunate to visit a school led by Principal Foziah M. Aldobasi. we were welcomed into the schools library and served pastry and coffee by students and faculty. The principal gave us a welcome speech and then a teacher who was educated in the states for her pre-college education gave us an overview of the programs offered and answered our questions.

A public school for girls in the capital city of Riyahd.

This school was a high school for girls only, ages 14- 18. About 422 girls attend this school with 35 teachers. The class ratio is 1 teacher for every 35 to 40 students. The students attend school from 7 am to 12:30pm, five days a week and then go home for lunch and the remainder of the day. The girls wear a uniform in this school which is a long kelly green skirt with a green and white stripped tailored shirt. Inside the schools, the girls are not required to wear the abaya and hijab.

My favorite part of the presentation was when eight or so girls, who attend the school directed a question and answer session with us. They asked us about how co-ed education works in our school and whether there were problems with that. We responded that our country had worked so hard to eliminate segregation of race for so long, that any system that suggests segregation for the United States, makes us question if the services delivered will be equal. We did say that often having mixed classes can cause some students to be shy or more outspoken and that it was up to the teacher to monitor that equal participation in the classroom occurs.

When asked about what they each wanted to be when they grow up, they responded with a variety of answers which included, brain surgeon, skin doctor, scientist and generally famous!

A big question asked by many students was what American students think of them and their country after September 11th. Many were afraid that "we"/ Americans might hate them for the horrible acts of the extremists.

They wanted our students to know that their religion does not preach hatred and that they would welcome you as friends in their lives. We hope to set up continued relationships with these students so we can continue to ask questions to each other and to learn from one another.

What I was most impressed with was the level of fluent English that was spoken by these young women. Each one was able to express themselves with ease using vocabulary that you would find with our own high schoolers in the United States. They were bright, articulate and wanting to have bright futures.

Our trip to the school ended with a tour of the facility which was in the shape of a square with an open courtyard in the center. The school was 2 floors and all the rooms opened onto the courtyard. Girls here receive instruction in religion (Islam), Arabic, English, Math, Science, Social Studies, Home Economics/ (Life Skills), and Art. At this time physical education does not exist in public education for girls, but the Ministry of Education for the Kingdom is starting to create programs in this area. As we toured, the students asked us questions and waved to us. I think they were laughing to see all of these Americans dressed in hijab and abayas indoors!

While the school and the teachers and students were fabulous, I can't help but want a bit more for all of them. The class sizes were incredibly large and overcrowded schools are a problem they are dealing with as the population of young people continues to increase. The school library, while very neat, lacked the numbers of books that a library should possess. Later in the day today, we will be visiting the capital's public library and I can see what literature is possible to be in the women's libraries. The Kingdom Tower- The views of the city are amazing and the arch way at the top has very sloped floors so it was a weird sensation to walk across that connection floor at 99 stories high.

We are off to visit the Kingdom's Tower, which is 99 stories high and should have a magnificent view of the city. After that, we are having a very formal dinner in the Al Faisaliah Hotel up in the Globe Restaurant. You can see the globe in the picture I have taken. I will be sure to take pictures so that you can see the view.

The Al Faisaliah Hotel in Riyahd is where we are staying for our last three nights of travel here in the Kingdom. Tonight we had dinner in the Globe Restaurant which you can see in this picture. The restaurant is located on the 32nd floor and has magnificent views 360 degrees of the city.