- Why have you decided to be a head of section/vice principal? What motivates you the most to do this job?
My goal was not to become vice principle. When I starting working, I decided that I wanted to enter the field of education. I like the culture of education because I think it’s something that is very worthwhile, and I always liked being around youth. So that was a natural pathway for me, even though I didn’t think about being a teacher back when I was in high school. I thought I wanted to be an architect or an archeologist who digs up graves and tombs. I thought about being in the phone service, or working as an ambassador or a diplomat. I had all these different ideas, but I stumbled upon education when I realized that it’s the one that would sustain my interest the longest. I had the chance, after I graduated from college, to work as an admissions officer at a university, and I really enjoyed it because I got to travel a lot, and I got to talk to students in recruitment and rouse their interest in the university I was working for. But it was a very limited interaction, sort of like selling the university, which was not very interesting. I felt like a salesman; I was part of the marketing team for the university. And so I didn’t see that as a long-term job. Afterwards, I decided I wanted to earn a graduate degree and commit myself to education, and, really, the first step in knowing education is to be a teacher. I first became a teacher when I came to Dubai twenty seven years ago, and that’s when I decided I like the school environment, especially high school and elementary. When you work in a school, it’s very different than working in a company like a corporation because there’s a different atmosphere. You walk in and people are generally happy to be there. Kids are happy to come to school, teachers are happy, and people have bad days or tired days, but in general, most of the time, people are happy to be here. So it’s a very positive and healthy environment to be exposed to every day. And it has to be every day, you know, because in twenty-something years, if you don’t like it, you don’t last that long. Then, eventually, when you start to become better and more experienced, different opportunities merge. But I was never someone seeking a title or a disposition. The work itself was more important to me, and any work that took me away from interacting with students was work I didn’t like.
- How do you manage stress in your work field? What’s your advice to students, especially seniors, to deal with stress?
First thing is, don’t let the word ‘stress’ enter your life. You can get tired. I get tired from work; I get sometimes frustrated because some things aren’t going the way I expected. That only comes if you work hard. Stress, if you have experienced stress, to me personally comes with health, if someone I care for or myself’s well-being is in danger. The only time I am really stressed at work is if the safety of one of our students or staff is in jeopardy. If we lose a student or a student gets very hurt, in school or outside of school, or if you’re dealing with a sick child, those are things that are stressful, but the day-to-day work; no. You deal with stress by not letting things become stressful; don’t identify it. Students during the exam say, “I’m so stressed”, and I say, “tell me you’re busy, tell me you’re tired, but don’t tell me you’re stressed because you don’t know what stress really is”. A child whose parents are divorced, that’s stress. Studying for an exam is not stress. What’s the worst case scenario? You don’t do well, so you take the next term exam. There is no tragedy. Don’t use the word ‘stress’ lightly, like I tell students, don’t use the word ‘bully’ lightly. It’s a matter of how you identify yourself with the terminology.
- What are the three most important goals you would want the school to reach?
First, I want every student to have as many opportunities, as part of our school mission, to really realize their full potential. I also want every student to leave the school feeling that they were cared for, that they were recognized as an individual, that they contributed to the well-being of the whole school. I want the students to experience lots of joy when they’re in school, to develop meaningful relationships with people, so that there is connection and a bond that brings people back and brings them comfort from one another. So that the experience was something that’s not shallow, I hope that everyone leaves with a relationship with a friend or some friends or with teachers that can last through long periods of absence.
- What is your vision for the school, let’s say in 10 years?
Ten years! I want students to be running the school more, really. That’s one of the things that, as a goal, we really have tried to make the school more student-centered and to empower students to lead clubs, activities and projects. I think our students have proven themselves to be so capable, even beyond our expectations, in leadership, in teamwork, and in mentoring others and really giving up themselves. They are the embodiment of the saying, “by students, for the students”. I think our students have been so impressive on that level, and I think that if we don’t hold them back, they will become even better. Our goal is really that students become real partners in running and improving the school.
- Do you think that a college student should choose the major they enjoy most or the major that would benefit them the most in the future?
Both. It shouldn’t be one or the other, it should be both. But in your generation, and even our generation, but more so your generation, you have to know that nothing is going to last. Everything will change, so you have to be ready to know that you will have several job positions and fields that you will enter within your lifetime. The world is changing too fast, technology is changing, and the demands on you will be so much greater than they were on my generation. Even what you major in will change so quickly. Even as a doctor, the skills that are required of you will change. If you now enter medical school, what will be required of you ten years from now will be so different. The medical field will be so different. So you have to learn to adapt and learn to enjoy, and if you’re not scared of change, you will enjoy that new challenge because you will keep learning new things. But someone who doesn’t want to learn new things will not be happy. I think the key is, don’t get confused with the things that you really like because sometimes, human beings tend to like things for the wrong reason, not the right reason. Let’s say I don’t like chemistry, I didn’t like chemistry when I was in high school, and I think I blamed the teacher, but also I didn’t want to challenge myself more in that subject. So I kept dismissing the things that are different because I had to work harder to understand it and I didn’t want to. I just said I didn’t like it, and that was a mistake. I learned as I grew older not to walk away from the things that are challenging, even learning how to use technology. I used to say, “No, do it for me!” Then I started saying, “show me how to do it rather than just doing it yourself”.
- Has a student ever inspired you? How have they inspired you?
So many. I’ve had KG students inspire me, I’ve had grade 12 students, and everyone along the way. Every day I see something that inspires me from the students. That’s the constant, and I always look for students who will inspire me. I’ve seen the level of kindness a student will show. I get inspired when a group of students stay after school to tutor their younger classmates, like grade ten students wanting to tutor grade seven students in math. The other day I was leaving at 4:30, and a group of students were leaving at the same time. I asked them, “Why are you still here?” and they replied, “Oh, we started a tutoring program for younger students”. That, to me, was inspiring. Even the senior barbecue, when you invited all the teachers and they wanted to take care of you, but then you told them, “No, miss, eat that! No, don’t clean up! That’s not for you…” That inspires me. One time I had a student who was being bullied by this kid in grade four. I was punishing the boy who was bullying her, and she felt so bad for the boy that she asked me, “Miss, can I stay in the break with him?” and I’m like… How can you not be inspired by that? Right? That is something to learn, not only get inspired from, but to learn how to be a better human being from students, from these small gestures. Inspiration is present every day, and if you believe in the kids and the youth, you’ll get inspired every day. We have amazing kids in the school, from KG to grade twelve. You don’t know how wonderful you all are. It’s not just me, I don’t know a school were teachers and administration are in love with their students as much as our school.
- What was your favorite year since you’ve been here? Why?
No, that’s a tough question! No, I can’t say my favorite year, but I’ll give you an answer since you want one. I’ll say my first year. Although it wasn’t my best year because I wasn’t a very good teacher (I was an inexperienced fumbling teacher) my heart was in the right place! I wanted to be a good teacher, but I didn’t know how. However, I think It was the best year because it opened up the doors for me into education. I would say that’s the best year.
- Can you tell us about a life-changing book you’ve read?
Life-changing is a bit too much. I’ve never read a book that was life-changing, but I’ll tell you I’ve read many inspiring books. And one that I recently just finished this weekend, was Sheikh Mohammad’s “My Story” book. The story about his life is very inspiring. You think you know a leader, but then through this book you get to know the man behind the leader. I recommend it highly to everybody. And if you can read it in Arabic, it would be even better! I read it in English, but I have been told by those who read it in Arabic that the Arabic version is even more interesting and well-written because it’s his own words and it’s not translated, so it’s even more inspiring and very insightful into getting to know a person you admire as a leader of a country, but I think you start to understand why he is that kind of a man. It was very interesting; I didn’t want to put it down.