My Daughter's First Day Of School :)

For those who experienced sending their child for the first time to school, will definitely understand how I feel.

After hunting for schools/Nurseries to put my daughter in, after coming to Dubai, finally I found one that suits us and her of course while waiting for the September admissions for FS1.

Today was her first day in school. And I felt like it was mine, I was so nervous and hardly could sleep the previous night. Walking here and there ironing her uniform, preparing her bag with an extra dress to take to school, kept her lunch box ready, kept socks and shoes  in front just to be sure nothing would make her late for school the next morning. With all things ready, I went to bed having cold feet.

I hate waking up early in the morning but today, her first day of school, I woke up at 7:00a.m though the schools bus was not to come till 8:35 a.m.

Now , came the time when I had to take her down 5 minutes before the arrival of school bus to pick her up. But I didn't feel like taking her,though I wanted to,but I felt like she was going to cry and not get into the bus if I was there standing waving goodbye. So I sent my mother in law instead and just watched her from our balcony. There went my little girl, suddenly all grown up to be going to school.

All the while , the only thought I had in mind was , she might be crying now and at any moment I'll receive a call from the school telling me she is crying her throat out. But didn't happen and instead I called and was informed that she was having fun. After hanging up, I decided to go and pick her myself one hour earlier as by now she might be crying a lot. But got so busy with house chores that I didn't notice the time. it was already 11:45. 15 minutes and it will be her off, so I  just called to ask for the expected arrival of school bus to drop her. After informing me, the receptionist herself informed me, that my daughter did well today, didn't cry at all, had fun and enjoyed. Oh what a relief!! Alhamdulillah!

Feeling as if I passed the board exams, happily I went downstairs to wait for my lovely girl. There she arrived, and wasn't at all happy to see me. It means , she didn't want to leave school. :) I know it's every parent's dream to not to have their kids crying in school.

Here is a piece of  advice which i think was useful in this whole scenario of not crying. I always did a role play with her, where she was a student and me, her teacher. She use to wake up in the morning, have breakfast, get dressed up, and we start our role- playing. I used to give her worksheets, coloring books  and many activities to be done.

From time to time, I keep telling her about schools, teachers and the other kids at school that will be her friends, in this way she is mentally prepared then for what she is going to have when she starts school. I talked a lot about school that recently she was the one asking me when would I be sending her .

Just a bit of experience I wanted to share to all of you.

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Part 5/5: White House Grammar School - Lessons Learned

Previous: Part 4/5: White House Grammar School - "Been there, done that"

Just few months before I left job, I was transferred to the main campus as the owner’s assistant. And in that case I came to know more about the ‘inside’ of the school. WHGS has power. Power in the sense that they attract parents towards their schools like a magnet well hats off to me for taking a great number of admissions while I was the admission officer over there.

After all sales talking is something. Okay coming to the academic side of the main campus, It was all messed up. There were lots of complains from parents in one single day and coincidentally the complains were pretty much genuine. God knows what the sectional heads were up to at that time.

Mismanagement of teachers was very common too because the more teachers were managed well the lesser complains would come. I was the one who had to deal with the parents and the heads used to just tell me what to tell them. There were many times when the parents complain on the phone and they weren’t entertained at all. The parents who personally go to the school and complain, are given preferences over those who did on phone or diaries. Parents were always given assurance that their problem will be solved but frankly speaking nothing was done related to that.

Now the school has seven branches, all the sectional heads removed and all their branches have very good response with good number of students. But the standard of education is nothing extraordinary as compared to other small schools that have opened in every street of Karachi.

The school has become a total commercial and isn’t able to maintain the quality education at all. How would they maintain a quality study when they won’t increase the pay scale for their teachers who are the main pillars of their success?

Enjoy :0)

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Part 4/5: White House Grammar School - "Been there, done that"

Previous: Part 3/5: White House Grammar School - On the Highway

I faced problems with dealing with the teachers as well as most of them were young and inexperienced so a lot of teaching from my side was required but that’s still better than having fussy senior experienced teachers. The teachers were hard working except for few.

It’s every school’s best quality to be able to hide their teachers’ shortcomings as much as possible but there were really some mistakes which can’t be just hidden from parents. But that’s really fine to hide the teachers’ mistakes with the intention of correcting it. Most of the teachers did correct the mistakes and some were just stubborn to do that.

WHGS was just lucky to have hardworking teachers with the pay scale they were offering. I must say that WHGS is not really good in rewarding their teachers’ efforts and good performance. The management do not pay them as much as they should be and of course the pay should match the responsibilities given to them. But the teachers adjusted to such pay since some of them lack in certain areas , like they’re undergrad or not much qualified or don’t speak English.

So here it is WHGS have many senior staff but mostly are in their main campus only but the teachers in the other campuses are not much experienced. At that time we did our best to give quality education to the kids in our junior branch but the main campus situation was very much different.

Next: Part 5/5: White House Grammar School - Lessons Learned

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Part 3/5: White House Grammar School - On the Highway

Previous: Part 2/5: White House Grammar School - The Ground Zero

That’s where my ‘real experience’ happened. WHGS had their second branch just nearby the main campus and I was made the Senior Mistress over there. Junior campus had classes from Montessori to class 2.

I was the Senior Mistress but was also handling a class of Montessori as well as was the coordinator of Pre-Primary. It was tough multi-tasking and eventually the task of being a class teacher was taken from me since I didn’t want to compromise with my quality of work and I found myself having difficulty coping up with quality work while multi-tasking. The management requested that I should remain the coordinator of Pre-primary since they couldn’t just give that responsibility to anyone yet. I give my 101% to my job and enjoyed the “seat” I got.

I was so proud of myself for my achievement. Everyone noticed me since I did some compeering for them too. We( me & Headmistress) divided the responsibilities among ourselves and I was trained by her at the same time. At first, The Headmistress was Ms. Rabeea Ali, I got to learn a lot from her too but she had some short comings as well, probably due to lack of experience. She was really good in some areas, like checking the spelling mistakes, taking care of presentation, she spoke English very well with a good accent, soft spoken and polite and had very good dealings with parents as well as parents.

My responsibilities then was checking of planners, conducting meetings, going for rounds and giving reports to the Headmistress, check students’ copies and diaries and mostly assist her. One fine day she had to leave job due to her marriage and she was replaced by Mrs. Saadia Ambreen. She is a very experienced lady and very much fit for the position. In the beginning she almost did her duty perfectly and of course I got to learn a lot from her since she was very good at training me. Like the previous Headmistress, both of us also had a very good chemistry and we got along very well. She helped me wherever I had to face problem and taught me how to solve them.

What I’ve shared until now are the positive side of my experience. I faced lots of challenges during my stay there and the biggest challenge was to work with the senior teachers of WHGS as their head because it’s just difficult for them to accept the fact that a very much younger lady than them are giving them instructions.

One incident that I cannot forget about WHGS is when I was accused by a senior teacher images (3) of something which I never did and reported me to the owner Mrs. Nuzhat Yazdani. Shockingly no one ever called me to hear my side of the story and instead rumors spread all around WHGS in both the campuses and I heard many things that was said by the owner herself against me.

This really left a bitter corner in my heart for that school. The management shouldn’t have tolerated this and instead should have asked for my side in front of that senior. But no one ever heard my side or at least gave me a chance to say it’s all false! I was already on the verge of quitting school but I didn’t want to do that. Why should I leave when I’m not guilty. So i decided to stay and face those cunning ladies.

I was still their head so, they really had no choice nor did I and we had to face each other daily but I did confront that senior teacher who accused me and I was satisfied after I saw the embarrassed look on her face. And yes I forgot to mentioned that after she reported me to the owner, she was as sweet as honey to me. But that didn’t change anything and I finally let go the matter after I told her I knew what she did behind me.

Skipping road forks!

Next: Part 4/5: White House Grammar School - "Been there, done that"

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Part 2/5: White House Grammar School - The Ground Zero

Previous: Part 1/5: White House Grammar School - Startup

With me, were another two Directress in the class. At that time, WHGS had only one branch and one classroom for Montessori. The students were divided into three age groups; reception, junior, senior with each Directress and all in one classroom. It was a bit challenging adapting to such an environment where three classes had to run in just one room. But eventually the three of us Directress adjusted gracefully to the changes since we developed understanding among each other. My colleagues were Mrs. Rubina and Ms. Raheela. Ms. Raheela joined the school few months before I did and Mrs. Rubina was a senior teacher working in WHGS since 12 yrs.

When I joined, the environment wasn’t up to the mark. In my point of view, a Montessori classroom should SPEAK. When I say speak, I mean that the classroom should have illustrations related to the current topics and each and everything should be labeled including the tables and chairs. The classroom should be well decorated and decoration doesn’t mean hanging ribbons and balloons but should have informative pictures and data in the soft boards or walls.

But all teachers were not to be seen in that classroom then. I started working on my allotted area in the classroom and this inspired my colleagues and in no time the empty classroom became bright and lively. After five to six months, I was promoted as the pre-primary coordinator due to my remarkable performance in a very short period of time. Although the whole Pre-Primary was in just one classroom, everyone could easily identify to which group a student belonged as the kids were a total reflection of their Directress. Those were really one of my most lovely experiences with kids.

Anyway after I became the coordinator, my senior colleague started to have resentment and I thought that it was quite natural since she was very much experienced than I was. Since my day 1 there I always consulted her on many matters related to the class and I did learn a lot from her too. I continued consulting her and asking her regarding any activities or changes that I wanted to make in the class. I felt the change in her behavior then.

That’s human nature and since I’m 100% human too, one fine day we had a hard talk. Well, I don’t want to discuss the negative part of my days there so I’ll just cut it short by saying that we got along eventually as she learn't to accept the fact that I was already senior than he in position and being rebellious won’t do her any good at all since I was further promoted as a Senior Mistress of WHGS’ second branch.

Living!

Next: Part 3/5: White House Grammar School - On the Highway

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Part 1/5: White House Grammar School - Startup

Most of us living in Karachi have heard about White House Grammar School. It has seven branches and the main is in Gulshan-e-Iqbal opposite Patel Hospital. In this post I'll be sharing about my experiences in WHGS and you’ll have an idea about the school too while going through.

Well this is how my journey in WHGS started. I joined the school in 2005 as a Montessori Directress. I was actually heading towards the school who called me for job interview when I saw WHGS’ main campus on my way there, so I thought of dropping my CV there as well since I was in search of a job.

At that time I had no idea about WHGS at all that it is known to be one of the good schools in Gulshan and that they score good mark in Board Exams. The reception office was quite impressive I must admit. I handed my CV to the receptionist and she asked me to fill up their application form. I still remember answering a question which was part of the application that still makes me laugh whenever I think of it. It went like this,

Q. How did you come to know about White House Grammar School?

and my answer was: To be honest, I don’t know anything about your school. I’m actually heading somewhere else when i came across your school so I thought of dropping my resume here.

Anyway after filling up the form, I stood up to leave but the receptionist stopped me and asked me to wait. Soon I was sent to a very ordinary-looking office of the Vice Principal. Th VP then was Mrs. Seema Malik. The interview went well and I was called for a three days class demonstration from the next day and I was appointed right after just the two days demo was completed.

Next: Part 2/5: White House Grammar School - The Ground Zero

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Ideal Pre-school Teacher

I remember very well, when I was a kid I used to imitate my teacher after I reach home and make all my toys sit in a row like students and start acting like my favorite teacher Ms. Lilibeth. 

Since teachers in the Philippines wear uniforms, so I wasn’t really very much interested in her dress. But what I loved was the way she makes up her hair, the hair clip she used and yeah her perfume and I as a child wanted so much to be just like her. But of course these aren’t enough to love your teacher. There must be something really special in her that makes her outstand from the rest of the people around you and that is how she teaches you and what you are learning from her. 

I’ve mentioned Ms. Lilibeth since she was my pre-primary teacher otherwise I had my favorites in every level of my schooling and each one of them were special in their own way. Now, what I want to share here is what I’ve liked and appreciated most from my teachers so whoever will read my post would learn something and be inspired. Who knows you might become the favorite of a little boy/girl in your school. 

Well I would want teachers to be reading this but parents and anyone can benefit from this too since children are around us and it’s very important to be aware of their psychology and know exactly what they want and like. Please don’t get me wrong here, what I’m about to discuss aren’t enough to make a perfect teacher but these are just some important issues which is being neglected by many.

Work on your physical appearance- How you look is the most important here because believe me one of the main reasons kids start loving their school is because of how beautiful their teacher is.

Always wear clean clothes and try not to repeat your dress on consecutive days. Make sure you smell really good because when kids come near you, the first thing they do is check whether you smell good or not and if you don’t, they won’t come near you the next time you call them.


Though everyone washes their face in the morning, make sure you’re looking fresh and lively. Not all washed face look nice. So, you might want to put on some face powder and lipstick.

Don’t wear too much accessories like jewelries. Too much means too big because you will have difficulty handling your students since your earrings would need some handling too. Cute little earrings would look really decent. Wear something in your wrist too like watch or a tiny bracelet. Kids just love to see elders dress up nicely.

Be conscious about personal hygiene- I would mention this point again:

• Wear neat and clean clothes
• Long nails look really nice but make sure they are clean, in my opinion, I don’t recommend teachers of younger kids to have long nails and short nails look more elegant.
• Always wear clean and polished shoes or sandals. N this way, they would learn to keep theirs clean and polished too.

  Neat hair- Always think of a neat hairdo in advance since it’s a tough task thinking of how to make your hair and it might consume so much of your time, so better pre plan about it. You don’t need to do too much with your hair just make sure it’s neatly tied up.

  Speak gently- Although most of my teachers were very soft spoken and I tried my best to be one too but I failed in becoming so. Though I don’t have that soft voice and all, I definitely speak gently with kids. You don’t have to be soft spoken as it is something that comes naturally but you will have to practice to speak gently specially with kids since they are too young and are very sensitive. You may never know unintentionally you hurt their feelings by speaking loud or with high pitched tone and they find it rude so be careful.

Leave all your personal matters at home and meet your students with fresh, lively and high spirits. Bringing your personal problems to school can affect your way of teaching and you can become really boring in class or really rude. Remember you are handling very young kids and they are learning from every step you make and you wouldn’t want them to be rude and boring so ‘be like how you want your students to be.’

Last but not the least ALWAYS KEEP A SMILE ON YOUR FACE. Starting the day by giving smile would bring more smiles back to you.

The above are some points which I think are really important to be an effective teacher because if you lack even a single point from these, there is a child among lots who dislikes you for that one particular point. These are what I have liked in my teachers when I was in school and are what I asked my teachers who worked under me.

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