About Standardized Testing

As teachers, we employ a variety of assessment to measure the success of our students. Standardized tests have been a very important part of Lebanese Educational System. But we always question if standardized testing is the best way to test a student's knowledge or it is just a way to test their skills!

  

Standardized tests are good tools, but they are not perfect. The trouble comes when instructors teach students how to pass tests rather than teaching the subject. If the student learns the subject, passing the test will come naturally. The best way to test a student's knowledge is to have him produce something with it. It is great to be able to pass a test, but would you hire a networking engineer who couldn't configure a home network? I have actually known people like this. I suspect they have superior memorization and verbal skills, but they have no inclination in their chosen fields. Written tests like standardized tests are necessary, but they are not sufficient.

Controversial Report about the Salaries of Teachers with Master's Degree

Teachers Shouldn't Be Paid More for Having a Master's Degree, New Report Says:

A new report suggests, "Master’s degrees in education bear no relation to student achievement." Thus, they recommend that school districts stop paying teacher's more for having a master's degree (as opposed to just a bachelor's) in order to ride out the current economic crisis.

Many teachers' start to question and complain as they read these words.Teachers (and Education professionals, in general) don't do well with change. So a change like this would be very challenging to implement. 

I believe that a master's degree in education is a big achievement that should be honored. Would you support eliminating the pay differential between teachers based on their educational achievement? I can't wait to see the comments on this issue!

 

How to Motivate and Inspire your Students

Research shows that student motivation improves engagement and grades. If you want your students to be motivated and inspired, you have to:

• Show students that you care about who they are as people and not only as students. Allow time for general conversation about their lives.

• Find out what interests your students have and try to incorporate these interests in the content area you are teaching. 

• Give students opportunities to share their work. Students and all people love to share what they have done.

• Technology is critical. Try to find ways to include technology tools you have access to (internet, video camera...). 

• Students love to socialize. Give students the opportunities to complete work in controlled groups.

Repeat Step One as much as possible. It is so important that students know that you care. Have them share how their day is going or how they did on the last test. Let them know you care!

How to Become an Effective Private Tutor?

A private tutoring session can be very beneficial for a student. However, the tutor needs to know how to deal and connect with his/her private students to keep them always motivated and engaged in learning. 

First, the tutor should build a strong relationship with the student. A student will learn more from an adult whom he respects. So the teacher shouldn't spend the whole time only teaching academics, they should have side talks about interests and concerns so the student won't be bored and demotivated. 

Second, the tutor should be prepared. The teacher should know what he/she will be teaching, what material to give and what the child will need so he/she will be ready to answer all the questions and to go deeply into a topic. 

Third, the tutor should personalize the lesson. Students are tutored because they need to understand difficult material. This demands using many learning styles in your teaching such as kinesthetic (learning through movement), auditory (learning through listening and responding), and tactile (learning through touch), in addition to the multiple intelligence to promote understanding. 

Problems I Faced in My Previous University

Students at the Lebanese University face many problems and difficulties that hinder their graduation. I am a Lebanese University graduate, and I really had hard times while I was studying in one of its branches. I"m going to give few examples; I know that a lot worse stuff happened in other faculties.

The Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences in Zahleh is fully marginalized. I don't really know where to start! When I was there, there was always no electricity due to carelessness and lack of responsibility. I also had friends with special needs and disabilities who used to face a big difficulty in going up stairs to reach the auditoriums.

We had no libraries, there was only one library but it was more like a joke of a library. There were also no computer labs or web-based research tools, I don't even remember that we were asked once to do a research! Our grades were all based on one exam in the whole year which brings students to be at disadvantage. Moreover, many administrators had political affiliations, and students who shared the same affiliations were “special”. However, those who were known to be sharing different affiliations, they were disadvantaged too. 

When we talk about the LU,the question repeats itself: why is there always oppression and prejudice against LU students? is it because they are poor? This shouldn't be happening since this university is the government university and it should reflect its image. 

Needless to say, LU will never be what we all want it to be, unless issues like those are addressed and treated. Unfortunately, so far no such intent is available.

If Lebanon is Such a Great Place, Why are Lebanese People moving to Other Countries?

We always hear people saying, "Lebanon is a good place to visit, but it is not a good place to live." Why is that? Why are Lebanese people moving to other countries? Why is Lebanon losing its youth?

For every cause there is an effect and for every emigrant there is a motive. Lebanese People have their reasons that push them to leave without any kind of retraction. Let's discover together some of the major reasons: 

• Inflation: The prices in Lebanon are very high and people can't afford that; yet no inflation targeting policy is available.
• Unemployment: From personal experiences I've seen friends and family members graduating and sitting at their homes with no work.  
• Electricity: The electricity in Lebanon is unbearable, sometimes it's only on for couple hours a day.
• Connections: I don't think this really needs an example, I am sure we all know someone who takes advantages from relationships with influential people.
• Water: Even with Lebanon being a rich country with water, there are still parts of it where water is a scarcity and people have to suffer to get it.

However, these reasons were just a few out of many. Yes this is the case in Lebanon, and we all dream to have a better country one day!

Are Religious Schools Good or Bad for Society?

Religious schools select students in terms of their parents’ religion, which strongly dig trenches around religious divisions in society, as well as preserving socio-economic inequality. This is bad for social cohesion.

Religious schools are also permitted to select their staff (administration, teachers, workers...) on the basis of their religion, which is unfair on applicants and which also hampers the efficiency of the school as a school. 

Schools should be places where minds are opened and children encounter ideas they may never come across in the home or elsewhere, so the fact that religious schools are permitted to give religious instruction is bad for society. There are some good practice in teaching in religious schools which is very open; but there are also lessons which are, frankly, designed to transmit an uncritical acceptance of one particular worldview.

I believe in the right of every child to grow up with access to a variety of perspectives so he/she can arrive at his/her own conclusions; I also believe that religion should be taught at home and not at schools. I think this is absolutely wrong. What do you think?

Lebanese Teachers' Strike Threatens Official Exams

As teachers’ strike continues in Lebanon, there is a growing fear that official exams will be postponed. The Ministry of Education has not yet officially delayed the test dates, but the minister warned earlier that a postponement will “definitely take place.”

Public school teachers are demanding a pay raise but the cabinet is refusing because of disagreements over how the state will fund the increase. Some private school teachers are also striking for better wages. 

Teachers in Lebanon are deprived from having their rights fully. The wages they get, compared to doctors and engineers for example, are too low as it all goes toward necessities and not luxury. For this reason, I call on all the workers especially teachers as well as their families and other associations to heavily participate in the demonstrations and protests and to always strike for their rights so that they can afford the       living costs. 

Is Homeschooling Beneficial or Detrimental to a Student?

There is a misconception that home-schooled children are socially non-adaptive. But haven't you met kids at public and private schools that don't relate to others? 

I remember kids in my previous public school that weren't friendly or social at all. I believe that with proper education at home, the child can be more social than many other school children. The key to socialization is to make sure the child is involved in activities outside the home like a sports team, an arts group, theater, band... etc. When parents forget that, social isolation can occur. So the big responsibility is the parents'. Some parents do not socialize their children as they should, hence the child is going to always be the home-schooled child that is quiet or withdrawn but you can find that in your public and private schools also! 

It should be done properly with the child who's in need for social interaction so that he/she will flourish, with more self-assurance than many public school students.

Problems of Syrian Refugees Studying in Lebanese Schools

There are thousands of Syrian refugee students who have enrolled in Lebanese schools. An increasing number of refugee students have been searching for schools or programs that provide classes teaching the Syrian curriculum instead. In Lebanon, the subjects are taught in English and French, whereas in Syria, all subjects are taught in Arabic. If they are unable to find programs that teach the Syrian curriculum, many refugee students are dropping out altogether because they are unable to understand the lessons.According to the Lebanese Ministry of Education, schools barely have the resources to accommodate these students and are unable to provide additional classes that teach Syrian curriculum. Also, to prevent refugee students from demanding classes teaching Syrian curriculum, the Lebanese Education Ministry announced that it will not recognize certificates issued by Syrian programs.Although education services are available to refugee students, clearly students cannot benefit from lessons if they don’t understand the language in which they are taught. For this reason, the issue of providing programs that are practical for Syrian refugees must be addressed. 

Blogs

Blogs seem to be interesting and exciting in spite of the difficulties we face when we learn how to work on them. While I was creeping through some blogs, I found really nice ideas that drew my attention. I see blogs as a really wonderful tool that makes family and friends from different parts of the world stay connected by sharing stories, photos, videos and more. People make blogs for different purposes, some make them for business, others use them for educational purposes or just for fun... but whatever the reason is, blogs are really helpful to increase our creativity and to share our opinions and thoughts handily.