A Day In the Life...

I have recieved quite a few emails from friends and colleagues back in the states asking about what a normal day in the RT school is like for me as a teacher. Is it the same as a school here in the states? The answer is yes it is. There are two dynamics at work in my professional life right now. One is that I am the new guy. The other is that I am the PE teacher. You put these two together and people feel the need to ask you to help out with everything. Soccer, swimming, basketball, track and field, baseball and loads of other little things I can't even remember. In the end I am a pleaser and I say yes to everything. So as of right now I am the Division 4 Soccer coordinator and coach of Jack's team. I am the elementary basketball club "coach". I am the coaching coordinator for the Ras Tanura Swim Club. I am am assisitant coach for the RT School Track and Field Team and I have just taken on the job of organizing the pee-wee baseball league to be started this April. Yes, I am nuts. That being said I am enjoying it. My days fly by and my weekends seem slow. That's a good thing right? So to give you a taste here is my schedule from two days ago:



6:30am - Up in and the shower

6:50am - Looking like Brad Pitt I hop on the motor bike and head off to school.

6:52am - I arrive at school now looking more like Kramer. (my commute used to be 1 hour - now it is just over one minute).

7:00am - Arrive at my classroom and listen to KYW news radio on my computer while I eat a cup of oatmeal and drink coffee number one. I use this time to check my emails from both school and home. Once I am thoroughly depressed by the news I usually switch on Radio Margaritaville for the rest of the day.

7:30 - This next hour is my prep period. Most of my prep period is spent planning for my elementary PE classes as well as an 8th grade advisory class that I teach called Oasis.

8:30 - Off to second period. I get to go to Sarah's class to co-teach language arts with her teacher. I am more of a wrap around in this class as there are two or three students who need constant attention. Needless to say I love it. Being able to watch Sarah in action is fantastic. She is a great student (and I get a little kiss before I leave her each day).

9:15 - Third period is only 25 minutes long. This is called Oasis. This is when I meet with a group of 8th graders to act as there advisor. I really enjoy this. These kids are in the process of picking boarding schools. This gives us a lot to talk about. We also do a service learning project which is really interesting to watch unfold. My crew are working with a group called "Nothing But Nets". I would ask you all to check out the link. This is a great charity.

9:45 - Time for the middle school teachers to get together to have some coffee and talk. I bet you can guess what we talk about.

10:00 - Time for my Transition class. This is what they hired me to do. This period is 9th grade. Four students come to me for help with homework, projects, organization etc. I call it assisited study. They hope to morph this into a class with a little more depth next year. For now it is what it is.

10:50 - The best class of the day. The best class of the week. The best class I have ever taught - period!! Kindergarten PE!! I am a god. I am a superstar. I am their favorite teacher. Little kids live for PE. I can do no wrong. I work hard preping for this class. But it is so worth it. I have taught middle school or high school for my entire career. Any teacher at that level will tell you that motivaiton is the hardest part of the job. Not here. These kids do what ever I ask them usually with a cheer. I get to run around and sing and dance and lots of other fun stuff - and I am getting paid to do it. I LOVE KG PE CLASS!!

11:30 - Everyone that works for Aramco has the option of going home for lunch. It is one of the things I really love about my job. I get to leave the building and go home to sit down with the whole family for lunch. I get to see Marie and Anna. Usually Jack and Sarah take the bus home and I drive the bike. We all go back to school in the truck together.

12:30 - This class varies. I am either teaching Jack's class PE or Sarah's class PE. Fun. Having your own kids in your class is something that really doesn't happen in the states. I am blessed. It is so cool I can't even explain it.

1:15 - My second transition class. This 8 eighth graders. Basically the same thing as second period except these kids give me run for my money. Not my favorite class.

2:05 - Last period is 8/9 grade mixed PE. I co-teach this with the other PE teacher. I really feel like I have been student teaching in this class all year. I kind of sit back and let the other guy do his thing. He has been doing this for 12 years here and knows what he is doing. I am kind of like his Sancho Panza.

3:00 - School ends. Up until last week I had elementary basketball from 3:00 to 3:45 but that is over. Now I am free until 3:45. At that point it is off to track and field.

3:45 - Track and field practice. This is the middle school team. 6th through 9th grade. I am really enjoying this. I used to coach track when I was teaching at Father Judge and doing this has brought back a lot of good memories.

5:00 - Track goes until 5 and then it is off to Jack's soccer practice. I am the head coach of his team but since I took on track I had to delegate a bit. Now I am able to show up for the last 20 minutes or so. Coaching soccer is fun.

5:20 - Hop back on the bike and off to the swimming pool. As the coaching coordinator I am in charge of making sure all the coaches are working smoothly togehter. This is serious business here. Of all my extracurricular activities this has casused me the most anxiety. However after a lot of hard work things are starting to move in the right direction.

5:30 - Back to the house to go for a run. This is one of my favorite parts of my day. I have devised my own 5K course. I start by running north up the gulf until I reach the communities north end. At this point I head out into the desert. This is usually around sunset. Sunset in the desert is something altogether different then back in PA. The colors in the sky are beautiful. And as I hit the far northern end of the Aramco complex and turn east toward the gulf I am treated to a gentle breeze and a fantasitic view. The water is a turquiose and clear. Once I hit the beach I turn south and run the length of the community along the beach path. Once I make it down to the Surf House I usually run into Saudis who have come to enjoy the beach at sunset. There is something surreal about running through groups of Saudis in their thobes and abbia's while listening to Buffett's "It's Five O'clock Somewhere".

I am usually home, showered and sitting at the dinner table by 6:30. My doting wife taking good care of me. We often laugh about Marie's role as housewife that she now enjoy's. It is not something she is used to after years of working. Frank Sinatra sang a song written by Burt Bacharach called "Wives and Lovers". I like to sing this to her when I come home. Check out the lyrics and you will see why.

So there you have it. A day in the life of a teacher of everything. I am certified in elementary, secondary and special education and this place is using them all and then some. Life is good. There is a big track meet this weekend. Soccer ends next week. Swimming is starting to take care of itself and baseball is right around the corner. Before I know it it will be summer. Excellent.