SAJIDA AL BASHIR: A PASSIONATE EDUCATOR SINCE CHILDHOOD

Sajida AL Bashir is originally from Palestine; she was born in Amman Jordan. She is a mother of four amazing children; Rahaf who graduated from Sharjah University last December, Ahmad who is studying in Canada doing his third year in New Brunswick, studying International Business, Amjad who has just started studying at Thomson Rivers University in Canada and Waleed who recently entered year two at Repton school Dubai.

Sajida has been teaching for the last 24 years- one year in Jordan and 23 years in Dubai. Ten of these years have been at Repton Dubai School.

Her passion for teaching was evident since her childhood. Her parents used

to observe her teaching her toys. Sajida now sees the same passion in her own daughter. She has been teaching Islamic Education, Arabic and Social Studies for many years. Sajida considers herself a life-long learner who never stops learning and who is always looking to grow professionally and emotionally. This passion led her to achieve a Master’s degree in education in 2019, graduating from the American University in Dubai.

Sajida has been instrumental in the promotion of cutting edge teaching methodologies in Arabic medium subjects across the United Arab Emirates and even further afield. She recently worked alongside the Teach Middle East team in putting on the largest regional teaching and learning virtual conference on August 25-27, 2020, just before the start of the new academic year. Through her hard work, hundreds of teachers of Arabic, Islamic Studies and Social Studies were able to connect, network and learn virtually, from sessions which were delivered in Arabic by fellow educators from across the region.

Continue reading to learn what fuels Sajida’s passion for education.

What do you enjoy most about being an educator?

I genuinely enjoy every day at school. Seeing my students in class is a blessing. I enjoy teaching them Islamic principles, etiquettes, and Islamic History. I value the different discussions

that occur in class, especially if the topic is a controversial topic that instigates some interesting responses from the students. The quality of my students’ questions, the need to know and learn is a bonus to any teacher. The most enjoyable moment is when I see that I have influenced or changed my students’ lives.

What are some challenges you face in your role as an educator, and how do you overcome them?

Changing the assumptions and stereotypes of students about Islamic education takes a lot of work. The weakness in reciting the holy Quran and understanding of the subject has always been a challenge. Students need to know why Islamic Education is a core subject, not only in schools, but also in their lives. Many students come from different backgrounds, and some families do not practice Islam at home. This is a huge responsibility placed upon our shoulders as educators and Islamic teachers. To overcome these challenges, I work a lot on building a strong relationship with students and parents. Planning my lessons and linking them to reallife situations is always very effective, making sure that lessons are well planned, and opportunities are being created for students to progress during the academic year.

What are your two favourite EdTech tools, and why?

The digital world has opened new doors in all fields – how can education stay away from this advancement?

With the help of technological innovation and advancement, education is not just limited to the traditional chalk and blackboard style of teaching anymore. Teachers have the freedom to introduce interesting mediums of teaching to make learning, engaging and valuable for their students. My all-time favourite EdTech tools are Nearpod, Seppo, Socrative and Classroom screen.

How do you help fellow educators to share good practice with each other?

As an educator, I always believe in sharing good practice. I am working

with Heads of Departments from top schools across Dubai, collaborating as a committee to improve Islamic teaching and learning. We design unified schemes of work and assessments; this gives our students and school managers a chance to explore and standardise the Islamic teaching and learning across the country. I also give workshops on different methods related to the education sector. I have been a speaker in many international and national conferences and panels such as Qudwa Forum, the Finnish Education Expo and many other conferences. I have had the pleasure of travelling to different countries such as Egypt, Jordan and Russia to work closely with educators on raising the profile of teaching core subjects such as; Islamic Studies, Social Studies and Arabic.

What do you do for fun or to unwind after a long day at school?

I love going to the cinema, however with COVID-19, it has become a challenge to go out, but luckily, I still have Netflix. My favourite movies are those based on true stories and historical movies. Reading before going to bed is a great way to finish a busy day.

What is the one thing about you that would surprise your colleagues?

I have two Twitter accounts, one with my real name and the other one as a blogger with 13,000 followers.

What is the best professional advice that you have received, and how has this helped you?

Relationships Matter was the best professional advice I received. It was so impactful that I chose to research the topic further as a part of my master’s degree programme. Another piece of advice I received was to start my lessons from outside the classroom by greeting my students at the door, checking on them, asking them about their day. This creates an opportunity for students to see that you really care.

STAY SAFE & BACK TO SCHOOL

Ajman Academy’s Secondary Principal, Mr Colin Bibby, reflects on the challenges brought about by COVID-19, online learning and the return to school in such difficult circumstances

As a new decade dawned at the start of this year, nobody could have foreseen that “unprecedented” would emerge as the word of 2020. However, as COVID-19 has wreaked havoc across the globe, the challenges have been huge, the decisions taken by international leaders inconsistent, and pandemic progress variable.

Against such a background, yes, schools have suffered. Let’s be open and honest about this, it’s been beyond the experience of us all. And yet in times of strife, new energies often come to the fore, innovation and flexibility become commonplace and human resilience overrides. Such has been the case at Ajman Academy where impressive positivity has shone through from within.

Our move to distance learning was the same “very short notice” shock to us as it was to everyone else. However, blessed with a sophisticated and

robust infrastructure, technologysavvy students, dedicated teachers and understanding parents, Ajman Academy made an impressive success of it all. What we thought might be two or three weeks eased into six or seven and relentlessly on to the whole of term 3. Concurrently, our teachers learned new skills, Microsoft Teams became mainstream lingo, our students missed their peers more than they’d ever appreciated but committed to logging on every morning, and our school leaders did all in their power to run their schools from home laptops. Challenging? Immensely. Impossible? Well, our UAE leaders do not recognise “impossible” and neither did we. Successful? Beyond all reasonable expectations.

“I feel that returning to school is like a small miracle after months of distance learning last year”

Layal, Grade 7, Ajman Academy

Fast-forward to the end of August and to the parental option of students continuing with online learning or to returning to school. Amidst rising numbers of cases globally from the treacherous COVID-19, all were faced with such a difficult choice and school leaders had to consider and plan for all eventualities. Here at Ajman Academy, we committed to endless hours of consultation, reorganisation and sanitisation. From a cleanliness viewpoint our campus simply has to be one of the safest bubbles out there.

With no little trepidation - at teacher and student level alike - reopening date arrived. Exactly 26 weeks = 6 months = half a calendar year had elapsed since we last had students onsite. It felt almost like opening up from new all over again. And yes, in came AJAC students in such pleasing numbers. Relieved and reassured that all is safe and well onsite; that friends and peers have also chosen to return; that teachers were so very pleased to welcome them back. It’s been a joy to behold as the empty campus has been transformed by those who matter most to us all: our young people.

Layal, Grade 7, Ajman Academy

“From the first day I have felt safe in school. I understand the need to be back and it’s been so much fun meeting up with my friends again.”

Adam, Grade 9, Ajman Academy

Of course it’s different: masks and social distancing are needed, desks are set apart and repeated hand washing indispensable. Yet, underneath it all, it’s reassuringly the same: bells, teachers, lessons, classmates, homework. The same - but in a much more reflective way as we all had come to learn and value a new lesson: that school life brings so much to us all and, boy, how we have missed it.

If you don’t know what I mean, then come on in to Ajman Academy to see for yourself how we are enjoying making all of this work and benefitting so much from being back together.

Oh, but let’s also not forget that COVID-19 is still very much with us.

#StaySafe&Back2School

“Unprecedented” times, indeed…