net4education

If I ever had some doubts about the existence of a single most important ingredient in successful education reform, this NYT article might just change my mind. Teaching skills have long been thought of as something rather elusive, much like a secret art. An art that included personality, content knowledge and body language to name just a few components. Well, we might just live to see this mystery clarified, dissected and taxonomised; and much to Ken Knox’s delight, a data driven approach will lead the way.

Relevant to our (for me soon to be “their”) specific situation in the Abu Dhabi PPP Project, Greene’s article is a great springboard to create a new and far more incisive approach to teacher training than ever before.

Dubai has been billing itself as an international tourist destination complete with a 7 star hotel, the tallest building in the world and an indoor ski slope operating in outside temperatures that can go beyond 50 degrees C in the summer.

The facade, however, is razor thin and covers a society governed by tribalism and a murky set of Sharia based laws that should give potential visitors pause. Here is yet another episode for my “cultural sensitivity” folder – or should I file it under “welcome to the 21st century”?

And to answer the question in the title: one month in jail and subsequent deportation.

The National: Appeals court hears the case of the kissing couple