Education in MENA

[Jenn! 918]

I wanted to add that you should look into getting a copy of the curriculum in your U.S. school district for the grades which your daughter will be missing. I don't know anything specifically about curriculum in Algeria, but I would imagine that there are significant differences. You will want to make sure that she's keeping up with U.S. requirements, since these will be the expectations of her knowledge when you return to the U.S.

Ideally, you could purchase the texts that her peers back in the U.S. would be using, however that could be quite expensive. There are so many resources on the internet nowadays, and it won't require too much effort to find instructional aides to address the various standards in the U.S. curriculum, even from Algeria.

Would I be able to find this online per chance? Thank you...

I think so. I did a quick search and was able to find the curriculum framework for all grades in Massachusetts: http://www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/current.html

A good place to start would be the department of education website in your state.

[Henia 11]

I wanted to add that you should look into getting a copy of the curriculum in your U.S. school district for the grades which your daughter will be missing. I don't know anything specifically about curriculum in Algeria, but I would imagine that there are significant differences. You will want to make sure that she's keeping up with U.S. requirements, since these will be the expectations of her knowledge when you return to the U.S.

Ideally, you could purchase the texts that her peers back in the U.S. would be using, however that could be quite expensive. There are so many resources on the internet nowadays, and it won't require too much effort to find instructional aides to address the various standards in the U.S. curriculum, even from Algeria.

Would I be able to find this online per chance? Thank you...

I think so. I did a quick search and was able to find the curriculum framework for all grades in Massachusetts: http://www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/current.html

A good place to start would be the department of education website in your state.

Thank you for the link. Very helpful.

[sarah and hicham 3]

I moved to France when I was 11 and went to an international school for 2 years. Most of my classes were in French and the rest were about 6 Americans and English kids in History and Enlgish class, taught in English. It was rough I must say but in the end it was a good experience in that we traveled everywhere in Europe and I learned French. My brother on the other hand had a terrible time with school- he was sent home everyday by the teachers. I don't think we learned much during those 2 years in school, but luckily we turned out ok (educationally).

I don't know about Algeria though and their school system, but I do know that my parents chose our school before we moved there and felt that it was the best one for us.

Edited August 26, 2007 by sarah and hicham

[chaishai 1]

I dont have experience in MENA education and Im not a teacher but here are my two cents.

I think its a great opportunity to be educated in a foreign country, and to learn foreign languages as a child. We have been teaching our almost 5 year old hebrew and he learns spanish in school. We will do the same for our newborn. Even just for me becoming fluent in hebrew due to extended in laws stays etc = its such an opportunity. That said I would think that their might be many things they do not teach in school in algeria that you might want to ensure that she learns, so you could do lots of tutoring with her on weekends etc. There are stores here in the US that sell books, teaching tools etc, so you could see if any of that is available online or have a family member ship materials over?

The other nice thing is if you are muslim or if you want your daughter to be raised muslim she wont be learning conflicting teachings... For example we are sending my son to a private school starting in september and I remember when we went to the open house a couple was asking very pointed questions to make sure that the school didnt teach evolution? seeing as its non-sectatarian I guess they will not be going to that school because it definately teaches evolution.... that sort of thing.

but learning languages and culture (and maybe religion if that is something that you want)- that is an amazing experience for your daughter.

[Carolyn 1]

Henia,

How long do you anticipate your daughter will be in school in Algeria? I am not familiar with the typical timelines for DCF...

Also, what state in the US will you be returning to? I know that California has very detailed curriculum outcomes for each grade level on their state Department of Education website. I'm sure other states do too. Have you thought about contacting her school directly to have the standards sent to you via e-mail?

Best wishes,

Carolyn

Edited August 26, 2007 by Carolyn

[tnh9479 1]

Henia,

I am also a high school teacher. I am not from your home state, however. I do know that EVERY state has their standards online (because I was researching quite a few of them at one time).

Is your daughter coming back at some point in the school year? If so, you might want to make sure she stays current with whatever the grade level standards are in your state. With No Child Left Behind, I am sure your state probably has some sort of test they administer to determine grade level progress. You would want to make sure she keeps up with those expectations.

You could start out by emailing her school and asking for further guidance.

Twila

[Meriem_DZ 37]

I know that a child's brain is like a sponge. They learn faster and absorb more than grown ups. My cousin adopted 2 children from Russia, that did not speak a lick of English. In 3 months those kids conversing with me. I could not believe how fast they learned. Henia I think you daughter will do just fine. Only you know what is best for your family.

ta me go hiontach, I just wanted to say to you, that this has been an ongoing plan for many months. Henia did not just up and move with her daughter as a second thought. Her family is her main priority. My husband and other Algerians I have met are very intelligent and I am sure it is due to the schools they attended in Algeria.

Edited August 26, 2007 by Meriem_setif

[Henia 11]

Carolyn: Unfortunately with the new DCF rules, we really have little information to go on about the total timeframe. Unless, last year when people who filed had their visas in hand within a month. Right now, there is a 6 month residency requirement which we are not clear on if we will fulfilled by September 27 (6 months since I registered as a resident here in the US embassy) The reason we are not not clear is because I am still being "investigated" by the local daira (city hall) to gain residency here. Month by month I have to pay to extent our visas which is tiring and expensive. But from what the Alger US embassy replied to me via e-mail the actual Algérian residency is required. Registering is not enough. Sooo... so much for a quick approval like the ones given out last year. Soooo.... to make this really long story short ... We have planned to just stay here for the whole school year.

Unforunately with my husband being ill ... the construction (which is right now in the air but who gives a fk right now), just getting around to check out the various schools and my complications with my pregnancy before ... I just have not had any energy or time to give to immigration.

Also I came from Michigan. But we were thinking about moving (back) to California where I lived before. We are just not sure if we will be able to move there straight away as my domicile is Michigan.

Twila: That is an excellent idea. I think I will e-mail her old school.

Meriem: Children do have amazing brains don't they? Also I have heard from several people that the education in Algérie is lacking ... buuuut all the children I have met (also adults) they very intelligent and overall have well-rounded educated knowledge about just about anything. And there are so much more choices here (for after primary) which is similar to the educational style of Europe. University prepartory, trade and skill schools. Also schools that teach in Arabe, other others teach in French and Arabe ... while other in just French.

Chaishai: My husband and I (and daughter) are all Muslim. So I have no problem with her learning the Sharia and Fiqh in school. I actually do enjoy that ascept of the schools here. She already attends classes at the masjid (Arabe and religion) ... Where my problem lays is ... the reason I am not sending my daughter to the Saudi King Faud school is that 1. There is a very strict dress code for even little girl my daughter's age (full hijeb) I do not agree with this at all. I see no reason for a little pre-pubescent girls to veil. 2. While they teach English, they do not teach French (which is much much useful for my daughter to learn). 3. The doctrine they teach does not Islamically follow my own.

There is another school, the El Hourouf International School of Algiers but my thinking is with this one is ... I could have her stay in the US and get educated for free ... instead of paying a VERY VERY VERY expensive monthly tuition bill for getting for the same low standard education I would have gotten my daughter somewhere in the ghetto in the US. Why be here and have her gain nothing?

[Heartland 0]

I homeschooled my oldest daughter for years. She entered high school with a higher then avg gpa. I was in the united states when I did this.

I used saxon math, and I loved it. They have a web site also

http://saxonhomeschool.harcourtachieve.com...culture%5Een-US

they have other curriculum also. I loved them.

I took my daughters ages 10 and 12 then to Jordan and I was planning to homeschool. It didnt go well both fought me constantly. They were pretty much brats. They admitt this now. They have appologised to me up and down.

I took the ####### from people who said what gave you the right to take them into another country ect... I looked at it this way.... They are young, this was an adventure how many people get the chance to do this. You NEVER hear from people ANYTHING bad when they say they were missionaries and shelepped their kids all over the world...why because it is acceptiable in many peoples eyes. You will hear such ####### from people, in my case my mom who was two faced about it all. Telling me to go then seeing a lawyer.

Funny thing is... My girls missed very few things when we were there. They missed grass and running around. This summer, I BEGGED them to go outside to get out to swim for godsake. Now my youngest who is now 11 almost 12 told me I wish I was back there and we were a family again. My 13 almost 14 year old said she was sorry for the way she acted. The only thing that seriously is holding anyone of us back is... I have a daughter who is 19, married and with a child. We would miss her so terribly much. We see her almost daily. But it isnt forever...

If My husband is turned down for the dagnabit visa, we will move to whatever country we can so he can support us there, along with sending money to sisters ect...

The reason they did not go to the American School there is... You would have to be almost rich to do it. It cost over 10K. Who has that kind of money per child??? That was insane. As for other schools... we were told that engish is taught there however, it is as a second lanugage kind of thing and it would be pretty much review for them.

[Henia 11]

Heartland:Thanks for the links. Looks good. Can you tell me about how much (PM if you want) this program is and can I get all the materials online? As shipping anything here is out of the question. We would never get it.

Here too, the British and Saudi schools are very expensive $15,000 yearly. And I do not even agree with their teachings.

Edited August 26, 2007 by Henia

[Heartland 0]

To be honest i bought my books off ebay. What you want to look for is ones that have the text book, the teachers manual and the test books. You are given an easy to follow guide with these. I paid anywhere between 10-60.00 for each set. You can order directly only but it is more expensive but the newest edition. There are also homeschool groups where you can buy them also , I will have to look up the info and post later.

I loved Saxon math. The reason is most math they learn and forget about. With Saxon they incorporate with each lesson problems from the previous lessons. Each day they do a basic math sheet to keep it fresh in their minds. The instructions are so easy that I started off teaching my oldest (19 yr old) when she was in 5th grade and by the second half of the school year she was on her own reading and doing the problems on her own. She even wanted to Jump ahead. She was upset when I made her go to highschool and cease homeschooling. My thought was, she needed the normal interactions.

Home is where your family is. It isnt a piece of land, or a house, it is people. You put your mind to it and you can achieve anything!

Wendy

if you want to talk anytime, just send me a message...

Heartland:Thanks for the links. Looks good. Can you tell me about how much (PM if you want) this program is and can I get all the materials online? As shipping anything here is out of the question. We would never get it.

Here too, the British and Saudi schools are very expensive $15,000 yearly. And I do not even agree with their teachings.

[sandinista! 1,816]

I know that a child's brain is like a sponge. They learn faster and absorb more than grown ups. My cousin adopted 2 children from Russia, that did not speak a lick of English. In 3 months those kids conversing with me. I could not believe how fast they learned. Henia I think you daughter will do just fine. Only you know what is best for your family.

ta me go hiontach, I just wanted to say to you, that this has been an ongoing plan for many months. Henia did not just up and move with her daughter as a second thought. Her family is her main priority. My husband and other Algerians I have met are very intelligent and I am sure it is due to the schools they attended in Algeria.

yeah, no worries, "a child's brain is like a sponge." is that a quote from socrates? that totally balances out the supremely selfish behaviour of moving across the world so mom can be with the man she found over there. how is yr husband's or other algerians' experiences relevant here? was he or they forced to attend school in a language they neither spoke nor understood?

[Henia 11]

I know that a child's brain is like a sponge. They learn faster and absorb more than grown ups. My cousin adopted 2 children from Russia, that did not speak a lick of English. In 3 months those kids conversing with me. I could not believe how fast they learned. Henia I think you daughter will do just fine. Only you know what is best for your family.

ta me go hiontach, I just wanted to say to you, that this has been an ongoing plan for many months. Henia did not just up and move with her daughter as a second thought. Her family is her main priority. My husband and other Algerians I have met are very intelligent and I am sure it is due to the schools they attended in Algeria.

yeah, no worries, "a child's brain is like a sponge." is that a quote from socrates? that totally balances out the supremely selfish behaviour of moving across the world so mom can be with the man she found over there. how is yr husband's or other algerians' experiences relevant here? was he or they forced to attend school in a language they neither spoke nor understood?

Kindly please get off my thread before I report you. Your type of comments are not welcome. You do not know me or any of the people who replied to this. For your information, I did not move just "over there so mom could be with her man that she found over there". We have been together for years. There is a whole history there, which is none of your business to judge me on. My husband is the father of my daughter. May the God forgive you for your judgements.

I am getting tired of people coming onto "nice" thread and turning them sour with all this muck.

Please everyone ignore this post and let us get on with the topic at hand.

[Jenn! 918]

Henia,

Here is a link that might be helpful: http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/weblinks/expatriates.htm

[Henia 11]

Henia,

Here is a link that might be helpful: http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/weblinks/expatriates.htm

Thank you Jenn for the link. That seems like exactly what I was looking for. I know I took my daughter to Germany on an assignment years back ... but she was not school-aged then...

Edited August 26, 2007 by Henia