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We had a great time visiting a primary school in a village near Luxor, on the west bank of the Nile River near the entrance to the Valley of the Kings. The children sang songs and made presentations, and the teachers told us about their work. This is a public school for grades K through 8; no tuition required, just money for books and uniforms. Students start learning both Arabic and English writing in the first grade. One teacher in particular was especially engaging and spoke excellent English, which she told us she had learned on her own while teaching, not in the teachers training college from which she had graduated.
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| Entrance area to the school. The principal and many teachers and students met our group right here to start the visit. |
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| Janet with a group of students at the start of our visit. |
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| THis little girl sang songs in both English and Arabic, and generally welcomed our whole group. She was darling! |
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| BACK TO SCHOOL FOR THE US TEACHER!!!! |
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| The most-articulate teacher, charming in every way. President Mubarak sees all from his post above, even at age 82 (he is expected to be re-elected with 99% of the vote again next year). |
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| Another charming (and lovely) teacher showing off what some of her students have learned.... |
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| Another classroom, typical of those we saw throughout the school. Kids all around the world are cute and interested in visitors from foreign lands. |
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| The school yard. We think this gentleman was the janitor/grounds keeper, but he scurried away without any conversation. |
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| What could be more important in an Egyptian primary school than teaching exactly how to wash up before praying to Mecca five times each day? |
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