My name is Bilal El-Mouhammad. I am 37 years old, married, and a father of three. I hold a Bachelor's degree in General Chemistry and a Postgraduate Professional Diploma in Teaching. With over 15 years of teaching experience in both Lebanon and Abu Dhabi, I have had the privilege of contributing to diverse educational environments and fostering student growth across different cultures.
This is a new interview format asking Teachers about how they'll spend their long awaited Summer Vacation after a year filled with hardships and work, in celebration of end of year.
Hello Mr. Bilal, it’s great to have you with us today. I’m sure the school year end is a hectic time for you.
Of course, happy to be part of this.
Let me start with my first question. After all the hard work during the school year, how do you usually spend your breaks?
The summer holiday is very much awaited by everyone—students, parents, and certainly teachers. It's a time of recovery and reflection after a very long academic year. For me, I always travel back home to Lebanon where I can meet my family, have fun with friends, visit some touristic sites in Lebanon, and surely relax as much as I can.
That sounds wonderful. From your experience, are the holidays long enough for teachers to properly relax and recharge?
This is a very interesting question. It's not only about teachers, it's about everyone around the school. We need this time for us to recharge our batteries before coming back to the new academic year where lots of challenges will be awaiting us all. So one extra week of holiday will not hurt anyone, I guess.
Well I hope that extra week is provided! What’s your favorite way to spend your time off?
During summer holiday I try to have as much as I can of family time around my kids and my beloved wife. Being away for 3 months is not an easy task for all of us, so family time is my number one priority in this coming holiday.
I 100% agree family comes before anything. Have you ever done something over a holiday that changed your approach in the classroom?
Well yes, last summer vacation I had a very interesting online workshop on including critical thinking and problem-solving skills into our daily lessons. I think the students really benefited from these new strategies in their studying... Hopefully I can do the same this holiday.
That's cool, like even with 15 years of experince there's always improvement and finding new things to make teaching better. Last question: what’s the most memorable holiday you’ve had?
It was two years ago. That was my first holiday that I had after moving to Abu Dhabi from Lebanon, and I was very excited about coming back home. I had lots of things planned for the holiday back then.
Sounds like an unforgettable moment. Thank you so much for sharing your plans and experiences, it was great hearing from you. Wishing you a restful and enjoyable summer!
Thank you so much. I wish you the same!