what's happening now as far as I know (I know the govt dictates to govt. schools, but I thought private schools were permitted to make their own decisions in this regard). If parents aren't happy with the timings or calendar, then they should organize and complain, and if enough folks are bothered, the schools will listen.
I send my kid to ASD, which starts and finishes later than most (8-3), and next year classes will start same as they always do, in late August (not in late September, to accommodate a hotter than normal Ramadan, as every other school in town is doing). ASD doesn't shorten the school day for Ramadan or stop serving lunch (fasting students can go to a private room away from those who are eating); life goes on normally.
I can guarantee you that there are ASD parents out there who hate the late start and end times, or who wish the day would be shortened during Ramadan, or who want the longer summer vacation this year. But guess what? The main constituency ASD serves is the American community -- and the current timings and calendar serve that population well. When that changes, you can bet there will be an outcry from parents about the need for something different, and the school will respond.
The traffic and why it takes so long for kids to get bused to school is another issue -- one that points toward the desperate need for better infrastructure in Doha (more and better roads, a subway system, more public buses) to accommodate the city's rapidly growing population.
One thing the government could do that might alleviate this ginormous problem would be to require busing to schools -- get all those private cars off the road and make all schools, public and private, bus ALL the students to and from classes each day. That would easily drop rush hour traffic on the roads by half.
Kudos to you Diamond, because I have to say (as a former teacher of young kids) not many locals here see the merit in having a regular, early bedtime for their young kids. But children truly do function better in school when that happens. Weekends they can stay up late and play with cousins and watch tv until 11, but during the school week it is imperative that they have a routine schedule that their body follows so that they're rested and ready to learn each morning.
Ramadan here is killer for this, so in many ways, it's probably better that most schools here (that serve a preponderance of Muslim students) will be delayed this coming year and not start until after Eid. Teachers would basically have to make up that entire month of work anyway because kids would be coming to school tired, hungry, unfocused and unable to work.
"Most plain girls are virtuous because of the scarcity of opportunity to be otherwise."
-- Maya Angelou
what's happening now as far as I know (I know the govt dictates to govt. schools, but I thought private schools were permitted to make their own decisions in this regard). If parents aren't happy with the timings or calendar, then they should organize and complain, and if enough folks are bothered, the schools will listen.
I send my kid to ASD, which starts and finishes later than most (8-3), and next year classes will start same as they always do, in late August (not in late September, to accommodate a hotter than normal Ramadan, as every other school in town is doing). ASD doesn't shorten the school day for Ramadan or stop serving lunch (fasting students can go to a private room away from those who are eating); life goes on normally.
I can guarantee you that there are ASD parents out there who hate the late start and end times, or who wish the day would be shortened during Ramadan, or who want the longer summer vacation this year. But guess what? The main constituency ASD serves is the American community -- and the current timings and calendar serve that population well. When that changes, you can bet there will be an outcry from parents about the need for something different, and the school will respond.
The traffic and why it takes so long for kids to get bused to school is another issue -- one that points toward the desperate need for better infrastructure in Doha (more and better roads, a subway system, more public buses) to accommodate the city's rapidly growing population.
One thing the government could do that might alleviate this ginormous problem would be to require busing to schools -- get all those private cars off the road and make all schools, public and private, bus ALL the students to and from classes each day. That would easily drop rush hour traffic on the roads by half.
Kudos to you Diamond, because I have to say (as a former teacher of young kids) not many locals here see the merit in having a regular, early bedtime for their young kids. But children truly do function better in school when that happens. Weekends they can stay up late and play with cousins and watch tv until 11, but during the school week it is imperative that they have a routine schedule that their body follows so that they're rested and ready to learn each morning.
Ramadan here is killer for this, so in many ways, it's probably better that most schools here (that serve a preponderance of Muslim students) will be delayed this coming year and not start until after Eid. Teachers would basically have to make up that entire month of work anyway because kids would be coming to school tired, hungry, unfocused and unable to work.
"Most plain girls are virtuous because of the scarcity of opportunity to be otherwise."
-- Maya Angelou