A burden to expat parents

Hey mates don't pick on Aussie history. Our drinking record alone is second to none and the aboos drink their fair share as well. Good on em.

@ Phoesnox

No offence taken at all....we r just having a discussion and a healthy one at that....and I believe I share the same feelings u have towards Qatar and the community even what u said about being "selective"....In general I can quote Al Pacino when I say "I'm a fan of Man" I like all cultured and all religion, I simply like all ppl worth liking and believe there's something worth learning in every society, but my point has nothing to do with Qatar per se.

Where I disagree with u on is that ppl in general underestimate the importance or learning about culture and r rapidly gettin more detached from one another....that's happening everywhere on earth, and it's getting worse by the day. All this does is it puts up a barrier between ppl and makes it easier for them to sleep at night after they’re done killing each other over a diamond or oil or power or whatever. Ppl r made to believe that they r not one species and that they cannot co-exist.

To assume that math is more important than heritage is false "to me" and I think Qatar is doing the students a big favor by trying to make them more assimilated, aware and engaged by the society they live in. I'm not saying Qatar's history is important....I'm saying if u live in (___________)"FILL IN THE BLANK WITH ANY COUNTRY NAME" it's EXTREMELY vital that u learn about it's heritage and culture of ur surroundings. This is not about Qatar to me, this is something any human living anywhere should do, at the expense of whatever subject they have to sacrifice because its for the good of humanity which is being underplayed now a days by some things that r far less superior.

I hope I have made my point clearer.

@ Nomerci

"And of course anything that is done in Qatar is done for the benefit of Qataris, that is pretty obvious I would say"

I think I and any sane person would require a little thing called a "Proof" before we could accept such a silly statement to be a fact....One can say it all day long, doesn't make it a fact and that doesn't mmake it anymore than ur personal opinion.

Having said that I think u have the right to whatever opinion u make....I'm just pointing out that it's not a fact and cannot be proven to be one.

Please don't ever take anything I say as being against Qataris as a group. All of the Qataris I know I have the greatest respect for (although I admit it is a limited cohort). I hope I never disrespect anyone for their ethnicity or other accident of nature, none of us chose where we are born. For the record, I love being here, love the country, love the people of all creeds, religions and birthrights that I come across. I think Qatar is making great strides, long way to go, lots to learn yes but hey, it took many countries many centuries to deal with the issues that Qatar is trying to deal with in a few short years

But it doesn't do any harm to take the p155 when someone does something a bit silly like forcing all students to learn Qatar history at the expense of other subjects. ESPECIALLY when Qatar is so short of good, qualified teachers who could make a difference.

super cool, what on earth are you on about??? All I said is that this history thing in schools is done for Qataris...nothing more nothing less. I did not judge it. In fact, I don't even care.

And of course anything that is done in Qatar is done for the benefit of Qataris, that is pretty obvious I would say.

And I am not judging here either...I again do not care.

I have a good life and that is what counts for me.:)

Just like it's always easy to assume the worst about those u don't know, right?

Listen, we can't make u or Anyone else like us, but the fact is whether u hate us or not doesn't matter to us cuz it's not a factor in our plan. We r still doing incredibly well in terms of finances, safety, education, citizens' satisfaction among many other areas of life....enough to make u want to be among us in this tiny nation in the middle of the dessert rather than back home where u consider things JUST PERFECT!!!! and enough to keep u here still....and that tells me WE R DOING FINE and we got nothing to worry about....I mean after all we convinced some expats who happen to come from “perfect” places to come here ;-)

In any case, if I'm smart enough to make a million at age 10, something tells me I'll be able to take care of myself as an adult as well....Having done what it has thus far, Qatar doesn't have to show a lot to prove it's doin well and that it's on the right path to have a very bright future ahead of it. One can whine and bicker about today all he wants, it doesn’t change what’s morphing in front of us….just hold ur breath and let the pebbles fall wherever they may.

Having said that, regardless of who doesn’t like it, and regardless of how many ppl trying to point out imperfections as if they descended from planet “Heaven-on-Earth” this is the path we r walking and we r walking it tall. Those who appreciate the ride may tag along but it's purely optional.

It's up to you, Super Cool. If they have to "estimate" the numbers it means that Qatar is not giving the numbers, or that they don't even bother to have proper statistics. It's always good to hide the truth!!

@ Spock

1) The website u listed has very outdated information in several fields, and that's not the first time it does that, and not the only country it's doing it with.

2) The website has estimated the numbers in many cases and based on what u used to be like 7 or 8 yrs ago, which anyone living in Qatar right now would tell is like a life time ago considering the current progression.

3) In the past 7 years Qatar has opened about 10+ new universities, all internationally recognized, through partnership with some of the best universities in the world.

4) MORE IMPORTANTLY Qatar Science and Technology Park continues to sign contracts for educational advancements and research in what mounts up to TENS OF BILLIONS PER YEAR and I know that cuz I happen to be involved with some of the contracts.

5) Lastly MOST of the education field is considered as a private sector falling under corporation rules, thus not considered government expenditure per se altho it's funded by the government indirectly.

Amigo, I'm sorry to say the information given is DEAD WRONG....If it wasn't for the fact that I see the numbers on my desk I might have believed it, but not this time....Qatar has not purchased weapons/planes for personal use in over 10 yrs, and the last ones purchased were extremely old....so the 10% is too optimistic to say the least and prolly just trying to paint a picture like "Oh Arabs r dangerous, they r always buying weapons".

Aha. You classify people by skin colour. I see. I will say no more.

You know exactly that I meant the white and yellow Australians. Of course, the original Australians are the Aborigines, but they wouldn't call themselves "Australians".

Seems you already know how latter generations of (largely European) Australians treated the Kooris and other indigenous Australians.

Your inference that Australian aboriginal people are not Australians is of concern though. Where does this assumption come from?

It is by learning about such things that we can hope to avoid the mistakes of the past. Score another big tick for teaching history!

It's good that Australian history is not taught outside Australia. Otherwise the world would get to know how ugly the Australians treated the Aborigines!

What on earth does that word (acutally)mean and what are you on about? Do you have any idea of Australian history? We are still learning ourselves. Did you know in the past decade alone there have been credible theories that Australia has the oldest human fossils in the world? That the Kooris had settlements and established agriculture?

I would not expect you to. Nor would I expect that Australian history would be taught to anyone outside Australia except perhaps to our major trading partners on whom we have had some small impact (very little by the way in terms of art, culture, etc... and certainly not by way of killing people).

Super Cool, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/qa.html

As you can see, Qatar ranks second after Oman. And if you research more, you will find that the first ten places are occupied by Arab Gulf States. Funny, isn't it?

@ Nomerci

I didn’t know u were a mind reader as to identify for a FACT that it’s done for our benefit!!!! And I didn’t know Qatar was so unfair to all those expats who continue to pour into Qatar, it must be a good living or at least worth the hassle or u won’t see so many expats around would u??? We like u guys and we do want u here, but we also don’t force anyone to come. It was ur choice.

Btw this is an Indian school, u should prolly call it an "Eastern" School :-P

Oh, one more thing, Qatari kids r not goin to these schools for free, either the parents pay, or a sponsor pays, or work pays....Somebody ends up paying for it....so if anyone was benefitting from Qatari kids attending what u call western schools, it's the schools themselves, who pile on wads of cash per student.

I still dunno how a sane parent can willfully choose to shelter their kids from other cultures especially one they live in.....sounds kindda like saying "I wanna live in Qatar, save some money, get the hell out and hope to God none of their awful culture rubs off on my kid"!!!!

What is Aussies HISTORY (bu ha ha ha ), and how parents gonna teach this to their children....

(YOU KNOW WHAT IS AUSTRALIAN HISTORY, or do I have to say loudly....)

@ Spock

Since when does Qatar have a military worth mentioning to have military expenses????????

If u dont mind I'd like to know the source of the numbers ur laying on here cuz I truly question their validity....in this case and altho I dont work in the education field per se, I do serve on a committee that monitors and plans for educational projects/expenses, so I do know for a FACT that education takes the 2nd largest cut out of the annual budget, directly after infrastructure.

Sorry, but if we r gonna talk "numbers" then we need sources.

where is LP :(

LP??

I am fairly sure this is NOT implemented because of the expats. Think about it...when ever was ANYTHING implemented for expats ? What ever IS implemented is for Qataris to profit from.

See, more and more Qatari parents send their kids to "Western" schools here in Qatar. Therefore these schools need to be able to teach these Qatari children about the history etc. of their country. As simple as that.

And now tell me, how do you think Qatar will get history experts over here? They will cost a lot, and education gets a budget which is only 30% of that for military expenses in this state!! You can easily see where the preferences really are.

Yes, history should be taught in a context. So, when I teach about the 16th century in Europe I should also point out that in South America there were equalling cultures as well as in China and Japan, and elsewhere. But that is hardly the case in schools, because the teachers are mostly too dumb!

A "selected" history is still a part of real history....it's not like they're gonna learn fake history....and certainly better than no history at all

And YES I DO hope that they teach the history of every culture, but i dont think 12 grades are enough nor do I think school children have the mental ability to grasp it all...they wont have to deal with every culture ther is "for the time being" but unless isolated from the society they will have to deal with the culture they currently live in today....better to be prepared for their surroundings, right?

It's going to be a "selected" history, for sure. And that's more than suspicious.

I basically agree with you, Super Cool. I am all for learning ALL the history of EVERY culture! Is that what they are planning to offer in Qatar? I doubt it, and that's why I am sceptical.

"Separated by what?"

Separated by politics....i.e. Fake patriotism boasting fictional borders that don't exist in nature created only to control mankind and simple minded ppl even though we r supposed to be ONE species.

@ Spock

It IS a choice...U see when I went to college my university required that I only learn the county's history to graduate, but when I later transferred to another university I had to learn about the history of the state the university was in as well....was that mandatory?? Nope cuz I chose to go to that university so I bared the consequences....likewise the parents of these children chose a particular school that has a pre-requisite which is to learn more about the country they live in...They don't HAVE TO go to that school.

Besides....There r things in life that should not be optional for the good of mankind....like "Vaccination" for example...God forbid that ur children should learn a thing or two about a place they live in!!! No, it's better to stay in the dark, disconnected from the society they live in and keep the communication gap going strong!!!!

And,

"we r after all one species, one kind, only separated by politics...NOTHING ELSE."

Separated by what?

Super Cool, "One doesn't need a citizenship to want to know about other cultures." That's right. But it should not be made mandatory. It should be a choice.

@ Phoesnox

I believe one doesn't need a citizenship to want to know about other cultures...I care enough about mankind to want to know about other cultures simple as that….It's the curiosity of human nature that bounds ppl together, that’s why cities exist in the first place...I mean even on a smaller scale, there has to be a town or even a tiny village that brings ppl together and it's extremely rare to find someone who chooses to live in solitude voluntarily.

Once together, they become a community and what makes it as such is their ability to "Communicate"...with a communication gap the community suffers. In this case since the gap is rooted in culture it goes to reason that u can only bridge the gap by immersing in culture and learning more about the community and its heritage....If someone chooses to not communicate then only he will suffer....I'm just saying any expat can have a "better" life in Qatar than he/she is having right now by being able to communicate better with the locals am I right? The more u know about ppl around the better u communicate with them and the happier u’ll be.

And to answer ur question....I don't think it will help the parents "much" but I think it's a good investment in future generations who in turn will pass it on to their kids....Sorry for the long reply.

@ Spock

One doesn't need a citizenship to want to know about other cultures....It's called human nature....Those who only identify with one culture and ignore the rest tend to be overly ignorant of mankind and have a severe communication deficiency....we r after all one species, one kind, only separated by politics...NOTHING ELSE.

People who want citizenship? Who wants, no, who of the expats GETS citizenship? Why would anybody need to know about the internals of the Qatari society if he will NEVER become a member of it?

This is a very good point. There should be cultural awareness training for anyone who comes to Qatar, I would have no argument with that at all.

In fact many countries (including the UK and Australia) now insist for people who want citizenship that they undertake such training. Of course citizenship, in fact any sort of life here after your usefulness is over, is not possible so how to entice people to be empathetic to the indigenous customs and history?

Are you suggesting that the best way to educate the parents is to educate the children?

If it weren't for the fact that a lot of expats continue to commit cultural taboos, this mandate would not be needed in the first place!!!!

This measure is an ANSWER to an otherwise on-going problem...ppl live here for a decade or more at times only to leave exactly the way they came having not gained a dang thing from what's supposed to be a new experience....kindda sad and a 'lil arrogant if u ask me

If ppl knew just a tad more about where u live, they'll be able to co-exist better...but who needs peace right, just drop that book and let ppl continue fighting

*Sigh*

How do you fill 3 months of teaching with Qatar history? I guess there are many subjects you are not allowed to even touch. That must get the official history you are allowed to teach down too cosy 30 mins.

Yes that is so.

Qatar history should be taught once a week to grades 1-12! Thats 1 hour a week for 12 years!!!!!!

That's 3 months solid of school time over a child's academic school career.

Knowledge of any kind always have some importance!

But no doubt, the book's price is a burden to parents as we used to buy our kids' complete set of books almost in this amount.

No...It covers the topic of Qatar foundation, Shafaallah organization, children with special need, human rights, human trafficking, women and children rights etc.

Some schools have seen this for the idiocy that it is and have extended the school day by 45 minutes in order that the subject that was ditched may be reinstated - still no curriculum out of the SEC - my kid learnt about the usefulness of camels yesterday!!!

Surely the history curriculum would be "Before 1947, Pearl fishing and goat/camel herding............and thats it"

The SEC is known for publishing rules and guidelines and for abolishing the same in the following year again. See: English instructions for science. Once again, they are back to Arabic now. Lack of qualified instructors is the reason. Ahem. Their logic is stunning.

Qatar History has been started in various schools as a compulsory subject since the beginning of current academic session for grade 5 to 12.

History is the fastest developing science as yesterday is history today without any specific contribution for the cause.

My children are not taking Qatar history, nor Arabic. I thought these two were mandatory.

Education will be available ONLY for high Elite Group of people

nothing just loot any near by oil based country ha,ha

Dont worry everybody will get their share in the Hi_story books of Qatar depending on our country's contribution in destruction and re-construction of the Qatar

That's the one Brit ;)

I know that ..

You don't drink coffee, you take tea my dear

You like your toast done on one side

And I can hear it in your accent when you talk

Yep! You're an Englishman in Qat-aar!

I do love a good root Brit. We Aussies are famous for our overseas rooting after some QDC loveliness.

Oh oh... I'm an alien... I'm a legal alien... I'm an Englishman in Qatar

you mean routing to Bahrain and Dubai during weekends :D

Don't forget Rooting :O)

Aussie Culture : Drinking Beer

Cuisine : BBQ

Evening Culture: Drinking Beer

School Culture: Sports

We don't have culture, we have kulcha.

and Australian culture ? Oink

Cultural Symbol : LandCrusier

Cultural Tradition : Sheesha and Harrods

Good they are copying Dubai in slow pace,

saved the crash of real esate market in Qatar and WON 2020 Football World Cup

ok, since when its going to be mandatory and from which grades? I mean they could have different books in each grade and optional subject in higher grades.

No problem. Qatar's history: 5 000 BC, occupied by a Dilmun culture, probably from Bahrain. Fishery. Later, Ottoman rule - not properly implemented -. Fishery and pearl diving. Quarrels with Bahrain. Later, battle at Wajba and consecutive replacement of Ottoman with British. 1972, so-called Independence. After that, copying Dubai.

Is Qatar History mandatory ONLY on Indian schools?

I pay QR 1,500 for books just to use and return by end of the year :(

i believe Qatar history is mandatory in all schools, it is being taught at Lagoon School (Newton)

I thought Romeo and Juliet was an English play written about two Italian families? I am not sure how they could be woven into Qatari history... unless we asked Spock to write the history book. He could just rewrite Romeo and Juliet to be set in Qatar. There is quite a lot of killing in it too so.... yeah... that would work.

Qatar history is important but of course it is a tool to justify those in power!

Here is a proper definition of "history":

-An account mostly false, of events mostly unimportant, which are brought about by rulers mostly knaves, and soldiers mostly fools.-

Do you want your children to learn that crap?

if I had studied Qatar history I would have been able to answer my own question.

I mean Spock, did I forget to include "killing people", so sorry, meant to say (arts, language, politics, culture, inventions, and "killing people").

Does that mean that there are some other countries that should have been on the list?

i am not sure that this strengthens my argument for teaching Qatari history. Has Qatar been particularly good at "killing people"?

I think teaching history of Qatar is a great idea. A little extra knowledge gained is a good thing. I also believe that it would be better for the government to subsidize the cost of the books..

spock LMAO !

History is extremely important. If we study the history of countries that have achieved great things we can learn from that history and hopefully the mistakes of the past. If you look at countries that have made a significant impact on the world (arts, language, politics, culture, and inventions) countries such as India, China, the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Iran and Iraq you can see why I think that teaching the history of Qatar to our kids at school for 12 years is SO important.

Show me the history book that teaches how to make love, and I will read it!

History are the recorded crimes of the human race. Why would anybody want to know why their forefathers were criminals?

Even in Australia I did not get 12 years of Australian history at school. What a shonky education system I had to put up with. I had to put up with only a few years of history of my country so I had time to learn tedious things like history of other countries, social studies, geography, maths, and languages.

google is there for learning all history

Sadly, in my education I was not taught history of Qatar :(

It is my dearest wish that I had such an opportunity and did not have to learn about other things.

History of Qatar is very important. Why else would Supreme Council mandate that kids in years 1 to 12 buy the text books and learn about this?

Surely you are not suggesting that there is something else that my kids could invest their time in?

Trying to be sarcastic?

Math silly subject? Qatar got History?

MODS QDCLover's irrelevant comment to the topic :)

More of a burden is the Pakistani guy making racist generalisations and blaming the west for all the problems in his country. I would suggest to him immorality in the French President not being married is small beans compared to a young girl being shot in Pakistan for promoting girls education.