Dana Shuhaibar | Welcome To My World

The Working World

2007 was the first year I joined the workforce as a responsible adult, an experience ripe with anxiety of course. I was an on-call substitute in one school, and applied for full-time work at two other schools. Meanwhile I continued subbing at KG Land for three months every day, waiting for the opportunity to teach full-time. I had two interviews and chose the offer that best suited me, which was at a very good school.One of the top 3 schools in Kuwait. I could not wait to start working there.

Come September 2007, I was a homeroom teacher. I had my very own class and a curriculum I had to teach from. I remember how afraid I was and how overwhelming everything seemed, but I loved every minute of it. Getting to know my class, their parents and working in a team of six was a wonderful experience. By the fifth month, I had formed my long-term goal which I intended to achieve after completing ten years teaching in a classroom. That goal was to become a principal one day in a private school. I didn’t see myself being in a classroom for the rest of my life. I just got that feeling right then and there. There aren’t a lot of Kuwaiti’s working at private schools, let alone any principals or assistant principals. I wanted to break that trend, and be the first Kuwaiti female to take on the challenge.

I had to have a plan in order to reach my goal by the tenth year of teaching, so I visualized it and drew it out. I knew that to be an assistant principal or principal one needed their masters and a principal certificate. After researching and locating the programs I needed to enroll in, I decided to begin my masters while teaching. The school I was working in at the time offered a Master’s program, so I enrolled and graduated with an MS in Interdisciplinary Studies and Educational Leadership Certification, Buffalo State SUNY in June of 2011. I was so sure of what I wanted, that all the obstacles and struggles it took to get there felt like mere necessity. I was also building a family at the same time, and felt equally dedicated to it.

I gave birth to my daughter, and only two weeks later attended class in order to graduate with the same class I began my Masters program with. Yes, it wasn’t easy at all. Having sleepless nights, new mother and trying to recover after giving birth did NOT stop me and still went to class. It was a 2-year program and I attended classes after working hours. In 2011, I received my masters and graduated. Now all that was left was my principal certificate.

I asked around and heard about The Principal Training Center (PTC) and The Ontario Principals Council (OPC). I compared the two and chose the most feasible option. However, I put my principal training on hold for a while to focus on my children, whom I gave birth to in 2010 and 2012. Still, nothing was going to stop me from continuing along my path.

So meanwhile, I decided to save money in order to complete my principal training in two summers. I chose to do the training through the PTC in Miami. From 2012 to 2016 I saved up exactly the amount I needed. During that time I was also team leader for third grade for two years, accumulating leadership experience to help pave the way for my principal training.

The Beginning

For as long as I can remember, I have always wanted to be a teacher. As a child, it seemed as though I constantly held a red pen/crayon in my hand, placing check marks and X’s everywhere. When I had friends over, I always seemed to convince them to play school, and I was always the teacher. I don’t remember ever having an interest in the business world, or anything corporate. All I knew for sure is that I wanted to be a teacher, and that it came naturally to me.

I went to school and graduated with a major in Education. I graduated with honors, and solidified a teaching certificate as well, completing four years successfully.

It wasn’t always a smooth road however; I remember that during my student teaching stint, I had an overwhelming urge to quit and drop out of college entirely. My supervisor insisted on me completing my student teaching for three months in a government school, and it was grueling for me because I had been in private schools growing up and found public education to be a completely different world. My goodness what a difference it was.

When I found that there was no way out of the situation, I didn’t give up. Instead, I went daily for three months without skipping a moment, and completed the three months which felt like three years. But I was done. I knew that I would never fit into a government school. It simply wasn’t a space I belonged in. But I didn’t allow that to deter me from pursuing my education dream.

Kudos

I have to say, blogging isn’t my modus operandi, nor is writing a hobby or passion that comes naturally to me. Writing about the most vulnerable and intimate experiences of my life, and sharing them with the world, is definitely not something I would call a joy ride, because it’s not the way I’m assembled. I’m a doer. I get an idea of what I want to create, and I go ahead and get it done without a lot of fan fair. But this is where I’m blessed; I have loved ones who cheer me on without me even having to ask. My husband and one of my closest friends both yanked me out of my head and pushed me to write about what it means to be one of the first Kuwaiti women to pave this road in education. What it took. How it feels. Without them, this whole website wouldn’t exist. Also, the Director of PTC Bambi Betts, was the third person to mention to me that she believes others would benefit from reading about the journey of a woman who pursued an uncommon path and dream in the Middle East. So here I am, listening to the support system whom without, I would not be the same person. I want to say thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for all the love. I appreciate you endlessly.

Get to know me!

Myself in a nutshell. Born and raised in Kuwait. I received my high school and bachelor degrees from academic institutions in Kuwait. Married with two children. My passion while growing up was always to be a teacher. As my aspirations grew, I set my goal towards becoming assistant principal and, ultimately, principal, which I have partially accomplished thus far. Growing up in Kuwait as a minority was not easy. I am ensuring that any negativity I endured as a child is not repeated in school with other students. I take the responsibility of shaping future generations very seriously in mind, body and spirit.

Name : Dana Shuhaibar

Birthday: October 5th

Nationality: Kuwaiti, Middle East

Experience in teaching: 10 years

Experience in Assistant Principal: 3 years and going

Schools I taught in: Bayan Bilingual School for seven years (BBS.) I taught Grade 3 for five years and Grade 4 for two years. I moved with my daughter when she entered KG1 to American International School of Kuwait (AISK). I taught there for three years in Grade 3 and was the Team Leader for two years before becoming Assistant Principal.

Education:

M.S., Interdisciplinary Studies and Educational Leadership Certification, Buffalo State SUNY – June 2011
B.A, English Education with a teaching certificate, Gulf University of Science & Technology – December 2006
HS Diploma, American International School of Kuwait- June 2001

Credentials

Principal Training Center-enrolled 2016 (2 courses completed)
Principal Training Center-enrolled 2017 (Graduated)
TESOL Kuwait Conference –November 2013
PYP “Introduction to the PYP Curriculum Model” Certificate – October 2013
ICDL Certification – January 2009