Read more about the article 12-year-old, 12 Adults, 12 Days, 12th of May in Doha, Qatar–12 Years Later

12-year-old, 12 Adults, 12 Days, 12th of May in Doha, Qatar–12 Years Later

  • Post category:Qatar Academy
  • Reading time:6 mins read

Back in May 2013, based on the word of a 12-year-old I was held in police custody in Doha, Qatar for allegedly insulting Islam. The 12-men-strong board of directors of Qatar Academy, where I was teaching at the time, did NOT push back against the charges brought by the child's father. But, after 12 days in custody, on the 12th of May, I was released from Al Rayyan Police Station.

Now in May 2025, 12 years since the incident, I have something else to report!

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UWC-USA

“I am a Teacher”: A Study in Contrast

Reproduction of a performance at UWC-USA early this century by a friend and colleague, and I, two teachers at the school. Written by us two, it looks at social realities of the world today through the eyes of two teachers from vastly different cultures. It reflects and exposes the stark inequalities and incredible diversity prevalent in the world today.

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Read more about the article Nepali Teachers Need to Loosen Up And Use Humor in Their Classrooms

Nepali Teachers Need to Loosen Up And Use Humor in Their Classrooms

  • Post category:General
  • Reading time:4 mins read

Nepali teachers do NOT use humor as much as they should. I do. And so in my workshops for them, I use it to demonstrate its effectiveness. Follow link for short videos of me in action -- telling jokes and making teachers and students laugh, to grab their attention and hold it.

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Read more about the article Nepal Education: Our Textbooks Hinder Learning!

Nepal Education: Our Textbooks Hinder Learning!

Pretty much every Nepali school textbook I have seen and read about, I have decided, actually hinders children's learning, forget promote -- and contribute to -- them! In this blog post, I show how a fifth grade textbook completely misses the mark.

The solution? Do away with the local and national level examinations in grades 8 and 10 and eliminate textbooks.

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Read more about the article A Former Student: “I would not have been here if not for you.”

A Former Student: “I would not have been here if not for you.”

Children want to impress and please adults they look up to, whether the adults are family members, teachers, or members of their local community. As a teacher, if you have high expectations of your students, by and large, they will do everything they can to meet those expectations, partly to impress and please you.

This is a very feel-good story of a former student of mine who, as a HL IB Chemistry student, rose up to meet my expectations, succeeded AND went on to do a PhD in Chemistry at Oxford in the UK.

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Read more about the article Modeling Atoms: When You Don’t Have Much, Make Creative Use of The Little You Do

Modeling Atoms: When You Don’t Have Much, Make Creative Use of The Little You Do

  • Post category:Teacher Education
  • Reading time:1 min read

At under-funded and resource-strapped public schools in Nepal, teaching science in a way that brings the subject alive for students can be a major challenge. What the teachers at such schools do have is themselves and their students. There's no reason they shouldn't be using their own students (by having them model structures for example) in an effort to get across difficult and challenging science concepts and ideas!

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Read more about the article Science Teacher Education: The Program

Science Teacher Education: The Program

  • Post category:Teacher Education
  • Reading time:5 mins read

I have a Science Teacher Education program. Depending on the needs of the school, I can either hold interactive workshops on how to impart higher level thinking skills or hold interactive workshops on teaching the content of the prescribed textbook a little differently, a little more effectively using local resources, the teachers themselves, as well as the students.

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Read more about the article Back to Teaching…But Teachers This Time

Back to Teaching…But Teachers This Time

  • Post category:Teacher Education
  • Reading time:3 mins read

I am back..into teaching. This time teaching teachers in Nepal instead of international students abroad. I figured educating teachers in Nepal on how to impart critical thinking skills on student might have a bigger impact than teaching students at one school. If you are interested in having me be involved in teacher education at your school, let me know!

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