I started this entry with a story about my father, who is in a nursing home. I deleted it but basically the point was that he does nothing to help himself, nothing to acknowledge the reality of his situation. Kind of like a school that won't admit its problem is the administration.
He has managed to alienate everyone who ever cared about him, except for me. No one else is left, not his wife, not his son, not his aunt or his sister or even any friends. His refusal to accept things as they are instead of how he wants them to be is exhausting. And I have come to accept that I may have to do as they did. Pouring my feelings, my energies, into the bottomless well of his apathy is not something I can do forever. I have recognized that at some point, I may have to say, "This may not be the best thing for you, but it is what [b]I[/b] must do for me."
Now I know many people will jump all over me and say, "Schools are not people!" I know they are not. But it is very true that organizations have cultures. They have personalities. It is unfortunate that the innocent of the organization (the students and teachers who stay) have to suffer. But you cannot categorically dismiss those who leave as wrong. We cannot all be martyrs, sacrificing ourselves in the bottomless well of managerial incompetence because it is what the students need.
See, the thing about martyrs is...
They're dead.
Don't blame those who choose to live.
Emirates National School
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TexianTravel
- Posts: 44
- Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2006 11:35 pm
- Location: Egypt
dont usually have time for discussion boards but saw this forum and had to go for it. i'm another teacher who got suckered into this umm ... school you call it? luckily got hired late so had less than a year there but one day would have been enough!!! the place is disgraceful x 100!!! saw some shocking behaviour on the part of admin / management. many teachers being treated like foolish delinquent high school students. some teachers even living in constant fear of losing their jobs for something as minute as talking to a parent alone (not allowed!?!). lots of stuff that would be illegal anywhere else they get away with there, like firing teachers on the spot for totally made-up reasons. never saw so many replacement teachers arrive at one school over the course of one year! all experienced teachers who i met there said they had gained absoluelty nothing whatsoever - at ENS and couldnt wait to get out. terrible morale at that school!!! stay clear.
One Question
Chtoru, I’m not going to argue about the issues your raised about ENS, I have only one question for you so other people can read it and make their own opinion about the school. In March of 2007 the school admin announced to all staff that any teacher who wants to break their contract with ENS is welcome to do so if done by a certain date and they offer to pay the teacher the full summer holiday and buy him/her a ticket home, in order to get a good grasp about the number of teacher they need. Some teachers did take that offer and they were paid in full what the school promised. Why didn’t you take that offer? You only got a ticket and the month of July the way you did it.
Oh really? Well isn't it interesting then that this 'news' didn't manage to trickle down to me or my colleagues . . .
I also wonder about other news which didn't make its way to the teachers or parents or students. For example, where did some of our teachers 'mysteriously' disappear to over the course of the year? Most of us knew about the Science 'teacher' (not qualified to teach anyway) who did a runner herself 2 months into the school year (no surprise), but where did the others go? The boys' school teacher (how long did he last - a month)? The primary school computer teacher? And the primary school art teacher? And the high school EAL teacher? Oh, and the original principal at Al Ain? And why did the primary school field trip get cancelled by the board at the last minute, after all the moeny had been collected?
Oh yes, and even more importantly, why did the school sweep that fatal school bus accident under the carpet?
I also wonder about other news which didn't make its way to the teachers or parents or students. For example, where did some of our teachers 'mysteriously' disappear to over the course of the year? Most of us knew about the Science 'teacher' (not qualified to teach anyway) who did a runner herself 2 months into the school year (no surprise), but where did the others go? The boys' school teacher (how long did he last - a month)? The primary school computer teacher? And the primary school art teacher? And the high school EAL teacher? Oh, and the original principal at Al Ain? And why did the primary school field trip get cancelled by the board at the last minute, after all the moeny had been collected?
Oh yes, and even more importantly, why did the school sweep that fatal school bus accident under the carpet?
Again
Yes, really.. It was done when the director met with the school body sometime in March, all principals knew about it and an email was sent for all teachers. To bad you didn’t get that, it was a very easy way out..
As for the teachers, I knew about them but I only know the reason for one teacher and it was a damn good reason. I don’t want my kids to be tought by this person.
Hmmm… Bus incident cover-up. The driver was killed in the unfortunate incident and the school collected money from us for his family. A very good way to cover up the incident. I’m guessing by that you meant that you didn’t contribute to the driver’s kids.
As for the teachers, I knew about them but I only know the reason for one teacher and it was a damn good reason. I don’t want my kids to be tought by this person.
Hmmm… Bus incident cover-up. The driver was killed in the unfortunate incident and the school collected money from us for his family. A very good way to cover up the incident. I’m guessing by that you meant that you didn’t contribute to the driver’s kids.
hey, i was there during some of the teacher disapearances and i can tell you that the ones that affected us weren't even announced to us!!! suddenly we realised there was no art or whatever teacher but no one told us where or why teh teacher had gone. say what you want but in my experience this is not normal. teachers come and go at that school like its an outpatient clinic!!! never seen anything like it!!! i was also there when the bus accident happened and no one came round my school to collect money. no, they did not. we didnt get any envelope to contribute any money or sign a card or anything. the kids were not told and the parents were not told. actually, we were just told to keep the whole thing quiet!!! think it might be because of the first bus accident not too long before? don't want to scare the fee-paying parents off???? hmmmm, i also never received this so called email about leaving after a year. maybe i was just in with the wrong group of teachers?? hey AD2006, you sound like you have a lot more invested in ENS than most of us teachers on here did. sounds like comments from someon who's either worried about their own job because you have nowhere else to go, or you yourself are having trouble recruiting new teachers!!! do you really think that your 'fluffy' comments (see the reviews) compared to the reality of what we all lived through are going to fool people into thinking that we're making it all up and everything is actually rosy-fine at ENS? or are you just so blind not to see it yourself? or do you CHOOSE to ignore it because youre more involved in the upper echelons than most of us were and cant give up the power that goes with being a big fish in the small ENS pond???? either way, i smell a rat in our midst .........
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mishmumkin
- Posts: 16
- Joined: Thu Aug 23, 2007 7:25 pm
I interviewed with this school a few years ago at TESOL Arabia. They didn't rent a room like most employers did, but conducted the interview in their booth. Imagine the noise, distraction...me in a fold up chair facing these 3 men. They gave me a list of rules to look over (I was sent to one of the standing tables in the exhibit hall to read them) and then return to their booth. I was a bit bold, already aware that I would not take this job for all the tea in China. I skipped the tour of the campus they scheduled, but they didn't seem to notice. One month later I received an offer letter. The only reason I would take a job like this is if you were and unqualified teacher with no experience so dead set on being in Dubai that you didn't care. I would liken this school to Choueifat/Sabis, only much less organised.
Yes, believe it. THIS PLACE IS TRULY YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE!
I really wish I had known about this site earlier, like before the recruiting fairs and before sending out applications to schools via TES & TIE. If back then I had read the reviews posted on here about this place I never, never, NEVER, N-E-V-E-R NNNNEEEEEVVVVEEEERRRRR would have come.
I arrived here in August and within two weeks was already looking to get out. At first I thought it was just an unbelievably mismanaged school, but have now come to realise that it is actually much worse than that. It is downright sinister.
I have been shocked at how badly some teachers have been treated here and at the laughably ridiculous way that the 'board of governors' (that's a whole joke in itself), 'director' and their sidekicks, the principals, try to run the place. They try to portray themslves as a 'world-class school' but it is VERY clear that they have no concept whatsoever what a REAL school actually looks like or how it is run. They have no moral standards.
It is depressing beyond belief to be on the school bus every day on the way to work as the morale of the teachers is so low it has hit rock bottom for most. All teachers I have spoken to say they absolutely hate the school and many of those that did stay on into the second year of their contract wonder what on earth possessed them to do that and wish they hadn't. We are NOT treated here like the professionals that we are. We are just this year's recruits on the looooong conveyor belt of ENS teachers.
It is only just October and one teacher already packed up and left last weekend without notice! I wouldn't be surprised if more followed soon. Apparently this happened last year as well, along with a lot of sudden and unexplained teacher dismissals.
Thanks to my new colleagues who told me about this site. Unfortunately it was too late for me this year but I will spread the word about this site and even more importantly, I will tell everyone I know in education about the despicable goings-on at ENS to save other teachers from going through the same day to day misery that we all are.
I really wish I had known about this site earlier, like before the recruiting fairs and before sending out applications to schools via TES & TIE. If back then I had read the reviews posted on here about this place I never, never, NEVER, N-E-V-E-R NNNNEEEEEVVVVEEEERRRRR would have come.
I arrived here in August and within two weeks was already looking to get out. At first I thought it was just an unbelievably mismanaged school, but have now come to realise that it is actually much worse than that. It is downright sinister.
I have been shocked at how badly some teachers have been treated here and at the laughably ridiculous way that the 'board of governors' (that's a whole joke in itself), 'director' and their sidekicks, the principals, try to run the place. They try to portray themslves as a 'world-class school' but it is VERY clear that they have no concept whatsoever what a REAL school actually looks like or how it is run. They have no moral standards.
It is depressing beyond belief to be on the school bus every day on the way to work as the morale of the teachers is so low it has hit rock bottom for most. All teachers I have spoken to say they absolutely hate the school and many of those that did stay on into the second year of their contract wonder what on earth possessed them to do that and wish they hadn't. We are NOT treated here like the professionals that we are. We are just this year's recruits on the looooong conveyor belt of ENS teachers.
It is only just October and one teacher already packed up and left last weekend without notice! I wouldn't be surprised if more followed soon. Apparently this happened last year as well, along with a lot of sudden and unexplained teacher dismissals.
Thanks to my new colleagues who told me about this site. Unfortunately it was too late for me this year but I will spread the word about this site and even more importantly, I will tell everyone I know in education about the despicable goings-on at ENS to save other teachers from going through the same day to day misery that we all are.
Hi,
I am still quite new to international teaching so you can imagine my surprise when I received a message totally out of the blue from this school last year via a recruiting website (can't remember which one now, maybe TES, TIE or something like that) telling me they are interested in my "qualifications" and "extensive experience" and would I like to apply for a position which has suddenly opened up due to "unexpected expansion".
What?!?
First of all, I couldn't believe they were contacting me as it was very clear on my cv that I was already in a job at that time, but what surprised me even more was that this "unexpected expansion" suddenly happened in the middle of October! Okay, I may not have that much exerience under my belt but how does a school "unexpectedly expand" so much at this time of year to warrant having to try to poach a new teacher from another school?
Anyway, on top of all that I had read the school reviews for this place (YIKES! SCARY!) and there was no way I'd even consider it. But it wasn't easy to get rid of them. At one point I even received a phone call from the principal who thought that telling me about the school's salary and benefits would change my mind. Funnily enough, it wasn't even as good as what I already had! This woman was really pushy and even had the nerve to ask me how much I make! I was not impressed at all.
I am still quite new to international teaching so you can imagine my surprise when I received a message totally out of the blue from this school last year via a recruiting website (can't remember which one now, maybe TES, TIE or something like that) telling me they are interested in my "qualifications" and "extensive experience" and would I like to apply for a position which has suddenly opened up due to "unexpected expansion".
What?!?
First of all, I couldn't believe they were contacting me as it was very clear on my cv that I was already in a job at that time, but what surprised me even more was that this "unexpected expansion" suddenly happened in the middle of October! Okay, I may not have that much exerience under my belt but how does a school "unexpectedly expand" so much at this time of year to warrant having to try to poach a new teacher from another school?
Anyway, on top of all that I had read the school reviews for this place (YIKES! SCARY!) and there was no way I'd even consider it. But it wasn't easy to get rid of them. At one point I even received a phone call from the principal who thought that telling me about the school's salary and benefits would change my mind. Funnily enough, it wasn't even as good as what I already had! This woman was really pushy and even had the nerve to ask me how much I make! I was not impressed at all.
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garnettulip
- Posts: 15
- Joined: Tue Mar 13, 2007 5:33 pm
You will never believe this, Newbie, but . . . I was actually in the principal's office when she made that dubious phone call to you!!! I had gone in to see her about something totally unrelated, when she suddenly picked up the phone and rang you in a panic because one of the teachers (who was actually not even qualified in education) had just done a runner and she was told she must fill the position asap or risk losing her own job as well. Of course you didn't know this at the time, but the principal actually even LIED TO YOU about the salary!!! I was there and I couldn't believe what I was hearing. You know that so-called 'starting salary' she quoted you? That was actually the TOP TIER salary, which you would only get if you had a graduate degree and something like a minimum of 10 or 12 years' experience! Yes, she made it sound like she wasn't 'exactly' sure about the salary but given that, as you say, you are new in teaching, there was a HUGE dicrepancy between what she quoted you on the phone and what you would have REALLY gotten. Plus, I KNOW that this principal knew EXACTLY what the real salary scale was . . . mainly because several teachers in her part of the school had had problems recently what with not getting paid the proper salary and she had had to deal with them. YOU ARE SOOOO LUCKY YOU DIDN'T TAKE THE JOB!!! The girl that did take it was also poached from elsewhere and was gone (like many others) before the end of the year!
What's going on with the IB at this school?
My husband and I were approached by ENS to interview with them on two separate occasions in the last year and a half. Not surprisingly, we said "thanks but no thanks" on both occasions, mainly because of all the negative reports we'd read about it on this site. However, we've never worked at an IB school before and we're both keen to do so next year.
I was recently on the TES website and saw that ENS is recruiting for almost every position in education I knew existed. Not a very good sign as far as my husband and I are concerned. Do they already expect that everyone will be leaving at the end of the year or do they expect to be doing a lot of firing? I've also heard through the grapevine that at least two more teachers have walked out on their jobs in the last month ............................
So, my question is: does this school actually run an IB programme or not? From what I've read it almost seems like they're not but they're trying to pretend like they are. If they are, fine. But if not, then how on earth are they going to get accredited with what looks to be an endles staff turnover and one of the worst track records I've seen on this site? (bar maybe Luanda!).
Just want to make sure my gut instincts are right in case they get in touch again .................... thanks
My husband and I were approached by ENS to interview with them on two separate occasions in the last year and a half. Not surprisingly, we said "thanks but no thanks" on both occasions, mainly because of all the negative reports we'd read about it on this site. However, we've never worked at an IB school before and we're both keen to do so next year.
I was recently on the TES website and saw that ENS is recruiting for almost every position in education I knew existed. Not a very good sign as far as my husband and I are concerned. Do they already expect that everyone will be leaving at the end of the year or do they expect to be doing a lot of firing? I've also heard through the grapevine that at least two more teachers have walked out on their jobs in the last month ............................
So, my question is: does this school actually run an IB programme or not? From what I've read it almost seems like they're not but they're trying to pretend like they are. If they are, fine. But if not, then how on earth are they going to get accredited with what looks to be an endles staff turnover and one of the worst track records I've seen on this site? (bar maybe Luanda!).
Just want to make sure my gut instincts are right in case they get in touch again .................... thanks
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garnettulip
- Posts: 15
- Joined: Tue Mar 13, 2007 5:33 pm
IS IT REALLY THAT BAD
THINKING OF GOING TO THIS SCHOOL. Am thinking that you always have one especially angry/ upset person making comments, and a couple of others that are unhappy, at every school that is just teaching! Is there anyone there now with a different view, seems funny that the only comments are negative.