Hisar School, Istanbul, Turkey
Hisar School, Istanbul, Turkey
Does anyone have any information on this school? There are no reviews on the member's site. Thank you so much!
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eion_padraig
- Posts: 408
- Joined: Sat Dec 11, 2010 8:18 pm
Re: Hisar School, Istanbul, Turkey
You may already know/understand this but, one thing is that Hisar School is really a private Turkish high school that runs a partial international currircum. This means the make up of their faculty is different that many other international schools as is their student body. I've had friends take jobs at Turkish schools who failed to appreciate this difference and were unhappy as a result. I've had other friends who enjoyed working in these types of schools too. Sorry I can say anything more specific as I don't have insight into Hisar specifically.
Re: Hisar School, Istanbul, Turkey
Speaking to friends who have had to teach Turkish national curriculum (even in combination with an IB programme) is enough to make me think that the aggravation isn't worth it. The Turkish Ministry of Education is not one that you want to have any dealings with, some of the requirements have actually been diametrically opposed to the 'other', 'international' curricula they were also 'supposed' to be teaching. (Ex: all 6 second grade classes needing to teach EXACTLY the same thing, on the same days, but purportedly PYP. No actual inquiry-based learning, rote memorization and worksheets. Just one example, on one level.)
Hisar is currently paying salaries in Turkish lira, which has been falling like a stone, given the corruption and unrest issues, which is another big red flag to me (being paid in TL, not the unrest so far and I have lived in the middle of it), but the housing allowance stated on Search could be do-able. The days you are required to be in school will involve sudden, last minute changes (also directly from the Turkish Ministry's orders) that will mean you could lose out on vacation plans. One friend this year has lost out on airline tickets she bought for a 4 day weekend that was on the published school calendar, having to come in for an hour on a Sunday for some special, suddenly mandated event. The longer holidays follow the Turkish calendar, which is different from what you might expect. Your required days are on the high side, too, those will be for A LOT of meetings and 'professional development'.
You REALLY want to think it through. I wouldn't do it if you had any teaching experience, OR student loans at home to pay, because you can do better.
Good luck!
**** This information is from friends at other similar schools, not Hisar specifically, more to give background on what the challenges are of working for a school that is under the authority of the Turkish Ministry.
Hisar is currently paying salaries in Turkish lira, which has been falling like a stone, given the corruption and unrest issues, which is another big red flag to me (being paid in TL, not the unrest so far and I have lived in the middle of it), but the housing allowance stated on Search could be do-able. The days you are required to be in school will involve sudden, last minute changes (also directly from the Turkish Ministry's orders) that will mean you could lose out on vacation plans. One friend this year has lost out on airline tickets she bought for a 4 day weekend that was on the published school calendar, having to come in for an hour on a Sunday for some special, suddenly mandated event. The longer holidays follow the Turkish calendar, which is different from what you might expect. Your required days are on the high side, too, those will be for A LOT of meetings and 'professional development'.
You REALLY want to think it through. I wouldn't do it if you had any teaching experience, OR student loans at home to pay, because you can do better.
Good luck!
**** This information is from friends at other similar schools, not Hisar specifically, more to give background on what the challenges are of working for a school that is under the authority of the Turkish Ministry.