Thank You ISR!

[kuwaitbrad]

I am only in my second year of international teaching and have been trying to find, without success until now, a forum/website to hear peoples opinions about schools and countries. I appreciate that all comments must be taken with a grain of salt but it sure is nice to be even moderately informed. As teachers we need to help one another and start being advocates of our own profession. Is it just me or are teachers as a whole afraid to be even remotely outspoken for fear of being branded "unprofessional"?

Thanks ISR for providing us with a soapbox and thank you to everyone who takes the opportunity to use it!

Brad

[Tom]

Yes. I think you are correct. It is time that teachers started to stand-up for themselves.

[Rageh]

Kuwaitbrad, i totally agree with you. There are some excellent International Schools out there. But unfortunatly there are also some aweful ones. The problem is that even some of the good ones end up going bad. I've worked in a few International schools and have been really disappointed with what I have found. If I don't get it right next time I might just give up. Hopefully this forum will help me get it right.

[lostboy]

Standing up for ourselves comes in many shades of grey. I have seen very few people who stand right up and say, no, "I'm mad as hell and I won't take it anymore". And, the ones who did, mysteriously disappeared, or were shown the way out. All this while the others, who were in the shadows, saying yea, go get em, went mute on revolt day. If you ever did that to someone, shame on you. If you?re the one who stood up and paid a dear price, good for you. It?s sad to see good people fall victim to a bad system. I applaud this site, and it couldn't have come along at a better time. Lets hope that the powerful ones don't go on a witch hunt and make us wear scarlet letters. "T" for truth.

[Tammy]

Witch hunt, revolt, yikes lostboy! I was thinking to leave my home state to teach internationally for two years. I think it must be rewarding and fun. But I've been reading the ratings of the schools on this website and it's a real landmine out there. Isn't there a teachers union at your school? Can't you form one? Now, I'm a little bit scared to make this move. I can see from the ratings which schools are the best, but maybe they won't hire me because I haven't got the experience. What should I do? Which ones should I absolutely avoid? In retrospect, would it have been better to have stayed in your home country? I've applied for a leave of absence, so we'll see if I even get it.

[kuwaitbrad]

Hi Tammy! It can seem a real leap of faith but most schools are what you make of them. It does seem that a school is only as good as it's administartion/board but that is always the case anyways. If you are taking a leave of absence then you have an easy fall back so fear not and take that first step. I think you will be pleasantly surprised by the wonderful people you meet and the places you visit.

Good luck and safe travels!

Brad

[Tammy]

Thanks KuwaitBrad! You've renewed my optimism. I'm ready for life's next big adventure. I'm wondering if you teach in Kuwait... Is there one school in particular that you'd reccommend? Which school has the best reputation? None of the schools listed seem to have exceptional reviews....Thanks again.
Tammy

[Guest]

Hi Tammy,

The schools in Kuwait are truely unique as is the lifestyle here. When I first arrived here it seemed that Kuwait was the "land of misfit toys". Everyone has a story to tell as to why they came here and what they are hoping to gain. The money here in Kuwait is excellent in terms of salary and benefits. Most of the schools offer a tax free salary, free furnished housing, free utilities and often bus transportation back and forth to school. This is balanced a bit by the high cost of living in terms of groceries ans sundries. The long and short of it is that you have a great opportunity to save a large portion of your salary each month depending on your lifestyle.

I came last year and saved 95% of my salary, some 25,000 US. I was able to supplement my salary by tutoring which is a real "cottage industry" in Kuwait. You are paid 10 kd (33 US) dollars an hour to basically help students do their homework. You might be thinking is this ethically correct but education in Kuwait works under a different paradigm than back home. The kids are generally spoiled, loud and used to getting something for nothing. Once you understand this and develop good classroom management skills you can stay on top of them. This may seem a harsh criticism but t is the reality here. Wasta (influence) is what makes things happen here, not rules and regulations. Remember, Kuwait is a country of wealth where ther GDP is derived entirely from oil revenues. They produce nothing else and their culture is decided lacking as a result. We have a saying in Kuwait that it gets smaller each year you are here. In other words if you are not socially oriented and into fitness, you may get bored quickly here. If you are outgoing and adventurous then Kuwait will seem like a land of opportunity. Hence, it is what you make of it!

As to the schools in Kuwait, most are of a similar calibre. The American School of Kuwait (ASK) has the largest non-kuwait population but is still 90% kuwaiti kids and has the same atmosphere. I work at the American Creativity Academy and it has been a wonderful opportunity place to work. Once I got my head around the way things worked and stopped getting frustrated with people saying "insha Allah" when I would ask them when the pay would be in the bank, everything fell into place. Our school treated us wonderfully during the war which was not the case with some of the schools. We were evacuated, paid 2 months salary and told our job would be here if and when we decided to return. Pretty fair treatment all in all.

I like our school because you can sign a one (1) year contract instead of the usual two (2) year. Makes it much easier to make the jump. Hope my ramblings give you at least a little insight. If you are looking for schools with striling reputations, I can't help ya. You will know you are not in Kansas anymore when you teach here but isn't that why you are leaving home anyways?

Good luck Tammy!

[Tammy]

Dear Guest,
Thanks for your kind words of support and encouragement. I will make this leap of faith, knowing I'm on a leave of absence, and trusting that I can make the best of the school situation. With some research on ISR, of course. I'm just going to be upbeat and trust that I will know when an job offer feels right, that is, if I am even offered a job! Thank you again.
Tammy

[gypsy]

I totally agree with kuwaitibrad about the lifestyle in Kuwait. However, just a warning about ACA. I have not worked there but currently work with people who do. The school is split into girls and boys schools and while the people who worked at the boys school seem to be quite happy but those at the girls weren't. Although this is called a 'creativity' academy there is no music or drama-I actually find it quite amusing! Maybe Kuwaitibrad could fill you in more on that. But it is definately good to be able to sign a 1 year contract-afterall if you are unhappy you only have to put up with it for 9/10months and once you're here you can always look into other schools. I have friends who work at the American School of Kuwait and seem very happy. Are you just looking for 'American' schools?
On the union question. There are no union here. People who speak up too loudly are often 'branded'. This would not be the case if more people stood up for themselves. There is a significant number of people teaching o/s who are more than willing to whinge in the staffroom and let others do the fighting for them.
However, I have taught in 4 countries and love it. Take what you can out of every experience, good and bad-and you'll do fine.

[guest]

I have heard both good and bad about American Creativity Academy. I understand it has gotten better in recent years. I taught at American International School and it's okay, likely one of the better schools in Kuwait. I've heard good things about the American Academy for Girls. Good luck!

[Tamara]

Life in Kuwait isn't so bad. If no alcohol and night life means no fun then it's probably not for you. The schools pay pretty well and the holidays are good. Don't put your faith 100% into the schools, as they are businesses and profit will always come before you or the students.

[arabia finesse]

[quote="Tammy Tammy take the job, on contingency of the leave of absence. It depends where you are going, if you go to Germany, you will save no money and it might be fun, or you could be here , it is not safe but warm85 degrees and it is 7 in the evening, snakes come into the house, and things work about half the time..... escape, do it......!

[Guest]

I teach at ACA, girls' campus, and you couldn't pay me enough to switch to the boys' campus. I only hear complaints about how badly the boys behave over there. ACA is a business first, a business second, a business third . . . . The owners only care about money and make stupid decisions. Things have gotten worse over the years from what I hear from the veteran faculty who have been here for a while. As the cost of living in Kuwait has increased, the salaries have remained the same, or gone down. This year has to be the worst with cutbacks due to the new owners this year. So I imagine it will continue to deteriorate next year. Six of the ten administrators are leaving at the end of this year. Who knows what the new team will be like.
There is not much to do in Kuwait unless you like shopping and eating. It's like living on a tiny desert island. You have to fly out of Kuwait to escape and that costs a lot.

[Teacher in Kuwait]

I have experience of a couple of schools and have friends working at others and this is what opinions from us say:

Good salary but you work hard!:
A'Takamul Bilingual School
BSK British School of Kuwait
TES The English School
KES Kuwait English School


OK School, Average Salary:
ACA American Creativity Academy
BBS Al-Bayan Bilingual School
Dasman Model School
KIES-Kuwait International English School

Stay Well Away From:
KNES - Kuwait National English School

What do others think?