[quote="smiley123"]Hi
I would appreciate any advice on where to teach.
In a state run school in Abu Dabhi or an international school in Sharjah?
thank you[/quote]

I cannot speak from FIRST HAND knowledge, but I have met some teachers who teach in the local schools.

When we asked them about their experiences, they were pretty diplomatic about the school in general. It seems there are some discipline problems in the schools- :The administrations seems more scare about the parents thinking they can't control the students and removing them from the school than reporting serious discipline problems." (Paraphrasing).

As far as other issues, they were either very vague or evasive.

I also know someone who works as a consultant for the teachers in the state run schools. Again, this person has said very little about the schools themselves, except "they are about as good as you might expect them to be."

Do you mean Sharjah American International School? If so, we have number of students at my school who left there because they didn't like it there. Some teachers who know something about the school said it was a "bad" school, but didn't specify why?


Take this for what its worth!

----

To be clear, there are two ESOL mananged schools in Dubai
Diera International School
Universal American School
The schoosl is a "for profit" school but they don't keep 60% of the profit. That's just ridiculous assumption.

DIS follows the British Curriculum as part of the IB program, and UAS follows an American curriculum as par of the IB program. I cannot speak for DIS, but UAS specifically uses the PYP and IBDP. It has a conceptually based curriculum from 7- 10 Grades.

We have plenty of resources, but unfortunately, we do not always have textbooks for the students. We are encouraged to have project based assessments. We also have smart boards in most classrooms and LCD projectors in every classroom.

UAS is the youngest of the ESOL school and is one of the fastest growing schools. That is, until the economic crisis. This year was the first year the school didn't grow by at least 200 students. We continually get students from other Dubai schools. I have spoken with many parents and most are very happy with the quality of instruction given by the teachers. There are complaints, but they are the exception, not the rule.

The students are well behaved and very respectful (lots of yes sirs). We have over 70 different nationalities. Most are from "arab" states, however,... Palestinians, Lebanese, & Egyptians. Even teachers who left because they were unhappy with the school speak highly of our students.

If there is one glaring problem is athletics. There can be improvements, but this is a regional problem, not just an ESOL problem. There are enough games or opportunities for some students as they are in the states.

There are problems with every school and UAS would be no exception. However, if you come flexible attitude and enterprising ideas, you will make the most of UAS and Dubai. If I were to complain is that ESOL sometimes chooses not to do the "little things" to make teachers happy. This can and has rubbed people the wrong way. However, ESOL is an honorable company and most teachers fulfill their two contract. We have several teachers who are in their 3rd, 4th, and 5th (since the beginning) year teachers on staff.

The school hires mostly North American and Southern Hemisphere teachers. The school has a lot of teachers in their 20s, but there are also teachers in their 30s, 40s, and older. Most get along with others- many spend their weekends together.

BTW, none of this will be a secret when you are offered a contract. It is policy to give perspective teachers emails of current teachers. Also, upon hiring, each new hire is given a buddy to ask more questions before you arrive in Dubai.

I hope this helps!

Pike

[quote="uae_bound"]Any help from my previous message? ABA versus TAISM?[/quote]


I cannot say anything about TAISM, but I know a lot of people who would love to work for ABA. In fact, everyone who has ever been on ABA's campus seem to want to go there.

The two coaches I've spoken to seem to enjoy working there.


Hope this helps!

Pike

Thank you for taking the time to respond to my idea. BTW, it isn't possible to rain on parade. It was just a thought not a life goal.

[quote="GHK"]
1) Cost: A common incentive to start something is to be able to make a living at it or at the very least not lose money. Schools being located all around the world, it would entail high travel costs and accommodation to visit site.[/quote]

Good point- Too much to ask for a non- profit organization, but that would be the ideal circumstances. That being ssaid, someone would have to be compensated for their time and effort.

As far as visiting sites are concern, it was only a thought. Distributing, collecting and - surveys would be far more cost effective. Actually sending people to locations would come only after a decade or more in existence, and only if membership is high enough to support such ventures. It may not be the best way to collect data either...as I said I was just brain storming :-)


[quote="GHK"]
2) Why would a school allow this organization access to the site? There are already plenty of organizations doing accreditation and have been doing it for far longer.[/quote]

It wouldn't do any accreditation at all. It wouldn't exist for the schools, only for the teachers. Schools that have good repuation I doubt would have a proble with a survey that would show that they are a good school. Schools that refused would be noted. A wise job seeker may take the hint, and eventually, the school will gert the hint too.... Then again, mailing of surveys or even advertisements in overseas newspapers publications can alsso do the trick.

[quote="GHK"]
3) Why would we trust a bunch of retired teachers anymore than what we currently have in place? [/quote]

Just brainstorming... really anyone with time, energy and desire to do it will do for me. I only suggested retired teachers because they mau have the time and experience needed to know what teachers really want.

[quote="GHK"]
4) Many of the things mentioned are already in place and done very well in many schools(retirement, pension, insurance)[/quote]

I was thinking more on the lines of secondary insurance. Different schools have different coverages (i.e. some have dental, others do not, etc,...). It is only meant to pick up, where the other leaves off. This will an optional packages and it based on Knights of Columbus' insurance plan.

[quote="GHK"]
5) There are international organizations such as EARCOS offering conferences already and if you're in a bad school, it's likely you wouldn't be able to go.[/quote]

Well, if you belong to the organization, you shouldn't be in one of those bad schools to begin with. As I said before I was brainstorming... I was alsl thinking student loans for obtaining a masters, discounts, etc,...


[quote="GHK"]
6) If you are talking about any kind of union, there are legalities involved and I know many teachers including myself that are happier working in International Schools because of the absence of union and all the rules and regulations they entail.[/quote]

LOL, I hate unions! Well, I don't "hate" unions... I do think they have gone too far. No, I was thinking more of a professional support organization, not an advocacy group.

[quote="GHK"]
7) If someone is not wise enough to get good information about a school now with all that is available out there, it's unikely they'll fare any better with an additional organization.[/quote]

Well, yes, but its very disperse. I am still finding stuff I never knew existed on the net. Its difficult to tell what is realible information (facts) from opinion. What is th truth and whatare the facts? One centralize location will make it very easy for anyone to feel confident & secure about their future posting. Its about making it easier, not just making it available. As you noted, its already there.

[quote="GHK"]
8) If your idea has any hope of succeeding, I believe it would have to come out of something already in place and be some kind of offshoot of IB for example but I won't be holding my breath.[/quote]

Possible,... I a not expecting ANYTHING anytme soon. Afterall it was just a thought 24 hours ago.


[quote="GHK"]
On another note, did you just discover what a web forum is and you love seeing your name appear? [/quote]

Well, not really. 80% of the post I posted occured during my first day I wason the board. I was researching about Dubai and the UAE. If I saw something else interesting and I thought I had something to add to the conversation, I posted. This foum is very inactive (as far as postings), so a little posting here and there and anyone will look like they don't have a life. On more active boards, you probably wouldn't even notice me anymore than anyone else.

Thanks for your thoughts, they were great points. Please don't stop "raindancing" :-)

<--Pike----
"Mind the Gap" - London Underground

[quote="spasibo"]Don't you know the Pike is an expert of every country. At least it seems so with all the posts he/she has been making....Most of them without any first hand knowledge[/quote]

Hmm, "an expert, every country"? That's a bit of an overstament. I do not believe I claimed to have any first hand knowlege of any country, except the one I am in right now. I ask questions, made general observations, and offer my opinion. There is not one post I claimed to be an expert.

Example: I live in work in a developing country in Africa- I think I am uniquely knowldeable about the working in a developing country. I also live in a country recovering from civil unrest and all of its problems. I believe I have unique perspective on these concerns. Sure, every country is different, but I do have knowledge I can share about my experiences. Others are invited to disagree or agree.

There was one question about working in Spain without EU Nationality. No one answered the question, so I offered up advice that I would do if I was interested in pursuring a school that required an EU nationality or the ability to get a work visa on your own. As stated, you can agree or disagree. I believe my advice is valid--- and not once did I claim to be an expert, except I did look at numerous school sin Europe that had these restrictions.

I am moving to Dubai next year- So, I asked questions about Dubai. Perfectly accepted I thought- clearly I didn;t profess my expertise here- of course not!

I recently attended a job fair in London. I congratulated others on receving offers and I shared my experiences & thoughts about the job fairs- along with others. I didn;t claim to be an expert- in fact I professed my lackof experience.

Finally, I offered advice to someone to share her opinion more effectively. I didnlt claim any expertise- other than I felt like she was causing more than good. The key here, it was an OPINION. Ironically, I stated I had NO knowledge about the school- imagine that!

I made another post suggesting a formation of an overseas organization- the post did not indicate expertise in anything--- I asked for thoughts on the IDEA.

While I do not have "personal" knowledge of life in Burma (never claimed I did), I do know several people here who have been to Burma. I trust their opinion. In addition, this exact same school had an opening for my wife and me and we both read extensive on the country. My wife even burrowed a book on Burma from one of the people with "first hand" knowledge. In despite his claim, Burma is very much a developing country. I would not put them on the same level as Thailand or Malaysia. BUT, you more than free to believe anything you like.

<-Pike---
Au revoir mon ami!

Hello,

I have been reading a lot of posts, as my wife & I are somewhat new to the intenrational teaching world. Two years ago, My wife & I got into overseas teaching by accident. I sent a chance email to a director of an international school in a country I'd served as a peace corps volunteer years earler. It has been a trying two years. We used to say it can;t be much worse at other schools. Now, I am not so sure.

So, what can be done? Clearly, teacher placement agencies aren't doing enough to ensure that schools are reputable. Many schools only need to meet the minimal standards of their host country, and many host country aren't exactlt the best watchdog.

Review sites are infrequently visited therefore are limited.

It seems the best option is to establish something that would be more benficial than simply wrting a few scathing remarks or a few positive remark. Its too hard to discern the credibility of the critique. Is the person a hard person to please? Is this person have a vested interest in promoting the school?

It may be time for someone (probably a few retired teachers) to organize an overseas teachers organization. An organization devoted for the specific needs of overseas teachers.

Some of the possible services could be;
Publication/ Newsletter
Review of Schools*
Secondary insurance options
Pension plan and/or life insurance
Conferences for professional development and/or advance degree seminars

* This entail both a surveys & or inspection teams that visit schools

I am sure there are more ideas,... that is just off the top of my head.

Obviously, it goes without saying that some of the above will not be possible for a number of years, but you must start somewhere. Right?

<--Pike---

[quote="markholmes"]I was merely pointing out that it is not a developing country. Whether you go there or not is none of my business.

However, there are different levels of corruption in the world and I hope you don't consider having to pay a little speeding ticket every now and then on the same level as someone being taken out of their house at four in the morning, shot and thrown down a well.[/quote]

LOL, I am NOT talking about "speeding" tickets either. The yare not interested in shaking you down for a real motor vehicle violation (Well only has a means to an end). No one writes tickets here. As far as shooting people is concern,... The current director's wife was imprisoned and never charge for simply attending a teachers' convention. We had a former teacher who ather was executed in his own home because his political allies were ousted out of power. We even had a gun pointed at us sinply because we didn't have our real passport. After that incident we pretend like we do not understand and speak french. The least said, the better!

Last time, I spoke only of the harmless forms of corruption,... greesing the right people...which BTW, never greese the wrong person- a new teacher this year husband was force to beg forgiveness and pay off a supervisor at the customs office (actually it may have been the port authority- I honestly do not remember... you have to pay off each one anyway).

<-Pike----
"Welcome to Africa!" Repraise!

[quote="Traveller1"] "Besides, if you scratch off every developing, oppressive country on your list, you are left with mostly Western Europe."

Its not as simple as this, although you're probably aware of that. There are many developing countries where corruption is rife and things don't work so well, but Burma stands apart as a feudal dictatorship.[/quote]

Yes, I am very aware of corruption. We get pulled over all the time by the National Police who attept to "extort" money from us. We carry only a copy of our passport for this very reason. It took a teacher this year 6 months and a few bribes to get her car through customs (her other luggage- ship by container took about 2 months). So, I know corruption, but I wouldn't tell anyone not to come here for this reason only. I will always tell them,... living in a developing country isn;t for everyone. You have to be flexible, patient, and most of all, have a good sense of humor. (see sig)


[quote="Traveller1"]
"Its only the ruling general thats a jerk, but a nice jerk.... he is keeping alive the opposition."

Again, you seem to be a little 'coy' with the truth here. The Generals' response to opposition rallies is anything but 'nice'. [/quote]

Not so much "coy", but cheeky.


[quote="Traveller1"]
What are the little quotes etc at the end of your posts are all about? [/quote]

I think asking people to find an invisible object to be funny,..no


<-Pike---
"Welcome to Africa!"

[quote="markholmes"][quote]Myanmar is a developing country[/quote]

Actually, not to split hairs or anything, but it isn't developing. It's been a brutal military dictatorship since 1962 and there has been little development. A beautiful, but stagnant country would describe it better.

The only area that gets developed is the oil industry and the money goes straight into the pockets of the generals.[/quote]

Living and working in a developing country is NOT for everyone, especially a country like Myanmar. There is always a chance for the country could explode into violence, but it seems the people are mild manner that this may never happen.

Besides, if you scratch off every devleloping, oppressive country on your list, you are left with mostly Western Europe.

On a final, I have not heard one negative thing about "Burma" and its people. Its only the ruling general thats a jerk, but a nice jerk.... he is keeping alive the opposition.

<--Pike----
I lost my invisible magic carpet. Have you seen it?

Congratulations to everyone!

My wife and I are currently living and teaching in Abidjan. We actually registered for both CIS and Search Associate. We also started the process for ISS. We felt that after paying our $200 USD for Search, one was enough. We only went with Search because of a teaching friend.

The hardest decision we made was deciding which fair to go to in London; Search or CIS two weeks later. In the end we decided to go to Search because, at the time, Search had more schools with jobs with vacancies that we felt like we were qualified for.

Despite lacking IB experience, Search encourage us to go to London, because the claimed schools do hire teachers with interest, but without experience.

It was very rough. We had a very hard time getting interviews. We managed to talk our way into three interviews. Overall, we had four (one was not really an interview- just a shotgun sell job). We lost one interview because they hired someone the morning of our interview for one the vacancies.

The guy we had an interview for personally came over to us and expressed his regrets to us(he was one of the ones we talked our way into an interview). He told us that he is really "picky" about who he interviews this early. He also said in Bangkok, he was "even more picky."

In the end, we were offered a job for Universal American School.

I think schools can afford to be picky early on. Unless they think you are a perfect fit, they will pass on you. After attending the IB fair in London, we decided in the future (even with having experience) that we would prbably attend the Search fair Cambridge. Then again, it was almost a disaster with Search--- next time we just might try ISS or CIS.

<-Pike---
It isn't how many times you fall, but how many times you get up!

[quote="uae_bound"]Hi there,

Just wondering... if you are offered a job in the UAE... they ask you to get all you documents notorized and authenticated. What is the next step? Do you need to have a visa stamped on your passport in Canada or the US, or do you enter the UAE on some other type of visa? I am asking because I am unclear about how many packages you have to send the embassy. I know a friend who received a job in Kuwait has to do eberything here and can only go to Kuwait once the embassy in DC has stamped the visa on his passport. Same thing in UAE? Help please.[/quote]

What school did you get a job with?
My wife and I accepted a position at Universal American School in Dubai. We receive an email with information on what we needed to do for them right now,... taking it one step at a time.... lots of time to worry about stuff later :wink:

[quote="guest5"]Dubai is a lot more expensive (particularly housing) than Chicago. 110,000 will get you a 2 bedroom apartment in Al Barsha. Nothing special...and then you'd have utilities on top of that. What type of housing are they offering you (with 1/2 of your utilities)? Where is it located? Traffic is horrific, so you aren't going to want to live too far out.[/quote]

Hey, thanks for your thoughts/ advice
I posted the same question on Dubai Forum, this is one guy said- he seems to agreee with you,....
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
110k gets you a good 1 bedroom apt. Might get you a poor 2 bedroom. Utilities not too much unless you live in villa or huge apartment. ....UAS in Festival City near Business Bay bridge. Live in Festival City if you want to avoid traffic jams to work, or Jumeirah/Barsha might avoid traffic jams but longer trip. Mirdiff closer but don't know if morning traffic from there a problem.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The poster asked the same question about where the schools accomodations are located,... We haven't heard back from them yet,.. when I do, I'll pass it along and go from there.

My wife prefers a two bedroom (family already wants to visit us in Dubai) I prefer a one bedroom with a sofa bed if possible,.. I think it would be cheaper in the long run, maybe not. Thoughts?

To live in a decent part IN Chicago you have to pay alot for housing. We were paying nearly 1200 month for an (3-br) flat in West Ridge near Western & Devon. It wasn't in the better parts of the area. We lived in a very mix neighborhood- latin king next store & condos on the corners,...LOL

Anyway,.. terms like poor and nothing special is hard to relate to because its subjective terms (not saying it isn't accurate- we may have the same ideas and expectations) well,... do you know of any good links to research proerty in Dubai?

<--Pike----
My,... what big fonts you have!

[quote="missy"]
___________________________________________

Pike = I can assure you that there are no motives.
What is tiring is having to read some of the rants that are written in here.
If people do not like a place then they should just leave.
By the way, since you do not know anything about Emirates National School, why bother commenting ?
Maybe you should change your approach !![/quote]

CHANGING APPROACHES
Maybe I should Missy! My intention was not to injure you, but to inform you, IMHO, that you may not be as effective as you may think you are. I am sorry you took offense to what, I thought I was being constructive in my criticism.

WHY BOTHER COMMENTING?
I don't think I made any specific comments about ENS at all. I don't intend to. I do not speak on things I do not have specific knowledge. I will, however, comment on other matters if I feel I can make a positive, informative, and/or interesting opinion.

SHOULD YOU STAY OR SHOULD YOU GO?
I think it is important for people to share their thoughts about other schools. It's good to have information, both good & bad, about schools around the world.

Thanks for your thoughts

<-Pike----
If fuzzy wuzzn't very fuzzy, why do we call him fuzzy?

[quote="Jonathan"]
____________________________________________________

I don't think you are realistic buddy.
Life in Dubai is expensive. You will get a shock once you are there. Why buy a 7 year old car at $6,000 dollars ? Shop around when you get there.
Is this one of the ESOL schools ?[/quote]

Why do you assume I am not being realistic? I lived in Chicago for a number of years and Chicago isn't very cheap either. I am currently in West Africa, and for a developing country, it isn't all that cheap at all. I can remember having a panic attack when we first arrived. We totlly didn't expect it. In both cases, the net pay for us would be higher in Dubai. Dubai is not going to be our final destination. Its more like a diner, where we stop for coffee & donuts. Sure, the coffee & donuts may not be the best, but I least we ate.

I am not familiar with that particular model of car. I know Toyota's in general hold their value pretty well. Besides, I didn't say I bought the car, only that it was her asking price for car.

Yes, the school is the Universal American School. I have read both negative & positive comments regarding the school. We have also spoken with several search associates about the school. They were very honest. They told us about ESOL's checkered past.

We are coming froma really bad situation. One must hope there is no worse place than where we are right now. Our director is stealing money from the school (right under the noses of the board), is a philanderer (sleeping with underage girls), psychologically disturbed (has a psychologist, burn the bed of his x gf because she left him to marry a french guy, etc,...), make inappropriate remarks about students, parents, staff (sent an emailing detail the extramarital drama of a parent of the school, etc,...), possobly taking bribes from parents & plays favoritism (retained two deserving students for failing two subjects, but pass 6 more, including one that failed 3 courses & received a D in another), and on and on.


Thanks for sharing your thoughts

<--Pike---
I need a Chwarma stat 8)

Execelent & mature response Jim,

My wife and I were interested in your school, unfortunately, you didn't advertise an art & historysocial studies position this year. She would like to eventually live in Italy in the future.

We will be touring Italy over our spring break, however, we are not going any further than Florence... or else we will be taking you up on your offer :wink:

<--Pike----
"I have met my wife, and I am hers!" :lol: