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SeanPadraic
Joined: 16 Aug 2010 Posts: 6
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Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 12:35 pm Post subject: Typical Qualifications Question |
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My fiancee and I are currently teaching English in South Korea, but we are talking about moving to UAE at some point in the future because we will want a new adventure.
Will it be easy for us to find decent teaching jobs that will allow us to save money?
My qualifications:
BA History
MS Education
NY State Certified Teacher
Substitute Teaching Experience
2 Years Teaching English in Korea
Her Qualifications:
BA Sociology/Elementary Education
NY State Certified Teacher
Online TOEFL Cert.
Substitute Teaching Experience
2 Years Teaching English in Korea
Also, is there any chance of us being able to live together? Or is that a definite no-no until we are married?
Edit: One more question... Is teachaway a good company to apply through? If not, what routes do you suggest taking to apply for a job? |
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA
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Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 2:00 pm Post subject: Re: Typical Qualifications Question |
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SeanPadraic wrote: |
Also, is there any chance of us being able to live together? Or is that a definite no-no until we are married?
Edit: One more question... Is teachaway a good company to apply through? If not, what routes do you suggest taking to apply for a job? |
Teachaway is one of the few recruiter/contractors that has a decent reputation in the Middle East. They are probably your best chance for a decent position because of your NY certs. (BTW... online certs are not recognized in the ME and in the Ministry of Education which Teachaway is under also doesn't recognize online MAs) Your fiance has the best chance of an offer with her elementary degree.
Be warned that teaching in the public schools is not for the faint of heart or the newbie. Emirati kids are a real handful and good classroom management skills are crucial. Think crowd control... cat herding... nothing like the US or Korea.
Under Emirati law, co-habitation is a crime punishable by lashes, jail time, and deportation. Does it commonly happen to Westerners? No. Has it happened? Yes. (and it doesn't endear you to your own government which then has to get involved to spare you the lashes and get you out of jail and quickly deported) Apply separately and get separate housing and you can... very discretely... live in only one of them - pretending that you are married - rings etc. But be sure not to make an enemy of your neighbors. My advice is to just get married and simplify things. There are plenty of other parts of the world that won't care. This area does...
VS |
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SeanPadraic
Joined: 16 Aug 2010 Posts: 6
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Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 10:04 pm Post subject: Re: Typical Qualifications Question |
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veiledsentiments wrote: |
Be warned that teaching in the public schools is not for the faint of heart or the newbie. Emirati kids are a real handful and good classroom management skills are crucial. Think crowd control... cat herding... nothing like the US or Korea.
VS |
Funny you mention classroom management. I don't know if you have experience teaching in Korea, but they recently banned corporal punishment. However, they failed to put a new behavior management system in place. None of the Korean teachers are trained in classroom management in college either. So, the teachers are at a loss of what to do.
So, the Korean students openly flaunt the fact that they cannot be hit by the teachers anymore and many classes are just crazy. Luckily, I do have some semblance of control because I have a lot of experience working with children and a few good classroom management techniques. |
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madrileno
Joined: 19 Aug 2010 Posts: 270 Location: Salalah, Oman
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Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 11:30 pm Post subject: |
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Trust me. Korean students are nothing like those in the UAE, or the entire gulf for that matter... |
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA
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Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 1:47 am Post subject: |
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If you interview with Teachaway, try to make contact with some of their teachers through their Facebook page. It is really hard for me to describe how difficult these kids are... as I never actually taught them... but I'm sure that you would get a better description from those that are in the program.
What you have in the Middle East - especially in the Gulf - is children who have never had ANY discipline at all... ever. The boys especially... For instance, there is no such concept as "bed-time." The kids sleep when, if, and wherever they happen to feel the need. They are very talkative... and assume that everyone else should immediately listen to them.
I still had to deal with the hangover of some of this at university level, but this is the age when culturally, discipline from the older family members kick in... and one can use family honor and reputation as a virtual club over their heads. Doesn't work with a hyperactive 10 year old though - or a room full of hyperactive 10 year olds.
VS |
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2buckets
Joined: 14 Dec 2010 Posts: 515 Location: Middle East
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Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 2:01 pm Post subject: |
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On a recruiting trip to Baniyas outside of Abu Dhabi, I witnessed teachers using whips to beat students in an effort to move them down the corridor. This was in a middle school. It was literally a riot. |
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123Loto
Joined: 14 Aug 2006 Posts: 160
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Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 2:58 pm Post subject: |
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I've been teaching a mix of Emirate and other Arabic nationality 10 year olds for the last 2 years. Classroom management is essential - that and choosing a school with some semblance of a support structure.
I don't have problems with classroom management, but I'm firm with them from the start. Girls, by the way, are not really a problem - it's the poor boys stuck at a desk for 8 hours a day who struggle to cope. They're the ones who are likely to go bananas; and frankly, I have sympathy for their situation.
That said, if you teach at a wholly Emirate student school you're going to have some serious issues. These boys need heaps of physical exercise and an administration that supports their teachers in the enforcement of basic rules. Many schools won't provide the kids with either.
Emirate kids are generally oral and confident about voicing their opinions - even if they know they're totally wrong, they don't care (none of those uncomfortable silences you get in asian classrooms)... and yes, you'll need to assert yourself as a figure of authority, which is not something they're getting at home... |
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