Job Discussion Forums

[lcanupp1964]

Hello All!

Can anybody please provide any feedback on KBS Recruitment? They want to work with me regarding a position for Kuwait Bilingual School in Jahra. They would like me to teach 4th and 5th grade classes. All I know is that Jahra is not a very good area. I'm very interested in how well this company and the school treat their teachers. The offer is for 3000 USD per month with a furnished, non-sharing rent-free apartment. They provide a �settling in allowance� and an attendance bonus, but did not state how much. Transportation to-and-from school is provided. They �say� that it�s only a five min. drive, but I tend not to believe that � we all know what recruiters will say just to get their commission. I think the teaching hours are going to be 30, but hey, it�s a middle school. I have nine years exp. teaching ESL (2 of those years in the Middle East). In addition, I taught English at a public school for a year in the states before all the crazy kids ran me towards ESL. I also have a 120-hour (on-site) TESOL, a 50-hours TESOL for "young learners" and another 50-hour TESOL for "Business English" � both of the last two was on-site as well. OH, I have a BA in English and I am working on my MA in ED, but I have another year before I'm done. Thanks very much for any information you can give me. Cheers!

[15yearsinQ8]

jahra is exclusively beduoin - families are extremely tribal, conservative.
to say beduoins are bad is like saying black people (or any other group) is bad
jahra and beduoins , some say, have a bad rap.
i've had beduoin adult students (men and women) who never talked to me. others were very warm, very sharing, very relating to the aspects of my life which i shared with them.
my advice is to remain professional and be respectful or at least non-judgemental of their ways - learn their language - pm me for more
KBS was set up with a lot of money and strict school procedures - almost unbelievable that beduoin parents who answered to no one except their tribe were made to willingly wait quietly IN LINE during parent teacher conferences - when i heard that a while ago, i knew the principal really got the respect of the community - now i don't know
that was a while ago, i don't have any recent info
but could be a very viable offer....

[rowntree]

LOL i went to Jahra once, 19 years ago.

I'd rather work in Salmiya for 600KD as in Jahra for 1600.......

A few years back, the British Council sent some teachers out there on contract work- one was a blonde. They trashed her car and all teachers had to have a police escort back to civilisation.......

Teaching Bedou from Jahra is completely different from teaching Bedou in Jahra.....

[usa_in_gulf]

Jahra has changed drastically in the past 19 years. Its completely safe--no need to worry. I am very, very familiar with the area--lived there for a couple years, have relatives in the area, and my husband has a business in Jahra. (FYI-I am a blonde, blue eyed American woman... absolutely no problems.)

Nineteen years is a long time ago--Jahra is not the same as it was back then. As mentioned by 15yearsinQ8, go there with an open mind--its a concervative community--its not America--but you will find plenty of shopping centers, Burger King, Pizza Huts and McDonald's.

If you simply respect the culture, and you are willing, most likely you will have some wonderful experiances and make some great friends.

[rowntree]

Oh paleeez. LOL.

I've lived here for 24 years, don't try and tell me you and your blonde hair and blue eyes go walking round Jahra on a regular basis.......

BTW- this school brought a guy over from the US in September and terminated him a month later......

[usa_in_gulf]

[veiledsentiments]

OK... let's say that both of you have a point. It is not as bad as it used to be, but is probably not a good location for a newbie to the Gulf. Our OP has had Middle East experience and she isn't a kid, so she might get along fine out there.

I would expect that the kids are probably a handful, but Ms 1964 is likely more interested in knowing if she can trust the employer to fulfill the contract and support its teachers.

VS

[15yearsinQ8]

whoa - ladies, fighting over who knows the bedu and jahra the most is not becoming on this branch.
i know rowntree and you don't want to mess with her....cut her some slack, she may be british/irish, whatever.
as such beware those who wore the uniform - never know what PTSD and a knowledge of weapons can create.....don't mess with those types either.
kuwait is too small to have many enemies - now ladies, how about coming over to my diwaniya for a 'beer summit' (i may get a nobel prize afterward.....)

[rowntree]

Yes I'm from Dublin, beware.

It was because I am not rude that I edited the comment..............however.

People avoid Jahra. Teachers rarely want to work there. It is tribalistic and what people anywhere else would call ''the sticks''.

I know plenty about the country I have chosen to call home for 24 years and do not try to paint it anything other than it is- with its faults and glories.

I also met my husband in Kuwait, hold an Irish and Kuwaiti passport as do my four children, a BA a Masters and will get my PhD in December- tho what that has to do with the price of eggs is anyone's guess.

And the probation period is 100 days.

Have a nice one.

PS- how many fatalities now from the wedding fire in Jahra?

[rowntree]

Jahra? Oh it's divine....

''58 boys arrested: Security officials from the Jahra Directorate conducted a security campaign against miscreants in private schools near a market area and managed to arrest 58 boys for throwing stones at shop windows. The campaign was conducted after the officials received information about the misbehavior of the boys upon leaving the examination halls. All the arrested boys - who are also minors - were referred to the authorities and strict action for damage to property and misbehavior is expected to be taken against them. Above: Securitymen arrive at a school to arrest miscreants''

[bedwiya]

I've had Kuwaiti students who have never been out to Jahra in their lifetimes, nor do they ever plan to. They are always amazed that I would want to venture out "there" to visit the Red Fort or look around. I don't have anything against the bedu, as many are lovely people, but I would not want to teach or live out there.

[rowntree]

Exactly.

To the Original Poster- KBS is not one of the top recruiters in Kuwait and none of the 'top schools' own schools in Jahra. Kuwait Bilingual School does not have a 'good' reputation and kids don't travel 20 minutes in the morning simply to attend that school- as they would for example for UAS, KES, NES, AIS etc. It is exclusively for Bedu families living in Jahra.

I've never in my time here ever heard anyone say....'I'm going shopping in Jahra tomorrow...I can't wait!!' or 'God I hate Salmiya, I really wish I could get a job in Jahra....'...'Jahra, that's the place for me'....etc....etc...

[usa_in_gulf]

[rowntree]

No my original pre edited post didn't ask anything about how many degrees you had, you just wanted to tell us.

Yes there are Bedu families all over Kuwait, of course there are-Dasman,Salwa,Qordoba,Fintas.....but ,what did you say?

''The overwhelming majority of Kuwaitis are bedu.. '' ??????

Jahra may have changed a lot, physically but the tradition is still the same,and the population the same too- I have taught Bedu kids from Jahra who announce their entrance into a class room, by tossing their shoes in the corner, and my reference to the fire at the bedu wedding? Well it was pretty predictable that this would be the area it would happen if it was going to happen- illegal tent, Bedu in Jahra completely ignoring the laws and bylaws in the rest of the country banning the use of such tents, uneducated Bedu woman killing 40, with callous regard for other human beings , similar to the mentality of the ones who trample you at the check out trying to pay first.........

I think you mistake rudeness for realism- give me 5 people who think Jahra is heaven and I'll give you 50 ( long termers) who think it's hell.

As for ''Really?? You consider UAS, KES, NES, and AIS good schools???''

I don't know about the American ones really, but yes, KES and NES are considered in the ''top 5'' English Private Schools in Kuwait, which is why every year they have a waiting list as long as your arm.

[15yearsinQ8]

bam, bam (the sound of shots fired in the air)
ladies, you all need to come to my diwaniya and we'll talk