Job Discussion Forums

[lucreziaborgia]

Has anyone had any experience of this school. They have been advertising over a long period of time for teachers. I have read a few
Blogs about the school that have been negative but there are two or more sides to every story. I was offered a position there recently but had it withdrawn as I requested to have specific clauses to my contract rewritten to reflect our understanding. Any comments appreciated.

[veiledsentiments]

You could do a search of Sabis/Choueifat school here and in the UAE and Egypt section. If you search very very hard, you might find a tiny morsel of positiveness... maybe. (probably only on the Egypt board where in the past they had a decent management)

If it is the only job one is offered and you need a job ASAP, then it will put a bit of food on the table. They will pay as per their contract, which you will not be able to alter in any way. But, if you have ever taught before and know anything about real education, you probably won't last out the contract. It is a totally structured, teach to the test organization... test test test... scores are all that matters.

That is a summary of all the many posts on this organization here for the last ten years. But, it would be great if someone were to arrive and tell us that they have finally turned over a new leaf.

VS

[lucreziaborgia]

Thanks VS. I did an extensive trawl of ESL forums and found very few positive statements about Sabis. However, I decided to accept the position because I am interested in the region. I have been living in a developing country for 3 years and wanted to live in that region because it is beginning to evolve in a similar way. There are other similarities as well; war being the main one.
I decided the job was a means to an end but was mindful that I may not have been able to last the distance due to the lack of engagement seemingly permitted with the educational process. Although I am not a teacher by profession, I am able to teach and I enjoy the challenges. I had considerable reservations about the Sabis method but thought, on the positive side, I might learn something useful.
I decided to test the extent of good faith between myself and my potential employer through requesting that the few (and minor) changes to my contract be included to prevent any misunderstanding in the future. I suspected that this request may have been too much hard work for the HR department or perhaps I was regarded as high risk.
However, I needed to test the offer as I wasn't going to leave a country I enjoy (more or less depending on prevailing conditions) on the chance that all would be delivered as agreed. I considered if they weren't able to document our agreement then it was likely other commitments would not hold. It seems many ESL employers believe we are all waiting by the phone for their call and will throw ourselves at their mercy willingly.

[veiledsentiments]

Yes, it is best thought of as a "means to an end" kind of job. Often new teachers can't break into that first job, and if nothing else other than the pay, they may learn a little about classroom management and a lot about how they don't want to ever teach again. And at least have something to put on the CV... though few employers will be impressed.

It would be an opportunity to see Iraq and Kurdish students have a good reputation as being pleasant to teach.

VS

[artemisia]

I can't comment specifically as an employee of Sabis schools because I've never worked for them. All I can say is that I have considered working in the ME and asked to be sent info on their schools in Oatar and the Emirates and was thoroughly put off what I was sent.
Their whole approach to education was a teach by numbers along with the promise they'd be checking up on you to make sure you followed their method. In fact their approach seemed so draconian I ditched the idea there and then. You had to work 30 periods a week and do prep and marking on top of that. It you took sick leave they'd send someone to 'check' on you and you'd be in one of their apartments- sharing with other teachers. On no account was a member of the opposite sex allowed to spend the night there. Now I know that's a law in most ME countries-if not all- but my impression was that your personal private life belonged to the school- that they'd be monitoring your 'behaviour' and I doubt that is true of most employers in the ME because who'd tolerate that for long?
I'd give this school a miss. I think there are other chances to work in Kurdistan tho you might need higher quals I guess. I don't think being stuck somewhere you may not be easily able to leave with a lousy employer is anyone's idea of a good experience.

[historyman]

Please do not under any circumstances ever work for SABIS I was their victem for a year at their school in Homs Syria there is virtualy no dirty trick that they were too low to play from housing to pay to extra work loads. SABIS must be the pits of international schools or any school for that matter. Read the posts check out SABIS stinks.com and flee!!

[rbc]

Yes, give this school a miss.

[historyman]

Look just get the hell out of the place. Yes if people know that you have worked for SABIS it will do you harm. No they will not try and get money out of you because you are working illegally on a tourist visa and they are employing you illegally. If you think things are bad now just wait until next term when one in four weekends will be lost. If you stay be very firm about your final payment GET IT IN CASH the entire 4 months, they will try and put it into your bank account, they will not and you will NEVER see the money!! Trust me they are very very bad people. It is a big world out there with lots of work and so much better than SABIS. Homms is an OK town but nothing compared with Aleppo or even Damascus and the climate is unpleasant and the stench from the oil refinery nasty. Do yourself a favor buy a plane ticket. Syria is a great country and is being badly served by the likes of ISC Homms management with whom most of the blame must be put. At the end of the day it is just a brutal exercise in extorting money out of parents most of whom have no idea about private education. Given the discipline problems and the total lack of support I really feel sorry for you and hope you will soon be free.

[johndhorton]

Hi:

I was an English teacher at the Sabis run Military High School in Al Ain, UAE from August - October 2009. I think the school was designed to accomodate the male juvenile delinquent population in the UAE. Instead of sending the "boys" to reform school, they were sent to the Military High School to shape up or ship out. The 9th grade students were nice, friendly and mostly sincere about wanting to learn. By the 11th grade they were totally out of control and some of the "boys" looked like they were 22 to 28 years old and much bigger and stronger than me and they liked to show it by 5 or 6 students surrounding the teacher and getting within inches of me. Some of them also liked to "accidentally" touch me which was annoying. I taught 9th, 10th and 11th grade English.

One of my 11th graders punched me in the stomach and I had a �thank God� moment. I immediately reported him to management and over the weekend filed a police complaint against him. The school management (both the Sabis people and the UAE military officers) went ballistic trying to get me drop the case. I told them that it was in the hands of the police and that they should not try to intimidate a witness. They fired me after one week of my refusing to drop the case. I then filed a breach of contract and violation of the UAE labor law (unlawful termination for contacting government officials) complaint with the civil court in Al Ain. In mediation, a settlement was reached where Sabis provided me with two months severance pay (the most that the UAE labor law provides is 3 months) and a plane ticket back to the USA. I received a total of around US$5,000 for having taught less than 2 weeks in the classroom. Most of my time was in training and the Ramadan holiday.

Speaking of training, they had us do 4 weeks of training in August 2009 and only paid us for 2. That put me on notice that I would have to deal with them in the court system sooner or later and the kid punching me provided the perfect excuse.

But I would still like to go back to the Middle East. The good kids are really good and the bad kids have just had poor educational experiences (i.e. boring pedagogy) which have depleted their motivation and focus.

English Teacher
from the USA

[lapd08]

Contract?! What contract? I made the mistake of pointing out a discrepancy between the "contract" and what was actually going on (being made to work extra hours) and they went BALLISTIC.

No, no, no! Contract is a very dirty word with SABIS. It implies you have RIGHTS! Basically, when you sign a contract with them, you are signing your life away for whatever time you agree to work for them. They can, and will do with you what they will, so you were lucky you found out before you signed.

You don't negotiate with these people. It's like trying to negotiate with the Mafia.

All the negative stories still hold true. Yes, they do pay (your base salary, good luck with extra hours) on time, but that's a little like saying Hitler loved animals.

[scot47]

I have a feeling that after her recent experiences in KSA Ms. Borgia will not be returning to the Middle East.

[talktome]

I was offered a job with Sabis to work with them in a school in Duhok.
From what I can find on the place, it is a small city.
When I talked to HR- I mentioned the negativity surrounding the place and that I wanted some type of assurance that I would be taken care of.
She seemed very straight forward, saying its not going to be a walk in the park, but that I would be paid on time- which is what we all expect from our employers, right?
Anyway, I worked under a stringent curriculum in Kuwait working for the MoD. It was ALL teaching by the numbers and left no wiggle room for supplemental materials or activities that would help them learn communicatively.
But I liked the system because it made the day go by fast.
As for working for overbearing employers who always invade a teacher's privacy, teaching in Korea was like that because the visa system there virtually makes you the property of the school.
The HR rep gave me some email addresses of current and former teachers and I got the low down and a lot of dirt. But I am not going to base my decision on what I've heard- I have to base it on what I see and experience.
I have some teaching experience under my belt, but I am pretty much going into the job green with no prejudice and no expectations except to get paid at the end of the month.

I am going into this knowing I might be screwed and knowing I won't be surprised if I do. But it is a learning experience, everyone goes through at least several bad schools before they find their home.

[Never Ceased To Be Amazed]

"...everyone goes through at least several bad schools before they find their home."

Not really...only the desperate do...

NCTBA

[veiledsentiments]

[talktome]