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AbeCross
Joined: 21 Jun 2012
Posts: 191
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 Posted: Wed May 01, 2013 1:09 pm Post subject: The hockey brothers' duplicity |
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| nickelgoat wrote: |
| Management (hockey brothers) was awful - I'm sure you've read through other postings, which sometimes get taken down if they get too interesting. When the hockey brothers leave it might be a better place. |
Yes, that's right. The hockey brothers conduct has been nothing short of despicable. They routinely lie to teachers in an effort to make themselves look good and to advance their own avaricious agenda.
In 2011, all newly-hired teacher were promised free trips to Bahrain on weekends. A few weeks into the academic year, it was stopped. The brothers continued to go. They go every weekend!
In 2012, there was a Saudi Cultural Day with a local organization. Teacher turnout was very low. One of the brothers sent a late-morning email to all the teachers saying that teachers could come to free lunch because too much food had been ordered. The email stated that the offer was just for lunch. About a dozen teachers got on the bus and went off for their free lunch. Well, there was no "free" lunch. The newly-arrived teachers had to endure a three-hour lecture as unwilling participants in the Saudi Cultural Day. As the lectures began, the mendacious head hockey coach apologized for the number of late-arriving "participants" to the day's events. After an interminable afternoon, the deceived teachers were served dinner. The brothers lied in the email without compunction because they thought the low turnout made them look bad.
"Facts are facts and will not disappear on account of your likes." Jawaharlal Nehru |
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Grendal
Joined: 13 Aug 2009
Posts: 861
Location: Lurking in the depths of the Faisaliah Tower underground parking.
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| Posted: Wed May 01, 2013 2:26 pm Post subject: |
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Isn't there a penalty box you can put these vipers in? A five year misconduct penalty is in order, immediately followed by flogging and pelting with promised food.
Grendal |
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cyclistlongdistancerunner
Joined: 18 Mar 2008
Posts: 31
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| Posted: Fri May 03, 2013 2:58 pm Post subject: |
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| I worked for Shabaka last year and had no real complaints or problems with the brothers. I am deeply bemused by some of the negative comments and really do not know what to say or think about them. Suffice to say, I thought management did a decent job. The housing was not bad at all and I must say I loved the pool. Swam twice a day usually. The gym and clubhouse took a while to get going but they were really good in the second half of the year. I ran to work most mornings and had no problems with the Religious Police with respect to my gym clothing or strange footwear. If you are considering a gig in Saudi and it is your first time there, it is not a bad job at all. |
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fledex
Joined: 05 Jun 2011
Posts: 342
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| Posted: Fri May 03, 2013 4:10 pm Post subject: |
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| Grendal wrote: |
ps. Qassim University is my favorite though. Some say it's hell out there in conservative country, but I had a better time there than in Riyadh or Hofuf.
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Really, Grendal? I'd agree that Qassim U. was better than KSU as a work place, but "a better time there"? I don't think so. What good time ever happened in Qassim? One of the most insane and worst year's of my life, I'd have to say. The Boudl felt like a prison. Of course, you had a car there, didn't you? |
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axfoley
Joined: 21 Apr 2013
Posts: 11
Location: KSA
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| Posted: Sat May 04, 2013 2:13 pm Post subject: Are you the one they called "Moonboots"? |
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| cyclistlongdistancerunner wrote: |
| I worked for Shabaka last year and had no real complaints or problems with the brothers. I am deeply bemused by some of the negative comments and really do not know what to say or think about them. Suffice to say, I thought management did a decent job. The housing was not bad at all and I must say I loved the pool. Swam twice a day usually. The gym and clubhouse took a while to get going but they were really good in the second half of the year. I ran to work most mornings and had no problems with the Religious Police with respect to my gym clothing or strange footwear. If you are considering a gig in Saudi and it is your first time there, it is not a bad job at all. |
Glad to hear you enjoyed it so much that you didn't come back. Low teacher retention is always a red flag. |
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cyclistlongdistancerunner
Joined: 18 Mar 2008
Posts: 31
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| Posted: Sun May 05, 2013 6:35 am Post subject: |
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I didn't come back because my mother passed away in August and I ended up staying home in Canada until early December, to take care of family affairs.
To repeat: the naysayers notwithstanding, this is a very good job for anyone going to Saudi for the first time. The brother in command did a very good job and I have no complaints about him at all. It is a good compound with a nice swimming pool and a good gym.
It is true there are better gigs in the KSA - but there are many that are far, far worse. THis is a very good job for someone who needs a first job in SAudi and perhaps does not have the requisite experience to get one of the better paying gigs. The Saudi family that owns this show ALWAYS pays on time.
Axfoley you do not know me and your sneers are uncalled for. I would not make presumptions about anyone's motivations for where they go and when. I am so sorry you have had a bad experience in your opionion with respect to Shabaka and the crew there. And yes I am the one they call Moonboots. I ran to work every morining on Kangoojumps. |
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mashkif
Joined: 17 Aug 2010
Posts: 178
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| Posted: Sun May 05, 2013 4:54 pm Post subject: Re: The hockey brothers' duplicity |
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| AbeCross wrote: |
Yes, that's right. The hockey brothers conduct has been nothing short of despicable. They routinely lie to teachers in an effort to make themselves look good and to advance their own avaricious agenda.
In 2011, all newly-hired teacher were promised free trips to Bahrain on weekends. A few weeks into the academic year, it was stopped. The brothers continued to go. They go every weekend!
In 2012, there was a Saudi Cultural Day with a local organization. Teacher turnout was very low. One of the brothers sent a late-morning email to all the teachers saying that teachers could come to free lunch because too much food had been ordered. The email stated that the offer was just for lunch. About a dozen teachers got on the bus and went off for their free lunch. Well, there was no "free" lunch. The newly-arrived teachers had to endure a three-hour lecture as unwilling participants in the Saudi Cultural Day. As the lectures began, the mendacious head hockey coach apologized for the number of late-arriving "participants" to the day's events. After an interminable afternoon, the deceived teachers were served dinner. The brothers lied in the email without compunction because they thought the low turnout made them look bad.
"Facts are facts and will not disappear on account of your likes." Jawaharlal Nehru |
I know absolutely nothing about the place but have to comment on this.
The event you describe says far more about the "teachers" than about the management or this eponymous brother. I mean, scramble to go to a celebration in which they were obviously not interested just in order to stuff their faces with free food!?!
And you talk about avarice!! |
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Grendal
Joined: 13 Aug 2009
Posts: 861
Location: Lurking in the depths of the Faisaliah Tower underground parking.
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| Posted: Sun May 05, 2013 7:05 pm Post subject: |
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| fledex wrote: |
| Grendal wrote: |
ps. Qassim University is my favorite though. Some say it's hell out there in conservative country, but I had a better time there than in Riyadh or Hofuf.
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Really, Grendal? I'd agree that Qassim U. was better than KSU as a work place, but "a better time there"? I don't think so. What good time ever happened in Qassim? One of the most insane and worst year's of my life, I'd have to say. The Boudl felt like a prison. Of course, you had a car there, didn't you? |
yes we did have a poor man's car. we were able to get away and go nowhere. I mean the traffic, pollution, and general environment was a little better there. Also enjoyed the desert outings too.
Grendal |
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axfoley
Joined: 21 Apr 2013
Posts: 11
Location: KSA
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| Posted: Mon May 06, 2013 4:19 am Post subject: ANOTHER REASON TO AVOID SHABAKA - HOFUF (Al -Ahsa) |
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Thanks, Edd for posting this in the "Teacher's Lounge"
More news from AL-Ahsa
Saudi Sars-like virus 'kills five' �
Saudi Arabia says five people have died from a Sars-like virus in the east of the country and two more are seriously ill.
If you're concerned about your health, check out the link(Edd's post)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22378541 |
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AbeCross
Joined: 21 Jun 2012
Posts: 191
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| Posted: Mon May 06, 2013 11:20 am Post subject: Re: The hockey brothers' duplicity |
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| mashkif wrote: |
| AbeCross wrote: |
Yes, that's right. The hockey brothers conduct has been nothing short of despicable. They routinely lie to teachers in an effort to make themselves look good and to advance their own avaricious agenda.
In 2011, all newly-hired teacher were promised free trips to Bahrain on weekends. A few weeks into the academic year, it was stopped. The brothers continued to go. They go every weekend!
In 2012, there was a Saudi Cultural Day with a local organization. Teacher turnout was very low. One of the brothers sent a late-morning email to all the teachers saying that teachers could come to free lunch because too much food had been ordered. The email stated that the offer was just for lunch. About a dozen teachers got on the bus and went off for their free lunch. Well, there was no "free" lunch. The newly-arrived teachers had to endure a three-hour lecture as unwilling participants in the Saudi Cultural Day. As the lectures began, the mendacious head hockey coach apologized for the number of late-arriving "participants" to the day's events. After an interminable afternoon, the deceived teachers were served dinner. The brothers lied in the email without compunction because they thought the low turnout made them look bad.
"Facts are facts and will not disappear on account of your likes." Jawaharlal Nehru |
I know absolutely nothing about the place but have to comment on this.
The event you describe says far more about the "teachers" than about the management or this eponymous brother. I mean, scramble to go to a celebration in which they were obviously not interested just in order to stuff their faces with free food!?!
And you talk about avarice!! |
The email did not invite teachers to a celebration of any sort. It was an invitation to a free lunch, nothing more or less. You did not read the email and you also have absolutely no knowledge of the events of that day or of the dishonest behavior of the management at Shabaka.
The event I described was not an anomaly:it was-and remains-representative of the Machiavellian tactics of the so-called management team. |
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edd_moseley
Joined: 24 Jun 2009
Posts: 26
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| Posted: Mon May 06, 2013 3:02 pm Post subject: |
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Axfoley,
I posted that article (on our teacher's forum) originally as an observation on the local media in Saudi, and the general lack of information there has been on this particular subject. No local media, I have seen, has reported on 5 people dying of a potentially contagious disease in our city. Why this is the case, however, is not something I wish to get into on public forums.
Realistically, five people have died in a city of around 1 million. Unless you spend a lot of time around animals, and are either very young or very old, there seems to be almost zero risk.
By your same logic should potential teachers heading to Jordan, Germany or Birmingham (UK) be reconsidering their moves, as these countries are also mentioned in the article? |
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ExpatinTown
Joined: 13 Apr 2013
Posts: 22
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| Posted: Tue May 07, 2013 2:55 pm Post subject: Health Risk? |
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| I see you two are getting heated and find it unnecessary. I think we can engage in this forum and still respect each others opinion. From what I read about the city, there is now concern that the disease is actually spreading human to human because they are unable to explain how it is spreading. They are not 100% sure as to what is going on. |
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babur
Joined: 10 Aug 2010
Posts: 178
Location: Dammam, Saudi Arabia
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| Posted: Tue May 07, 2013 3:41 pm Post subject: Saudi Gazette Preventive measures in place for coronavirus, |
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| Quote: |
| No local media, I have seen, has reported on 5 people dying of a potentially contagious disease in our city. |
Which rock do you live under? If this is the scale reported in one of the sanitized daily newspapers then we've only seen the tip of the iceberg.
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20130503164057 |
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Grendal
Joined: 13 Aug 2009
Posts: 861
Location: Lurking in the depths of the Faisaliah Tower underground parking.
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| Posted: Tue May 07, 2013 7:59 pm Post subject: |
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Saudi doctors and the medical establishment is a farce here. I see medical students here cheating on every opportunity they can get. I mean these people (if you can call them that) are going to be taking care of a future generation of their own citizens. Finishing medical school through short cuts and cheats is hardly what I call medical sciences. They can't even diagnose a headache and you think they will find some cure or vaccine for this virus? I tell my student this. 'please tell me which hospital you are going to do your internship so that I can remember never to go there.' THEY THINK I'M JOKING AND START LAUGHING. Same goes for the engineers. What building or bridge did you build so that I know never to use it or go there.
Grendal
ps. could be the T virus released by umbrella corp. soon we will be aiming for the head. "the only way to kill zombies' |
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AbeCross
Joined: 21 Jun 2012
Posts: 191
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| Posted: Wed May 08, 2013 3:07 pm Post subject: |
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| cyclistlongdistancerunner wrote: |
| I worked for Shabaka last year and had no real complaints or problems with the brothers. I am deeply bemused by some of the negative comments and really do not know what to say or think about them. Suffice to say, I thought management did a decent job. The housing was not bad at all and I must say I loved the pool. Swam twice a day usually. The gym and clubhouse took a while to get going but they were really good in the second half of the year. I ran to work most mornings and had no problems with the Religious Police with respect to my gym clothing or strange footwear. If you are considering a gig in Saudi and it is your first time there, it is not a bad job at all. |
Really? The brothers are responsible for running an academic program. In what academic area did they do a good job?
How about the grade inflation in the program? I had to fail three of my students, the hockey guru decided to pass two of those three students. The same happened to many other instructors.
Did the hockey gurus do a good job with the ill-conceived and poorly-implemented weekly peer observations? Those observation began suddenly in the middle of the year and vanished a few weeks later. They had little or nothing to do with pedagogy or teacher development and were generally perceived as more of a punitive measure than anything else. The whole program was badly implemented and inadequately supervised. Consequently, some teachers falsified their observation reports. Peer observation can be a very good thing, but Shabaka bungled it.
Did the hockey gurus do a good job with the farcical and McCarthyist Rehiring Committee? You do remember that notorious body, don't you? Some teachers were grilled about supposed infractions of one kind or another. Not one hockey player had to go in front of the Committee! Needless to say, the retention rate for hockey players is at or close to one-hundred percent. Less than twenty percent of the other teachers were offered second-year contracts. Either there is a strong correlation between playing hockey and teaching ability or cronyism is rampant. Which one do think is the case?
As for the swimming pool, I am glad you enjoyed it. But the hockey brothers had nothing to do with the operation of it. That was done by a capable team leader. That team leader is no longer with Shabaka, having joined the large and swelling ranks of ex-Shabaka employees.
The housing was managed by another team leader who also was dismissed at the end of the year. And the basic gym was handled by a first-year teacher who was not retained for a second year.
Bottom line: teacher turnover is far too high, and that turnover is a direct consequence of the inept hockey brothers' management. |
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