Job Discussion Forums

[Richeire]

If you have taught (or at present do teach) in any one or more of the following places in the Kingdom -

What did/do you find most difficulty coping with in that/those particular place(s)?

- Private college
- Private school
- Public school
- Private language school
- Military base
- International school
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[Sea Sea Rider]

Going with a government institution as the second and only other party involved is your best bet anywhere in the Gulf at this time.

A baby boom has come of age and is in dire need of training and education. This has created a soft spot in the market for private education and private training alternatives.

For example, many young people--mostly men of course--have joined the military as a last resort for work (sound familiar?). Teaching them English can be lucrative, especially in the Kingdom but most Ministry of Defence teaching jobs use private contractors to supply a teaching staff and these contractors can be ruthless when it comes anything remotely related to their bottom lines. Taking specific days for holidays or even having a legitimate sick day costs the contractor money and is severely frowned upon.

Many private institutions and universities have sprung up from Kuwait through Oman and apparently this is now happening in KSA. Usually they are very loosely affiliated with credible schools in the US, UK or Australia yet providing a credible education is second to acquiring customers/students, and when education is second that generally means teachers come second, i.e. a teacher who pushes a student to learn might be pushing away a customer in a competitive market where students are much harder to recruit than are language teachers.

A few private schools and a few third party contractors might be ok, but in my opinion they would be exceptions to the rule.

Government institutions are far less concerned with raking in money (well, in fact, they provide free education to those who qualify), and therefore they are more concerned with separating the wheat from the chaffe in order to produce capable, qualified future members of a workforce. If a good teacher is out sick one day, the government schools may even wish you to get well soon whereas a private contractor might demand that you to drag yourself in to punch the clock (you are slacking off and costing them money) or face termination.

[Bebsi]

Hear, Hear!

I utterly agree with Sea Sea Rider. I have now come to the conclusion that in most places in the Gulf, including KSA, the far better option is to obtain (where possible) a direct-hire contract with a government institution, such as KFUPM, the Royal Commission or the other universities.

Certain contractors to the military and to the oil-companies, are utterly ruthless in their approach, and are interested in the bottom line.

OK, in any country, a commercial entity is ultimately interested in profit. However, in the west, three factors come into play which largely do not apply in the Gulf:

1. Western companies tend to have agreater ralisation that keeping customers involves providing them with a quality product. This in turn looking after the greatest resources in this provision, the personnel. There tends to be a much shorter-term view taken in the Gulf.

2. In the west, there is much greater official regulation of the way companies trat both consumers and staff.

3. In western companies, there is generally, especially at profesional levels, a strong awareness among staff of legal and commercial issues/rights and a lesser willingness to be exloited. Sadly...and I do not mean the middle-east exclusively by any means here...TEFL personnel appear to largely lack this awareness of rights/realities and the refusal to be exploited. A look at what EFL teachers worldwide are prepared to accept in return for their services, especially in the European market, simply reinforces this point.

As an adjunct to 3. above, there is also of course the fact that the TEFL industry, unfortunately, is full of poorly qualified and very unprofessional people. This reinforces the sense of justification of wages and conditions on the part of many employers, and works, needless to say, to the disadvantage of the more professional and committed teachers.

Generally speaking, those who can, go for university jobs in KSA. Wages (relatve to the amount of hours worked) are better, holidays are human...even good (!!), accomodation is more acceptable and general conditions are superior.

There are some exceptions to this rule, such as BAe and certain ARAMCO contractors. Also, private schools and contractors have a not-unimportant role insofar as getting the "first job" in the Gulf are concerned. The better employers like to see prior ME experience on the CV, and a year or two in the private sector with what we might call the "lesser employers" can be most useful in this regard...the "foot in the door" syndrome. However, those jobs are only to be seen as stepping stones, for the most part.

[Richeire]

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Thank you Sea Sea Rider and Bebsi. Your words are very enlightening. Thank you.

In particular -

[veiledsentiments]

This sorta feels like Composition class...

VS

[Richeire]

[veiledsentiments]

I got my degree... I don't have to write essays anymore. Not unless someone is paying for it.

VS

[Richeire]

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Freely we are given the events of our Sunly life; freely we receive them, so why not freely share them for the betterment of our humankind?

If Sun took the attitude during the Night Journey that with reaching the shores of the morrow �I will not shine unless I get paid for it� what could we do?
�I�ve got my position in the sky but I don�t have to shine no more at least not unless I get rewarded for it.� what could we do?

Eagles not in safe shrouded glens do roost but rather in the dizzy wide open heights - that they may be first to see and freely herald the coming forth on the distant horizon the Generosity of the Ages.

Freely shine that others may grow; may grow to in turn to freely give.
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[GrizzlyAdams]

[Sea Sea Rider]

I don't feel specifics are necessary. I can write archetypically. Others can confirm or offer rebuke.

Often on a privately contracted job, the training institution will give students some time off, for example, maybe they leave early on Wednesdays or don't come in at all; often they leave for weeks at a time between terms or during the hottest summer months. Basically school's out.

In the government sector, when students aren't around, this more often than not means teachers don't have to come to work and can travel provided there is no grunt work (grades to be turned in, curriculum to be developed, textbooks to be sorted out, committees to be met, etc).

A private contractor, on the other hand, gets paid for every warm body that shows up and signs in daily work to be done or not. Sometimes they are paid for your weekends as well so you might not be permitted an exit visa or in extreme cases a travel visa within the country!

This means that a teacher must show up, sign in, be present and accounted for even if there is nothing to do. Perhaps the teacher spends days or even weeks signing in at 6:45 AM then spends the day playing free cell or Trivial Pursuit (furtively) until 3 or 4, Saturday through Wednesday.

tick toc tick toc.

Most private contracts offer about 30 days off per annum and especially in Saudi Arabia these thirty days are pretty much eaten up during Eid Al Fitr and Hadj.

If classes are not scheduled for three to four weeks in the summer and if there isn't a major Islamic holiday that summer, the teacher is confined to work and compound life--it is hard not to feel imprisoned and not in control of your own life. Even weekend passes can be denied. If one is fed up, running off isn't an option. In KSA, passports are pulled and they sit in some vault in some contractor's office while you either chew on resentments or deal with the situation.

Having said all that, private contractors tend to pay higher salaries albiet they tend to save money by offering sub-standard (by Gulf Arabia standards) housing.

[Richeire]

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Sea Sea Rider - thank you!

You�re of the Generosity of the Ages.

Blessings,

Richeire
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[cmp45]

Hi Richeire?
My experience of teaching started in the UAE at a Gov't run technical highschool for under achievers looking for a fast track into the job market. It was a real eye opener. I taught there for 3 years( Fujairah Technical Highschool) and it was the most unbelieveable crazy situation one could encounter. It was my first teaching gig after completion of my TESOL course. The students were extremely undisaplined. Many teachers lasted no more than a few weeks. ( IMO, I don't blame them for leaving) The joint agreement with the Gov't Education Dept. and a company called ASPECT were involved at the time. Everyday was a battle to get the students to sit down, stop talking etc etc. Some students actually were involved in physical fist fights with the teachers. Students were engaged in all sorts of unruly behavior and destruction to property on and on. Needless to say the administration's attitude was that as a teacher you were expected to manage the students and any problems encountered were usually the teachers fault. It was definitely a learning experience for me. You may ask why on earth stay in a situation like that for 3 years...well... for one I was determined to stick it out since it was my " foot in the door" and needed the experience on my resume to get a better job down the road. Also I was having a great time outside the classroom and enjoyed the culture and life style. It was difficult but at the same time I had the foresight to know that I wouldn't be there for ever. I chose to stick it out.
What appeared at the time to be a very negative situation turned out to be a positive situation. I learned a great deal about myself and with regard to disapline and classroom management / class control / patience and tolerance / dealing with administrators~ what works and what doesen't.
Also having taught the very worst of students in such an unsupportive atmosphere every job there after was a piece of cake (mostly in terms of student disapline). I have a very clear understanding/ marker of what the worse case senario can be ( at least for me) and now know how to deal with student's minor infractions that other less experienced teachers may feel to be major displinary issues which really are quite mild by my own interpretation, since I now know what the worst senario can be like. Does this make sense?
I started out with the worst and 9 years later, I am now in a position where I am teaching really well mannered and for the most part intelligent ,serious minded students in the KSA.
With regard to non-teaching hours, here at IPA ( Gov't run Insitution)we are still expected to come into work even though there are no classes to teach. It is not such a bad thing; it just depends on how one looks at it and how one values free time. I have plenty of personal projects to keep my self busy during such down time.
cheers, this is my 'composition contribution' for the day

[Bebsi]

Hi there, cmp45,

It's nice to see someone writing a positive account of their experiences, not always the case sadly in this forum, as many people have a lot of pretty dreadful experiences, which through no fault of their own they do not survive unscathed and with such a positive attitude (There are also many people here who are just downright negative, but that's another story).

You appear to have had a very distressing start, but you certainly learned a lot, which you have brought to bear since then in your career. You also took a very far-sighted and mature approach to a job you didn't enjoy, by deciding that for personal and career reasons you would stick it out, and then just got on with it.

Also very glad you are having a good experience in KSA, and that you are now "...teaching really well mannered and for the most part intelligent ,serious minded students...". Yes, they do indeed exist in Saudi, I have taught many of them myself.

BTW, it's Discipline, not 'disapline'

[cmp45]

heheheh yeah my spellin' is an ongoing work in progress; thought I had found all the errors...

[veiledsentiments]

cmp45,

I remember all the stories about working at Aspect way back when. Lots of tales of woe here on Dave's. Whatever happened with these jobs? Are they still there? Did someone take it over who got it organized enough to keep the teachers from running over to Dave's cafe to tell the tale?

Definitely a trial by fire for you. Funny how a job like that puts normal job aggravations into perspective.

VS
(the 'disapline' thing was getting to me too as a long time writing teacher. I wish we had a spell checker on here as my fingers don't always type what my mind tells it...)