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trustedteacher
Joined: 10 Dec 2009
Posts: 53
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 Posted: Sun Dec 20, 2009 8:03 pm Post subject: SIT folks |
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I dont think that it is the SIT folks that you are mad at, I think that the truth is some of you are so negative that you would not be able to get a job anywhere else. What is the saying misery loves company!!!
If the YU is so hippy and accepts these SIT folks then what is stopping you from getting a job somewhere else!!!!! |
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Stephen Jones
Joined: 21 Feb 2003
Posts: 4124
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| Posted: Sun Dec 20, 2009 10:06 pm Post subject: |
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Wherever do you get the idea that the Saudis don't accept qualifications from SIT?
It's one of the two top places for training EFL teachers (the other is in Monterey). |
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA
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| Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 2:32 am Post subject: |
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| trustedteacher wrote: |
| If the YU is so hippy and accepts these SIT folks then what is stopping you from getting a job somewhere else!!!!! |
Not sure if you are talking to me or Cleo... but neither of us would have the least interest in teaching at Al-Y... now or anytime in the future. Pretty much for the reasons that you and others have been pointing out.
| Stephen Jones wrote: |
Wherever do you get the idea that the Saudis don't accept qualifications from SIT?
It's one of the two top places for training EFL teachers (the other is in Monterey). |
I expect that SJ is probably correct that Saudi accepts the qualifications, but I have no idea where he got the idea that it is one of the "top" two places for training EFL teachers other than in their own mind.  Or perhaps you don't mean "top" as in "best" - but their years of training the Peace Corps volunteers and thus looking at it purely by the numbers... over 40 years, they have sent off lots of teachers who have taken an EFL training course to teach somewhere for their one year or so Peace Corp stint. And some of them went on to get MAs at other places and stayed in the field. I have taught with a number of ex-Peace Corp teachers, but they went elsewhere to get their MAs. I worked with one non-PC person who did get an MA from SIT. He was a good teacher.
Not sure what is in Monterey... I guess that means somewhere in California? University of California? They have many campuses and likely turn out lots of MAs... of a more traditional sort than SIT.
VS |
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Citizenkane
Joined: 14 Jun 2009
Posts: 234
Location: Xanadu
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| Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 11:17 am Post subject: |
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| I expect that SJ is probably correct that Saudi accepts the qualifications |
Veiled, I think they don't. I've heard that SIT is not on the Saudi Ministry's list of accredited institutions.
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| I visited Al Yamamah some time back when they put on a conference for teachers. |
Ah, so you were one of the 7 or so people who turned up for that 'conference'. The one guy I know who went there said it was pretty shambolic, and although some of the speakers were good, there was hardly anyone there and there were also loads of cancellations from advertised speakers. If that shambles is the best Yamamah can do..... no wonder it's going down the tubes. |
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trustedteacher
Joined: 10 Dec 2009
Posts: 53
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| Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 11:41 am Post subject: nothing |
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oh well
Last edited by trustedteacher on Mon Dec 21, 2009 8:23 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Cleopatra
Joined: 28 Jun 2003
Posts: 3657
Location: Tuamago Archipelago
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| Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 1:43 pm Post subject: |
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| Wherever do you get the idea that the Saudis don't accept qualifications from SIT? |
From the Saudi Ministry of Education, since you ask.
A friend of mine was considering doing the MA TESOL at SIT, but since he intends staying in KSA for some time, wanted to make sure it was accepted by the authorities here. So he got a Saudi colleague to phone the Min of Ed on his behalf. They specifically told him that degrees from SIT are NOT accepted in KSA. Hardly surprising, the place is a 'graduate institute' not a university. AFAIK they are not even recognised in the US.
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| It's one of the two top places for training EFL teachers (the other is in Monterey). |
Says who?!? I've met quite a few people who've 'studied' there, and have had a look at thier 'curriculum'. As regards an academic course (which after all is what an MA purports to be) it is, imho, fairly worthless. It has NO required thesis or dissertation, and I believe that independent reserach shoudl be a fundamental part of any and all post-graduate study. If I want a graduate of a 'teacher training' course, I'll take someone with a CELTA. If I want someone with an academic background in language teaching, I'll take someone with an MA from a decent university (not a 'graduate institute' designed to indoctrinate Peace Corp drones) by means of wall climbing and berry picking (again, I kid you not!) sessions.
You may call me old-fashioned. In fact, please do. |
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Stephen Jones
Joined: 21 Feb 2003
Posts: 4124
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| Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 3:07 pm Post subject: |
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The MAs at SIT & Monterey Institute of International training are considered amongst the best in the field. One reason no doubt is that they cost so much (over $40,000) and thus only attract dedicated teachers.
Ringing up the Saudi Ministry is not the best way of finding out if a degree is accepted. To the best of my knowledge they stopped updating their lists twenty years ago. |
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA
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| Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 3:24 pm Post subject: |
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Yes... we all think of you as an "old-fashioned" girl Cleo.
I searched the SIT website and could find no mention of accreditation.
Trustedteacher
I think you are right that the main problems center on management - which hasn't enforced or created any discernible curriculum - and has no interest in the ideas of the professionals that they do hire - and is fixated on an ESL band wagon that no one else has considered effectual in the last 30 years.
Citizenkane
As to the conference last year, it was again management that caused most of the problems there. For instance, the advertised speakers that didn't show were mostly because of the administration's inability to arrange the visas in a timely manner. (now isn't that a big surprise...  )
SJ
Considered by whom? I'm American and I've never even heard of the Monterey Institute of whatever. And the tuition for the MA at SIT is $28,000 - per their website - which is less than some that I have priced at other universities. That is the price for an MA at the small local college in the middle of nowhere in the US. That is the price at AUC. I looked into one at the University of Maryland in 2001 and it was $32,000.
VS |
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zackzack
Joined: 26 Nov 2009
Posts: 6
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| Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 4:26 pm Post subject: Just a few facts to toss into the mix- |
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xo
Last edited by zackzack on Mon Dec 21, 2009 7:36 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA
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| Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 5:19 pm Post subject: Re: Just a few facts to toss into the mix- |
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Thanks... but...
| zackzack wrote: |
| 1. The minimum commitment to the Peace Corps is 27 months: |
Rather irrelevant to our discussion. What does service in a US government program have to do with teaching EFL in some Saudi university... nothing.
| zackzack wrote: |
| http://www.sit.edu/Grad_documents/AYMAT-Fee-Sheet-0910.pdf2. The full-year SIT MA TESOL is budgeted to cost almost $50,000 when all costs are included. http://www.sit.edu/graduate/2972.htm |
And this page of the site give the cost of tuition as $28,960 http://www.sit.edu/Grad_documents/AYMAT-Fee-Sheet-0910.pdf At every university one will have estimated costs for books and various fees and whatever they can stab you with... plus, of course, one has to eat and have housing... that is all included in that $50,000 number. Those are guesses, better we should find and use a comparable number - which is tuition.
| zackzack wrote: |
| 3. SIT's programs are accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). The class ahead of my group included two US public school elementary teachers and one US public high school teacher all getting their MAs in TESOL from SIT and their employers all encouraged them to attend SIT. One of the elementary school teachers was receiving a grant from her school district to attend. SIT also offers a certification that is accepted by the State of Vermont which allows teachers to teach in the Public Schools. |
I assumed that they must be accredited. I merely said that I couldn't find it on their website. The rest of the info here is irrelevant to this discussion. Universities/colleges all over the US have programs for their local teachers that school boards support.
| zackzack wrote: |
| 4. My friend with an MA in English from Cornell languishes in the States waiting for the Saudi Ministry of education to issue his visa while I, with only a BA, a few years of experience and a letter stating my enrollment at SIT in its MA TESOL program, am here. I think the decisions made by the Saudi Visa office are arbitrary at best. Perhaps the Ministry is beginning, as many are, to strike down applications from teachers with �distance� or �on-line� MAs. |
You were right when you said that it was arbitrary... don't know what its consistent distrust of distance/online degrees has to do with it. There is no requirement from the Ministry to have an MA in the first place, so your enrollment at SIT is/was irrelevant.
| zackzack wrote: |
| 5. The primary difference between a college and a university in the United States is that a college just offers a collection of degrees in one specific area, while a university is a collection of colleges. When you go to a university you are going to be graduating from one of their colleges, such as the business college. As to which is better, it depends on what you want. Single colleges tend to be smaller while universities are bigger, but universities are better known. Institutes tend to focus on specific fields: MIT= technology. SIT= internationalism. |
Semantics... the name of the place is not an indicator of much in the US. There is no law... and it depends on the part of the country.
| zackzack wrote: |
| 6. The Monterey Institute is a fantastic school and they have a very different approach to TESOL than SIT. My friend who went to Berkeley for her undergrad went to the Monterey Institute for her MA upon returning from the Peace Corps. She loved it. http://www.miis.edu/ |
Good for her. I've still never heard of it.
VS |
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zackzack
Joined: 26 Nov 2009
Posts: 6
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| Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 5:44 pm Post subject: |
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xo
Last edited by zackzack on Mon Dec 21, 2009 7:35 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Cleopatra
Joined: 28 Jun 2003
Posts: 3657
Location: Tuamago Archipelago
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| Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 6:38 pm Post subject: |
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Perhaps the Ministry is beginning, as many are, to strike down applications from teachers with �distance� or �on-line� MAs.
Also, perhaps things have changed since you were all in Saudi |
I am still in Saudi Arabia. As VS said, you don't actually have to have an MA for most ESL positions, so the fact that the embassy gave you a visa is neither here nor there. As I've said, according to my friend's recent research (done within the last 2 years) SIT is NOT recognised by the Min of Ed. So, if you were applying for a position which did require a Master's degree, a degree from SIT would not be accepted.
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| 2. The full-year SIT MA TESOL is budgeted to cost almost $50,000 when all costs are included |
Not at all sure what point you're trying to make here.
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| SIT= internationalism. |
Ehhhh??? "Internationalism" is now an academic discipline?!? |
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zackzack
Joined: 26 Nov 2009
Posts: 6
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| Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 7:10 pm Post subject: RE: Cleopatra |
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xo
Last edited by zackzack on Mon Dec 21, 2009 7:34 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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tacomaboywa
Joined: 18 Jan 2009
Posts: 194
Location: The Magic Kingdom
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| Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 7:14 pm Post subject: Re: Just a few facts to toss into the mix- |
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| veiledsentiments wrote: |
| zackzack wrote: |
| 6. The Monterey Institute is a fantastic school and they have a very different approach to TESOL than SIT. My friend who went to Berkeley for her undergrad went to the Monterey Institute for her MA upon returning from the Peace Corps. She loved it. http://www.miis.edu/ |
Good for her. I've still never heard of it.
VS |
The Monterey Institute is a very high quality International Relations & Languages School. Its roots come from the US Military Intensive Language Training program there. They have high standards & good methodology. This place is an ideal choice for anyone serious about Language & International Relations.
-------------
Avoid M-Trading!
http://www.tulbah.org/ |
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Cleopatra
Joined: 28 Jun 2003
Posts: 3657
Location: Tuamago Archipelago
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| Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 7:17 pm Post subject: |
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| as disgusting as it may seem to you |
Not disgusting, just comical!
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The only difference between our friends is that mine actually exists.
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Truth hurts eh? Call the ministry yourself if you don't believe me
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| Its roots come from the US Military Intensive Language Training program there |
'Nuff said. |
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