Job Discussion Forums

[trustedteacher]

I only wish mgmt had been honest with me about why they were having doubts about me, and had given me some constructive feedback (especially since I had asked for it).

[[b]b]The reason why management could have not been honest with you because they are not honest people. What they probably should have told you was that, "Honestly we do not like people who prove to know more about how to effectively run a program then us,so we have to let you go to make ourselves look better."[/b]

However, I believe without a doubt that I was doing what I was hired to do: 'take responsibility for the quality of the program'. In the end, I was let go for the same reason for which I was hired.[/b]

This is a perfect example of what I said earlier. They will tell you to do something but just like dictators, if it is not the way they want and how they want it then they will find a reason to terminate you or not renew your contract.

It is our responsibility to help other teachers not get screwed over by this school. The more we honestly post here, the more material other teachers have to go by so they do not make the same mistake we made by working for this school.

[Citizenkane]

[desert_traveller]

this al yamama sounds like a happy place for teachers, somehow i get the same impression as when i am browsing postings about ksu obeikan

or pmu eastern province

or this new thingy, ecededcede ECED ECDE you know what the goverment visa gurus

ouch

[fishjock]

[balqis]

I worked for both - and only leafed through the KSU contract to know it belongs to the same ilk - and both should be avoided, if one has options.

This post is about Yamamah. Independent and smart individuals have nothing to do there. Yamamah swims in fear and false pretence and wallows in its own venom and poisonous vapours. Pity, as Yamamah has very interesting selection of female students. Their Interlink ESL programme cannot be bettered. Why?
Based on fear and sycophancy as the only rite of passage, they promote slaves, yes-women and yes-men. with muffled thought and muzzled lips. Based on fear, a 3000$ a month bait and leash, and the old Arab practice of ketman, they practise double talk and lip-service. So does everyone else, who wants to hang on to Yamamah, usually out of necessity, not choice. The kind of well-trained, sectarian Newspeak I used to hear there was exemplary - as well as nauseous scary, since I had no other conversation to listen to in Riyadh - and might be flat-out quoted in books on instilling Newspeak or on talk&thought control of organization such as Amway or - you-name-it - religious proselytes.
When one leaves the place, one feels as if coming out of the famous Cave, where chained shadows, with tied tongues, sit in a stony circle, partaking in a falsified language, i.e., mind. To air... to sunshine... to light...

A fellow teacher there, a smart - living as if in a hood and herself practising exclusively ketman non-stop in her university life - survivor of Yamamah mechanism, in week one of my induction told me as an off-the-record aside: ''Nothing that you hear here is true or real. The entire talk that manages the place is fake and false. Trust no one''.

Oh, noble Middle East traveller, leave as soon as you can their unwelcoming inn, if you stepped onto their threshold mistakenly...

balqis

ps. though a short gig at Yamamah, if one turns a blind eye and deaf ear to the place, quickly understands it is surreal and fictitous, and manages to weave a short-term veil of irony and flippancy to shelter herself from the colour - and palaver - locale of Yamamah, instead focusing only on her students [ the only reward one can get by chance at Yamamah, though Yamamah has nothing to do with - fascinating or even mesmerizing at times! - experience and Saudi psychology the students bring in], such a gig offers a chance to live in Riyadh for a while and visit stunning - in its sinister beauty and portentious thoughts that it provokes - old ruinous city of Dharyia.

[Mia Xanthi]

Balqis, that was a beautifully written post.

[passionateteacher]

I have a question, after reading and re-reading the threads, there is something I am missing here. When I was doing the research on this school I discovered that the person in charge of the program is in Colorado. What I noticed that was common amongst all of the posts is that many of the teachers whom taught there where basically screwed out of their contracts, in one way or another. My question to all of you is that why not those of you whom were mistreated by the company perhaps start a law suit against Mr. A? Have any of you tried to go to a lawyer to see what rights you have? The advantage is that his company is based here in the United States. Trustedteacher made a good point when she said that she advised people to have an attorney read over the contract. If I was in any of your shoes and I was wrongfully terminated, I would not just walk away. I would file a law suit. What do you think?

Also another thing that disturbed me was that in one of the posts, one of the last teachers that was let go was African-American. I am African-American. The thing that bothered me even more was that one of my friends who works for PSU said that she was fired because she wore African traditional dress to work. Is that true? I also thought that I read somewhere that the school respects diversity. Is this another lie as well?
I have many friends who are attorneys and if this happened to me you better believe that I would press charges against Mr. A in Colorado.

[trustedteacher]

In answer to your question passionateteacher, the problem with the contract they had us sign is that they state that you can get fired within the 120 probationary period. However, they also led us to believe that the only way you will have your contract terminated, is that if you do something illegal. Things such as have a Saudi boyfriend, be in possession of alcohol,drugs etc. Many of the teachers that I knew did not do any of these things, but they still created reasons to have them fired. What citizenkane said about how the management team treats people they want to terminate they all gang up on you and do it in a very nasty way. They do the same things on the woman's side as well. I have seen them do that to many teachers.

I dont know has anyone tried to press a law suit against Mr. A? Let me know I will be very interested.

[Citizenkane]

[passionateteacher]

Well according to my friend who works at PSU, she knows a few people at Al Yamamah and she told me that according to the dress code, there was nothing that indicated that she could not wear traditional dress. Like I said this was a RUMOR, it has not proven to be true. From what she has told me the dress code for the women was not clearly defined. She said that women were not allowed to wear short skirts and jeans and blouses that showed your cleavage but that was all.

I think it is still worth having an attorney to read over the contract. Lawyers have ways of looking into the loop holes of what is written. Because the organization is also in the US, you never know, you may have a chance at a law suit. The worst thing that can happen is that you may not have a case. But you never know.

[trustedteacher]

Well to answer your question passionateteacher, I am one of the teachers who currently works there. I am not going to renew my contract for next year, so I am not afraid to speak my mind. I think the reason why some of my colleagues are no longer posting because Mr. A just left from Al Yamamah. He claimed in a meeting that he knew that some of us were posting here but he does not know who is who. I wish some of my colleagues would resume posting here, because people need to know the truth about this school. As far as the dress code, your friend was right there is nothing in the dress code that states you cannot wear traditional dress. From what I do know is that the director on the woman's side mentioned to the supervisor of the recent teacher who was fired something about her traditional dress. She never came outright to say that she should not wear the clothing to work. From what I seen her clothes were very beautiful and met the standards of the dress code. They mostly were composed of a blouse and skirt with a matching pattern. Nothing that was too gawdy or outlandish. Everyone at work wears colorful blouses, to make up for having to wear black abayahs when you are outside. One of the administrators even sent out a reminder about the dress code in a recent email about two weeks ago, because they felt some people were dressing a little too casual. However, the dress code did not indicate that traditional dress was not accepted. There are Pakistani and Indian women who work there and from time to time they wear traditional dress. I don't think that was the reason why she was fired, I think it was more to it then that.

CitizenKane you are very funny. Since when does jeans classify as traditional dress!!!!
In any case, the truth of the matter is once they feel that they do not like you, then they will make up any reason to fire you. When you make a constructive suggestion about how things can run better at the school, they start to find reasons to get rid of you. I have seen this happen to so many very good teachers over the past several years. Teachers who have been there for three to four years the administration did not have any problems with their teaching style until they made a positive suggestion, then all of a sudden they had surprise class observations. It was as if they try to find reasons to get rid of you. It is a very oppressive and dictator style system and only the kiss-ass survive. This is exactly why the program is in danger, because student numbers have dropped from almost 900 to 365 within the last two years. If I am not mistaken,Saudis can go to the government schools for free. So why go to Al-Yamamah when they can receive a better education. Don't get me wrong, I like the project based learning approach, but if you do not allow the teachers to make suggestions on how to better implement it then it cannot be successful in the Saudi educational system.
I really think that the program and perhaps the university is not going to survive, they are doing nothing to change their ways and it is very unfortunate. I hope that teachers read this post before responding to the ad.

[veiledsentiments]

[Cleopatra]

[trustedteacher]

In answer to Cleo's question the person was African-American. African-Americans always wear African clothing. So yes she was African decent. I have seen white people who have no connection to Africa wear traditional dress from all cultures. I have seen white women who are married to Pakistani men wear Shawal Kemese. Cleo I think your missing the greater point, which is that no matter what, if they decide to fire you,they will find any reason. It could be the way you dress, a suggestion you made at a meeting, anything. Once they decide they no longer want you, they find reasons to get rid of you, no matter how pathetic they are.

[Cleopatra]