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johnslat · Posted: Wed Feb 10, 2010 10:24 pm Post subject:

Dear scrog_420,

"Welcome to Saudi Arabia. You're learning the hard way--just as I did. What you're experiencing is typical. If you're hoping for personal or professional satisfaction, forget it. No sane person teaches in Saudi Arabia for any reason other than money. Anytime that you start to think you have a rapport with your students, that you've connected on a personal level, remember, you're just another dancing monkey. Don't expect much better from your Saudi colleagues. It can be a brutal, spirit-crushing experience. You try to be a fair and decent person, and you just get your heart ripped out. You're stunned that someone you thought was a friend, somebody that you cared about, that you bent over backwards to help, could be so cruel to you."

I wonder how I ever could have gotten such a wrong impression.

Regards,
John

Gerund · Joined: 09 Feb 2003 Posts: 80 Location: Amerika

antonia v · Joined: 27 Mar 2005 Posts: 49

antonia v · Joined: 27 Mar 2005 Posts: 49

johnslat · Posted: Wed Feb 10, 2010 11:07 pm Post subject:

Dear antonia v,

An apologist? Well, I've got nothing to apologize for. The nineteen years I spent in Saudi, all with the Institute of Public Administration, four years at the Jeddah brach and the rest at the Riyadh headquarters, were rewarding for me. However, I don't assume that just because I happened to be fortunate enough to have had a good employer and decent students that that's going to be the case for everyone else.

I use the first person pronoun when talking about my experience, not what's sometimes called "the universal You."

And these statements seem (to me, anyway) to be more than what "can happen often":

"Welcome to Saudi Arabia"

"What you're experiencing is typical."

"If you're hoping for personal or professional satisfaction, forget it. No sane person teaches in Saudi Arabia for any reason other than money. Anytime that you start to think you have a rapport with your students, that you've connected on a personal level, remember, you're just another dancing monkey. Don't expect much better from your Saudi colleagues."

"You try to be a fair and decent person, and you just get your heart ripped out. You're stunned that someone you thought was a friend, somebody that you cared about, that you bent over backwards to help, could be so cruel to you."

I'm sorry that scrog_420 (and perhaps you) had or are having a hard time there, but believe it or not, your experiences (like mine) are not universal.

Regards,
John

With Malice Toward None · Joined: 20 Oct 2009 Posts: 250

With Malice Toward None · Joined: 20 Oct 2009 Posts: 250

[quote="Asda"
if they can obtain some extra marks by submitting 'a piece of research' for you (no doubt taken/borrowed from the interweb!). I gather they are used to this from their schools.

Research project Laughing

(Ar. 'baht') are either supplied by teachers themselves from last year's student 'bortfolios', or downloaded from the Net, or brought from the market. I have had three guys come upto me and tell me they have made a collective research and so please the same 'darajat' Rolling Eyes

for all .
One such 'baht', from the Net, baffled me for a couple of seconds. It was in German.

Asda · Joined: 01 Jun 2008 Posts: 231

German?!?! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! Laughing

meyanga · Joined: 02 Mar 2008 Posts: 103 Location: Malaysia

With Malice Toward None · Joined: 20 Oct 2009 Posts: 250

Pssst.. Ma'am, there are men around...

meyanga · Joined: 02 Mar 2008 Posts: 103 Location: Malaysia

Well...can you blame me?

I would rather not know about something and be willing to ask those who can help, than be arrogant and rude when it is completely unnecessary.

meyanga Very Happy

Sheikh N Bake · Joined: 26 Apr 2007 Posts: 1307 Location: Dis ting of ours

jdl · Joined: 06 Apr 2005 Posts: 632 Location: cyberspace

Meyanga,

If you are interested in a survival strategy Scrog had some good advice for you. To expand and summarize:
1. Keep very accurate records which are consistent throughout the semester. The integrity of your marking is best defended if it is consistent and shows a clear pattern of student achievement. In other words don't pad student marks during the semester only to fail the student on the final unless you want a lot of trouble.
2. Eliminate the 'almost passing' category where a lot of instructors place a substantial number of their students thus creating their own problems come end of semester. There is no grey here. A pass is a pass, an almost pass is a pass and a failed miserably may be appealed. Providing marks which are 'close to passing' will create only problems and a lot of trouble for you as an instructor.
3. Pass any student who is genuinely on the bubble unless you want a lot of trouble.

The message is 'protect yourself at all times', anticipate 'mark issues', and have a strategy for resolution of these issues at the beginning of the semester rather than developing one just before you are called up for 're education'. Right, wrong??? As Donnie Brasco says, "Forget about it." Or if your prefer Michael Carleone, "It's not personal, its just business"

Reagardless of who or what is right or wrong, you are the one on the carpet explaining it all, unless you have a pre emptive strategy.