Job Discussion Forums

olabueno · Joined: 29 Jan 2008 Posts: 80 Location: Tampa

Well, I'm flying out to LA in a few days for an interview with /through TeachAway.

Wish me luck!

I'll be sure to post my experience.

smooches · Joined: 29 Dec 2010 Posts: 11

good luck with your interview. please share your experience when you return!

mimi_intheworld · Joined: 23 May 2010 Posts: 167 Location: UAE

My interview is coming up soon and I'm finally beginning to get anxious. Crossing my fingers because I really haven't come up with a reasonable back-up plan.

Suggestions? If, for some reason, I don't get an offer from ADEC, what would you recommend for a teacher with 4-ish years of secondary classroom experience in the US and UK (US was de facto ESL due to the school and location), a US teaching cert, a BA English and MA Intercultural Studies, and assorted bits of experience living and working elsewhere in the world?

helenl · Joined: 04 Jan 2006 Posts: 1202

There are quite a few k-12 schools in the GCC who offer the US curricululm that might be worth looking into. The pay & benes are not as high perhap as ADEC but as employers they may actually be preferable. ABA in Muscat springs to mind as do a number of schools (ASD, Doha College, etc. = Doha College might be British but there is an American curriculum equivalent)

olabueno · Joined: 29 Jan 2008 Posts: 80 Location: Tampa

The interview was fine. They asked very easy questions like "How would you handle behavior problems" and "How do you adjust to multiple levels in one class?"

Then she went more in-depth about housing, car rental, etc. One thing I did find odd was that there are no textbooks or workbooks. Seems like if you have a 10 year plan to overhaul your ed. system, you may want to start with books...?

They said I would no within a week. Teachaway called yesterday to give me the good news. They said they would send contract details early this coming week.

smooches · Joined: 29 Dec 2010 Posts: 11

Congratulations Olabueno, hope it all works out the way you want it!

helenl · Joined: 04 Jan 2006 Posts: 1202

Welcome to UAE, it is not unusual for Government institutions to have a "10 year plan" with no support material in place. Suggest you ask to be put in touch with someone already in place to get an idea of what they do.

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

I do believe that Teachaway has a Facebook page for the teachers. You might try to find that for contacts.

VS

Darsky · Joined: 14 Aug 2009 Posts: 11

Olab- don't you get it? they hire us to make the resources--all of them, and as a bonus sometimes we even get to pay for our own copies, lamination, and if you're early childhood, any and all manipulatives you may want.

Smile

Welcome to the land of absurdity. I hope you come and stay for awhile! Enjoy the ride and above all remember it's not your country, or your problems, but it is a nice fat paycheck with good holidays. Anything else is gravy.

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

olabueno · Joined: 29 Jan 2008 Posts: 80 Location: Tampa

Yeah, I'm finding a lot of cool people on the Teach Away FB page. It's just hard to give up Dave's because I've been on here for a few years.

It is a nice balance though to FB.

mimi_intheworld · Joined: 23 May 2010 Posts: 167 Location: UAE

Ola - same here! Dave's gives me the balance of (mostly) actual grown-ups who've been doing this for ages, and the TA pages on facebook get a little more specific (sometimes too specific) to the actual job.

I just got word today that ADEC is offering me a contract. I am very pleased. My interview was nothing like as easy as olabueno's, but apparently I was successful in it.

Darsky, I'm going to remember your advice. Possibly paste it on the top of my computer as a reminder.

naturegirl321 · Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 9041 Location: home sweet home

mimi_intheworld · Joined: 23 May 2010 Posts: 167 Location: UAE

Cheers, naturegirl. I am looking forward to the adventure, trying to balance my anticipation with a regular dose of reality provided by all you lovely UAE people on Dave's. If it all works out, I think I may stay for several years, save some money, actually think about planning for old age and all that. It has to be better than living paycheck to paycheck (or worse, as I am now, living on someone else's paycheck to paycheck). And it'll be different. I'm ready for different.