Job Discussion Forums

[It's Scary!]

[veiledsentiments]

Yes, MEB, I have read of a number of teachers having difficulties with the female students. Now, nearly every post from teachers who had problems were men. No value judgements meant, but from my years there... and what I have read here over the years, it seems that the teachers that have the fewest problems with Arab students... both male and female.. are we "middle-aged" women. And I found that the male students were easier to "negotiate" acceptable behavior.

That said, as the years have gone by, the kids of the Gulf have become even more spoiled with even more unrealistic expectations. I would say that 95% of my students in the UAE, Egypt, Oman, and Kuwait were great. Not terribly academic, yes immature and often silly, but I truly did enjoy every minute in the classroom over the many years that I was there. I suspect that my timing was good... arrived at a good time, and left while it was still fun.

VS

[Citizenkane]

Perhaps I should clarify what I meant by 'mediocre'.

I don't mean that you have to be a mediocre teacher in order to survive in the Gulf. Though, having said that, there is little to be gained from being an outstanding teacher in an environment where 90% (or even 99%) of students consider a teacher's role to be helping them to pass exams, and where most students care little about learning English for its own sake and just want their lives made as easy as possible.

When I said you need to be a 'mediocrity' to survive in Gulf EFL, what I meant was that - unless you want to take the 'management' career path - you would be wise not to stick your head above the parapet. Don't stand out from the crowd, never complain or get involved in office politics, don't do anything extra, don't join any committees (and if you're roped into one, just nod your head and do the bare minimum). Just be an average worker bee. That's just how it is - or at least how it has been in any of the several Gulf institutions I have worked in over the years. some of us have learned this the hard way!

MEB

[Kally Wally]

Perhaps paranoia is another symptom of HCTitis, because I was in no way intending to attack you directly Scary, just wanted to find out your story as V.S. said there was a thread pertaining to your bad experience with HCT.

I�m not on here to either support or detract from HCT, I�m just giving my 2 cents worth is all. We�re all entitled to our opinions.
I think Citizenkane is bang on the money, like it or not that�s the way they roll at HCT and its doppelgangers across the Gulf.

As for getting a thread locked, well I think when you started making personal attacks against a current members of staff (no doubt with good reason) you are heading to a lockdown......(watch this space).

Citizenkane, you�re right, HCT is like paradise compared to the last place I worked.

HCT/Gulf ain�t for everyone, hell it ain�t for most people but some of us have learned to adapt and survive, ride the punches and not forget the fact that at the end of the day it�s just a job.

I have a rent free villa, paid international school fees for my kid, 2 months paid holidays a year (or is it more?), enough flight ticket allowance for two return trips back home for me and my family and health insurance.

Sure I also have unmotivated students who�d rather play with their i-pads than listen to me BUT I haven�t come across any who are vindictive, twisted or disrespectful, just lazy and sleepy...............but also very generous and open hearted.

If you keep it in perspective that higher education and public service (police/army/government) in the Gulf are all basically operating as state welfare systems (heck in ain�t that different than the old USSR...........jobs for everyone!), keeping the disenfranchised and disinterested youth, off the street with a nice wad of pocket money then you�ll realise that you�re not in the business of teaching but crowd control, stand up comedy, cultural imparting (?)and being a big brother/sister (or in my case grandparent) to your students.

[Middle East Beast]

[republocrat]

Too right, MEB. In fact, Kally Wally's infectious enthusiasm for HCT and just 'getting the job done' is beginning to annoy me. At first I was amused by his/her naivety, but now he/she is coming across to me as a rather gullible person.

Firstly, by putting more than enough information on this forum to identify him/her, he/she will have been labelled already by the HCT spies who trawl this forum looking for 'troublemakers' (i.e., people who say what they think). And, as I also work at HCT/ADMC it would not take me a long while to ID KW, and, if I were a vindictive person, I could trade him/her in a for a few brownie points, no problem. And there are more than enough people at CERT who would do that - just take a look at 'Mad Mel' and 'Trish the Fish' if you don't believe me.

In fact, just 'keeping your head down and doing the job' is no guarantee of anything, especially if you have already been identified. Then they'll just be looking for some corroborating material to justify giving you the heave overboard. Complaints from students? All logged and recorded. Turned up late a couple of times? It's in the file. Screwed up writing those exam questions? The boss will soon know. And then, when your 'snoopervisor' or one of the so-called 'team leaders' sees the chance to make a sacrificial offering, you're well and truly fried.

You'll be called into the Big Boss's office at no notice and given a quick 'kangaroo court' dressing down. They might then say that they are launching an investigation to look into the allegations (of which you know nothing and can not possibly defend yourself), or they might even ask you to clear your desk and leave within the hour.

Either way, it's curtains for you, as you have been SUSPECTED of being unfaithful to HCT, and that's not allowed. Mere suspicion is enough to get you canned in the Land of Make-Believe - a bit like Alice's Wonderland, but without the nice rabbits.

Anyway, the choice is yours, KW (assuming you really ARE a CERT teacher and not a management plant!). Stop posting and keep your job. You can always rejoin under another name, but DON'T REVEAL ANY MORE THAN YOU NEED TO! In fact, throwing out a few red herrings is a positive move (wink-wink!).

[Kally Wally]

pantload, like it

whatever, I've no reason to make it up, no reason to lie.

I'm telling it how I see it.

I'm sorry you've had a bad experience in Fuj, maybe I've been lucky, maybe I've got thick skin, maybe I've learned how to play the game but I've never had a deliberately vendictive student, sure lazy, disinterested and sometimes god damn royal pain in the a** but never nasty.

I'm not saying your wrong either, I'm not saying anyone's wrong just telling it how I see it.

Please allow someone else to speak and stop ganging up on me !

I do know teachers who struggle, who can't cope.............show the slightest sign of weakness here, and you could be eaten alive by both the students and management.................maybe i'm more adaptable than most BUT I ain't no office gossip, backstabber, or management spy cue Destiny's Child....'I'm a survivor'

[Middle East Beast]

[veiledsentiments]

The problem that I see with these boards, and it happens repeatedly here is that when you have a place with serious issues like HCT... where so many teachers have had bad experiences, is that the negative posters will never allow anyone to disagree with them.

No matter how much MEB, Republocrat, and It's Scary might dislike HCT, they should all be man enough to admit that in a system this large, there are many teachers who get along just fine... for years. The sad truth is that HCT is not even the worst employer in the Gulf.

Attack the system, but not the other posters who are disagreeing politely. Attacking the posters (or naming names) just gets stuff locked or worse removed... and we want the stories out there.

VS

[Middle East Beast]

I don't have the power to prevent anyone from posting. But, I respond to them.

Yeah, I admit my last post got a bit personal...I'm sorry about that. OK, Kally Wally, I retract implying that you're a pod person.

Based on my experience there, it just blows my mind that anyone could be content (or whatever descriptive term you want to use) there. Remember that I stated that teachers walked out of classes (not just me) and that the students were out of control--that's pervasive, not confined to my personal experience.

I stand by my final statement in my previous post.

MEB

[veiledsentiments]

I wasn't accusing you of lying MEB, but you must admit that there is a variance in conditions and even student personality between the different branches and Emirates. For instance, women students in FWC would be very different from DWC. Just as there is a difference in what is allowed by various branch managements.

The old thing... YMMV...

VS

[Kally Wally]

Can we agree to disagree?

Different strokes for different folks and all that

BUT

Dude when you've worked out in the boondocks of Saudia, had kids stoning your car, spitting in your tea and telling ya that all Amereekans are sons of Satan or you've worked through a Moscow winter teaching the brats of corrupt politicians and Russian Mafia.......heck maybe I'm setting my expectations way too low, BUT there are far far worse places than HCT out there, IAT anyone?, Kaplan?

Maybe HCT is best suited to those who've been through the meat grinder, the worker bees, drones, droogs or the living dead...............I revert back to my normal self at the end of the school day in the comfort of my villa.

I'm a grizzled old Curmudgeon, a wrinkled old prune, maybe I'm like Joe Cocker, turn up, cup of Joe, do the gig, give the people the greatest hits they want and then to bed..............I'm jaded, gave up the ghost a long time ago, email in my performance, yes boss I'm shaking it........

Still at the end of the day I don't need no accolades, no teaching Nobel, just my pay check bud.

Think of me what you will but I'm no different from the millions and billions out there trying to make a living.

Final word, HCT is what it is, take it or leave it but know what you are getting into, it's par for the course for any higher education establishment from Kuwait down to Oman and all points between, no more no less.

[Middle East Beast]

I've been to KSA...several times. I've had a couple of decent gigs there, and a couple of nightmares.

The UAE is head-over-heels a better living environment for westerners than KSA.

But I say this without reservation...my teaching job at HCT was the worst one I've ever had. That "college" is insane.

MEB

[Kally Wally]

So MEB where were you stationed?

HCT is in a constant state of flux, all depends on who's in charge where.

It's a crap shoot, it's all about weathering the storm.

Directors come and go, for a couple of years ADWC is a great place to work then it's the pits, RAK is easy street then it's Nightmare on Elm's street and so on.

If your direct superior is an ok dude or dudette, that's the most important thing........

Keep on ducking and diving dudes it's the only way.

[Middle East Beast]

I was at Fujariah Women's College.

I found management to be incompetent from the supervisor through the director and beyond to the central core in Abu Dhabi.

They emphasized everything except the reason I went there--to teach. Just a lot of nonsense concerning PD (OMG!), meetings (2 mandatory per week), and conferences (don't attend one and you'll be skinned alive). And, of course, the impossibility of controlling the students when the school's only response was to counsel, counsel, counsel. The students came to realize that there were no consequences for their abhorrent actions. And mandatory overtime...oh, how I could go on.

And you know what? Talking to teachers from some of the other colleges from time to time, the toxic environment seemed to prevail in the HCT system.

Perhaps I should post my narrative on the open forum. It is my Nightmare on HCT Street. But it would just be one more addition to the growing list of negative experiences at HCT.

I consider HCT to be a cancer on the global educational system. When you have a tumor, you don't sit down with it and say, "Hi, Mr. Tumor, let's get along, OK?" No, you cut it out.


MEB