Job Discussion Forums

[veiledsentiments]

So it tends to go... the good teachers can move on to better jobs, and it is often the lesser skilled teachers who stay.

Or... the students may have like these teachers because they were easy graders.

As always it is the students who really lose out.

VS

[kurd]

I am a Kurdish student teacher. I studied at the university for few months. It is not organized like a real university. It was like going to elementary school again. I hear the good teachers have all left. I don't think they were treated very well. I am very happy I decided to stay at my old college.

[mistral]

Gee thanks Kurd! I recall we had a few Kurdish English teachers around. Any idea who the hawler monkey is? He's probably one of the teachers who's already left.

[kurd]

I wanted to tell people what it was really like for me at university. It isn't what kurdisha techers looked for. The salaries for British and American techers are not high enough for war-torn Kurdistan. Teachers should get a bonus. There wasn't even any library for students. I hope it gets better one day.

[scot47]

And yesterday there was a bomb attack in Kirkuk which killed 100 people at a market. Are you sure you want to work in American Kurdistan ?

[Rennenkampf]

One teacher was offered a job,arrived at the'university' was subject to an
inquisition on his political views by the comissar of political correctness
known as 'The Director of Studies' and then told his job offer was arbritrarily cancelled.
This inquisitor really hates ''long term Middle East people'',''British classroom authoritarianism ''and English syntax.To the unbiased observer he appears as a harmless and rather elderly Canadian caricature of 1960s
vapouring.He actually admits that under his stewardship this has been a
''year of gross blunders''.
Beware.

[hawlermonkey]

I tend to agree with the DOS. Mental health issues appear to be a recurrent problem in applicants to the UKH who have spent prolonged periods in Saudi (although the DOS himself has spent a fair amount of time there aswell). The one who had his job offer cancelled after making a quick visit, spent the entire two days loudly interrupting peoples conversations with surreal comments about watching animals copulate etc.. Although he had an excellent resume, I think it was a good decision to reimburse him his travel expenses and ask him not to return in September. He listed Rennenkampf as a reference which should have sent alarm bells ringing. Rennenkampf (I assume I have guessed his identity correctly due to use of a Russian General as a username) used to march around like a soldier in a regimental hat from the Crimean War whilst mumbling about joining a monastry and he could be heard barking like a dog, laughing and singing hymns all through the night and sometimes day. Its not even funny, some people need professional help. From these guys resumes it is clear that they were very intelligent and functional people until they had spent about eight years teaching in Saudi.

As for safety, I think its probably safer in Hawler than in London at the moment.

Have to admit though, I will be happy to leave Kurdistan in 2 weeks when my eight week paid holiday starts, its ridiculously hot here at the moment although the pool at the apartments is nice. But I will be back in September. They are building some nice new auditoriums/lecture theaters and the University is expanding.

[kurd]

So the dos & dean are writing another message. They sound a bit arroganr. I have not changed my mind about the university. We wanted a better public one. My friends who are studying there say it has got worse. Nobody likes the teachers or courses. There was no syllabus. They annoy the students by giving lots of boring handouts. The teachers are just as tedious. One is very aggressive to other teachers.
We wanted to learn but some just make fun of us. I think all the experienced teachers which we like have gone home. I think the students are looking fotward to long holidays away from the teachers who enjoyed failing them all the time.

Please, we want better teachers to come to help us in Kurdistan.