Job Discussion Forums

[Noelle]

Thank you.

I will not be going to Saudi Arabia to teach EVER. If, and this is a HUGE if, but if I do by some miracle feel prevailed upon to visit the place, I will plan on a very short stay.

I also will not teach Saudi men in a one on one setting here in the U.S.

While I do feel some sense of remorse over this, I've made the decision and I will abide by it. I just wish there were some way to explain my reasons for this truthfully and tactfully (to the one student in particular) not just from a western female point of view but from a Christian female point of view.

I know those students would never ask for such a thing from one of their own women and I kind of doubt they'd ask it of a female Jew, but perhaps I'm being too stereotypical there.

While I realize that the images many of these students from Muslim countries are seeing in the media do not cast a very positive light on "American Christians", I still cannot believe they would be so daft as to think that an admitted Biblical Christian ("of the book", I believe they call it) would put herself in that kind of compromising position. Of all the international students I work with, I would think that at least the Saudis would be sympathetic to that kind of conviction.

I'm just trying to figure out a way to explain myself without sounding like a self-righteous bigot. I wish so much that it could be the female students asking for this kind of help.

But then I get the impression sometimes, paranoid as it may sound, that their women are told to avoid situations where they could be influenced by western women. I see this all the time with the Saudi female students as they don't integrate with the others at all and stick completely to themselves. When I try to encourage them to mingle with other females from different countries, they won't have any of it. And what's worse, when I try to initiate conversation outside of class with them, they are quite reserved.

The men however are like little social butterflies.
They're relaxed, open and friendly, confident and just a total pleasure to be around. They bring flowers, candy, pictures from their homes, cool Arabic music, traditional food that I can't pronounce(supposedly cooked by them)... anything to create that teacher-student rapport. In every other demographic, it's the female students who do this...

Again, thanks for all the replies. I'll definitely be keeping on top of this thread and will probably have more questions in the months to come (hopefully more teacher methodology related) as I continue working with students from this part of the world.

[Grendal]

Hi Noelle,

In your reply it seems like you came to a sound conclusion. May I ask if they have any other ESL instructors or any other teachers at the institution you are at besides you?

I'm just curious about the flowers, candy and food because here we are advised not to accept them as they will be expecting full marks on their class work in return. Here if I was to express some sort of interest in a students belongings like phone, watch, laptop then the said student might offer it to me expecting something in return in the near future.

Just a thought, Noelle. Just a thought.

Regards.

Grendal

[Bebsi]

[Noelle]

You assume correctly, Besbi. But then, I never had any inclination to go to Saudi Arabia.

It's just a little difficult and disheartening to say this (when asked) to the students when it's clear that I have taught or would like to teach in the countries of all their other classmates. I love working with the Saudis here but it's pretty safe to say that I will most likely never even visit their country.

[trapezius]

[PattyFlipper]