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Istanbul Sehir University

 
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Teacher Journey



Joined: 10 Jan 2011
Posts: 8

PostPosted: Sat Dec 27, 2014 3:47 pm    Post subject: Istanbul Sehir University Reply with quote

I know they will be hiring in 3-4 months (March-April), and people will wonder what this university is like. So here you go...........

Disclaimer: for the grammar Nazis, I did not bother to read this over after typing it because I already spent too much time trying to help out people I do not know by writing this in order to help them in their decision making process. So deal with it or rewrite it and repost it to give yourself something to do.

I worked at Sehir and personally I found it to be a good university OVERALL. Of course there are aspects of it I did not like. I will start with the LIKES.........

1. The salary- they pay really well for Turkey and you can live comfortably off of what they offer you. You can see anything from 4000 TL to 6000 TL. Of course you have to take into consideration the currency exchange. The liras value has declined (this is actually the main reason why I left the school). But with this you will be able to finance your travels within in the country and to various surrounding countries. But when you get to certain countries the lira might not take you to far.

2. The staff - when I was there the Prep-School staff, cool people. There has been a huge turnover, for many reasons, since I left but from what I here the new staff are not all that bad. But the people that I do know who have remained are decent people and work colleagues.
The rest of the staff throughout the university are nice as well. I did not limit myself to interacting with just the prep school teachers like some may be inclined to do.

3. Management - Since I have left there has been a slight change in management. However, the department head is a wonderful person to work with. She is easy going and easy to work with. Some employs, past and present, may disagree but I generally get along with people overall. And I never had a problem with the manager of the prep school. The two people under her are okay, I guess. I did not work with them while they were in management. But I did hangout with them before they took on their management roles. They are good people.

4.The students - The students are great in the first module, the first 7 weeks. And the students who are in their degree programs great but you may not interact with them too much.

5. The department is pretty well organized. I have seen people come in and struggle with the set up. To be honest if you as an individual cannot figure it out after the first 7 weeks you should not be teaching at this level. Really everything is laid out for you. There is little work to be done because all the materials have been made and are available for you to use. But the good part is you are free to use them or not. You have a lot of autonomy when it comes to teaching. A lot of teachers including myself chose not to use the materials provided many times. So in short it is up to you: if you feel like preparing lessons for an hour to an hour and a half do it, if you do not want to be bothered with it use what is given to you.

6. There are also a lot of little things that I like. And I choose not to mention them on here because I do not want the to be banned. If you would like to know more PM me

7. The vacation - You are given given a decent amount of vacation time throughout the academic year.

DISLIKES

The students - after the first module, the first 7 weeks, the annoying and lazy ones start to surface. They start to cast their shadow over the smart and hard working students. By time Ramadan comes you DO NOT want to be in the classroom.

The grading system - Part of the problem with the students is the grading system. It is completely inane. You take the group average and minus 10 from that to get your passing grade. For example, if the Intermediate AVERAGE is 70 then 60 is PASSING. This is a problem because the first group (the first 7 week students) in every level, have high averages because they try harder. By time you get to the 2nd,3rd , and 4th group A PASSING GRADE is now 40-50 because they figured out the system. They realize if they can do as little as possible to pass, they will.

The work hours - I do not like the 8 hour work day. But do not let this deter you

The gym - the gym smells, thanks to the students reusing their sweaty clothes. But at least it is free.

I guess that is it. If you have anymore questions or concerns send me a private message, I am sure I will be able to answer them.
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SiameseCat



Joined: 16 Dec 2014
Posts: 15
Location: United States

PostPosted: Fri Jan 02, 2015 12:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thank you for great info Smile I am looking at this university and wondering where to find more info, then I've found your post!

Cool
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svenhassel



Joined: 04 Aug 2006
Posts: 188
Location: Europe

PostPosted: Sun Jan 04, 2015 5:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Uni Prep in Turkey is so much better before the new year than after as students who struggle to pass levels end up repeating and repeating and becoming frustrated. If you have an administration which is more concerned with keeping students happy than the teachers effort to teach then it can be terrible.

Don't invest too much emotion and energy after the new year and especially towards the summer, in the end, all the students will pass no matter what you do.
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