Job Discussion Forums

[thehobgoblin]

I want to preface this by saying that a few of my colleagues were fairly happy at the school and had been there for a year or more, but I wish that someone who hadn’t had such a great experience at the school had written a post like this which I could’ve read before accepting the job and moving to Kyrgyzstan. I’ve taught for several years in several countries, this job & school were the worst I’ve ever come across.

The owner is not a pleasant woman. She rules the native teachers with an iron fist and a series of fines for misdemeanours. They hate her, for good reason. When I first met her to sign my contract she ranted for ten minutes about a former teacher who’d broken her contract and ‘betrayed’ the school. She told me I had to give four months notice if I wanted to leave. Alarm bells. I should’ve heeded them, I didn’t. The contract is vague enough to allow the school to enforce anything they should decide to ask of you, and the owner wouldn’t give me a full copy (with pay and other details included) for ‘my own safety’. She warned me that many Kyrgyz people are bad people and would rob me given the slightest chance. Good thing I had the London School to protect me.

The school has a deeply unpleasant atmosphere. Controlling people by fear does that. The walls are bare, white and dirty – it feels more like a prison or asylum than a school. The school makes a good deal of money, the owner chooses not to invest it in the school. That said, all classrooms have a projector and internet, which is good. Unfortunately the use of the projector is almost mandatory, and the twice monthly tests are projected rather than printed – to save money. Teachers are required to sign out their monthly allowance of four board markers. If (when) they run out, you buy your own. Paper is a rare and much treasured commodity. I really never thought a school would withhold paper from its staff. Printer ink too is rationed. There are a few digital copies of resource books, but no physical copies. No basic stationary, nothing. These are minor points but they give some idea of the school’s attitude towards teaching.

The school uses books written by the staff/senior teacher, with a word document to accompany each lesson and be projected onto the wall. Some lessons are ok, others are unbelievably bad. Most follow the exact same pattern. Teachers are encouraged to add their own material and deviate from the books, this was the only way I could stave off boredom and near insanity. Rather helpfully, the school sends a security guard or receptionist with a notepad on a round of the school to ensure that you begin your lesson punctually. Every lesson, every day. They’ll also call your students, every month, to persuade them to re-enroll and ask their opinion of your teaching. One 13 year old girl complained that I wasn’t teaching the class strictly from the book (particularly in regard to vocab). I explained my reasons for not teaching a pre-intermediate class twelve verbs for cleaning but apparently she didn’t deem it sufficient, and complained to reception. They decided to ring a selection of my students, from several classes, to ask their opinion of my teaching (particularly how I taught them vocab). They didn’t say anything to me, but one of my students told me about a phone call he’d received. He assured me that he’d praised my teaching and told them that I towed the party line (wink). Being checked up on in this way, when the management provided absolutely no support or even interest in teaching day to day really annoyed me. In general, however, the students are great. They’re friendly, hard-working and downright lovely. They made a horrible job somewhat bearable. Oh, and they’ll bring you presents (I got a kilo of cheese for teacher’s day).

Professional development, forget it. The senior teacher will observe once a month and give feedback, that’s it. There’s no DoS and no really experienced teachers to give advice or run workshops. The senior teacher, when I was there, did a decent job and was always willing to act as a buffer between the boss/admin staff and the teachers. He was usually upfront and honest with me, I liked and respected him. However, you can’t polish a turd – and that’s exactly what the job is.

The pay is low. Kyrgyzstan is not an expensive country, but nor is it particularly cheap. The som decreased in value significantly whilst I was there, colleagues who were trying to repay loans in their home countries struggled. You will be paid on time though. The school offers Russian & Kyrgyz lessons, with a discount for teachers, great! However, the discount is borne by the Russian teacher, not the school, which doesn’t exactly make them keen to teach you. The teachers are a mixed bunch, I had four in four months and was told I couldn’t keep the same one. One or two were great, others really bad. Even with the staff discount, paying for lessons on the meagre salary was painful. Several colleagues felt unable to study Russian, the express reason they’d come to Kyrgyzstan, because of the prices & salary.

The school provides accommodation. It’s a bit old and crowded, but it’s free (including bills & wifi) and really warm. One really nice perk is a monthly trip for the teachers. Also if there’s space on trips for foreign students studying Russian, you can go along for free. That’s great because you’re not going to get much holiday. You’ll work a four day week (How amazing!) though you’ll lead a workshop once a month on your day off (Wednesday). In December or January you’ll need to work to make up for the Christmas holiday, so you’ll work on your day off. Bank holidays will also be worked in lieu (I’m told this is a strange Kyrgyz concept, not just the school), so you’ll work on your day off. If you’re sick, that’s fine, except (you guessed it) you’ll make it up on your day off. One plus of the school’s one month class system is that in long months with no holidays, you might get a few spare days at the end or beginning of the month to travel. In the winter months the school will kindly arrange a car to drive teachers home after work – which is sweet. You may be assigned a monthly task to complete, I was lucky and in four months only received one. However, it was completely arbitrary and pointless. I was asked to write 40 grammar and 40 vocab questions to create an online test system for students to practise at home. The students are too ‘busy’ to do their homework, or too forgetful to bring a pen, but I’m sure they’ll do the extra test questions at home.

I’ve tried to keep this as balanced as possible. There are some good things about the job, but the bad far outweigh them. Please bear in mind that being a student (particularly a student studying Russian/Krygyz on a scholarship or with hard currency in the bank) is really quite different to working as a teacher at the school. I arrived around the same time as 5 other new teachers. Four, including myself, left before the end of the contract and another will leave as soon as the contract ends. To be transparent, I gave very short notice when I resigned, which was unavoidable but not desirable. I tried to be professional in all my dealings with the school, I paid the fees they requested after which they tried to throw me out of the house, though I was leaving early the next morning. As I left the school I couldn’t help noticing that all the Russian & Kyrgyz teachers were beaming at me. I suppose they were happy that someone was escaping and had annoyed the boss. My advice would be to visit Kyrgyzstan in the summer as a tourist, you’ll have a great time!

I hope someone finds this helpful.

[Spelunker]

Applied to this school and never had a response, ever.

I think they don't like teachers over 30 is the only reason I can think of.

[sistaray]