Job Discussion Forums

[samsong]

please fellows, somebody expalin to me why students in private schools ( such as DAF SCHOOL and in public ones i guess) in KSA are such a pain in the a** !!! they have no shred of respect for the teachers, they cause your blood pressure to rocket the first day you step into class, they spare no efforts to see you burn in anger and fury !!!! Don't they have parents like other children in other parts of the world? why don't they tell their children that teachers are there to teach them NOT to be a stunt for their action movies in classes!!!
It seems to me they are students from hell!
what do you say brothers in suffering?

[Cleopatra]

Maybe teachers get the students they deserve?

[samsong]

so rude !!!!!!

[samsong]

Judging by the answers i got till now, it seems that there are some TEACHERS who are a pain in the A** too !!!

[Sheikh Inal Ovar]

Don't worry about batty patty ... she's one of the "there are no bad students, only bad teachers" school ...

[007]

[Cleopatra]

[Stephen Jones]

The 'better' private schools in Saudi Arabia are among the worst places to teach in the world.

The students, and their parents, will view you as a not-so-glorified domestic help. Management will view you as an unfortunate expense that comes in between the parents fees and their profits.

Get out of it.

[veiledsentiments]

I have to disagree with my friend Cleo on this one. I have had friends who I have worked with so that I know that they are excellent teachers who respect their students. But their experiences with the Saudi private school kids were nightmares. They could regale you with tales for hours. It is why you hear of so many of these schools having 70% teacher turnover each year and often half of their new hires leaving in the first semester every year.

Shocking as it may be coming from me, I agree with 007 on this one. Many of the boys especially do arrive in school and treat the teachers and staff just as their parents or other family members (mis)treat their servants at home. Of course, not all of them, but it doesn't take many with this attitude to turn the atmosphere of the classroom bad. There is also the fact that in most Arab families the boy child is 'king' and spoiled rotten.

Given this, it takes an outstanding teacher to gain control and turn the tide. It is also the reason that many of us have confined ourselves to teaching at university level. The worst of them don't make it to university. Most of those that make it do grow up and sometimes the worst problem student in first semester foundations EFL ends up a model student by the end that first year.

Samsong... I don't think there are any cures for your situation. The best advice may be to improve your credentials so that you have the option to get into the better international schools or move up to university.

VS

[Cleopatra]

[trapezius]

[007]

[running dog]

For what it's worth ... I don't think the problem mentioned here is specific to the Kingdom. Walk into any classroom anywhere in the world and you're likely to encounter this situation (and, for all the current shouting and roaring about present day classroom anarchy and declining standards of politeness, respect etc, I suspect it's always been like this). What counts is experience. Every teacher remembers his/her first few years in the profession with anything but fondness. But, little by little, maybe after five years, you learn a strategy or the tactics that work when it comes to dealing with the most recalcitrant class. Immediate isolation of offenders, turning the rest of the class aginst them, cold bursts of anger or sarcasm that you can switch on and off at will, a sense of imposed control and self-possession. Above all, a sense of humour and the ability not to take things too seriously. Perhaps the nearest equivalent is being a rodeo rider. That critter may be ornery, but you're damned if he's gonna get the better of you. ... I don't know if this has been of any use to you, but believe me; you're probably a better teacher than you think yourself to be at the moment.

[007]

[Queen of Sheba]

[quote="trapezius"]