Job Discussion Forums

[adrianmark]

Hi everyone

I have been offered an interview with TED Istanbul college but before I accept I have a couple of questions about the place.


Is this an international school and does it provide an international education, bearing in mind my children are 11 and 8 and only speak English, not a single word of Turkish.

Would anyone recommend educating two British children in this school?

I would really appreciate your help on this.

Thanks

[matthew156]

Hi A Mark

TED is one of the most reputable schools in Turkey although I'm sure if you researched you may find more. There is a TED, which I've been trying to secure empolyment in, here in Ankara too and the word is that you will do good if employed by them.

[adrianmark]

Do they follow the Turkish curriculum or is it an IB school?

[matthew156]

Well I found this for you I don't know i it will help.

Founded in 1998, TED Istanbul Koleji currently has 1,277 students split into kindergarten, primary and middle grades, K-8 and high school, preparatory plus 9-11, and operates within a dual-language environment of Turkish and English.

The TED initials represent 'Turkish Education Association' which was founded in 1928 by ATAT�RK, the founder of Turkish Republic, for the purpose of establishing high standard education for the children of the new and promising republic; with emphasis on teaching English language.

Embracing the slogan 'the school of learners', the administrators, teachers and students form a community dedicated to lifetime learning and service. The faculty consists of highly qualified national as well as foreign-hired teachers. In-service training is considered as essential and the faculty strives for excellence by improving and updating its interactive teaching methods.

TED Istanbul Koleji,TED Istanbul College Foundation follows an enhanced Turkish national education system curriculum and focuses on achieving high academic standards and helping make a better world for its students and its students making the world better for everyone within and outside the national boundaries. The program of studies and the curricula implemented at TED Istanbul Koleji promote thinking skills and learning how to learn.

The TED Istanbul College Foundation school considers intellectual, social, physical, moral and aesthetic growth as inherent qualities of any educational policy. In recognition of this, it provides its students with a wide range of extra-curricular activities. Athletics, folk-dancing, drama, MUN are a few of the offerings available to students at age-appropriate levels.

TED Istanbul Koleji, TED Istanbul College Foundation occupies an area of approximately 40,000 square meters and is located on the Asian side of Istanbul. In addition to the promotion of academic excellence, the TED Istanbul College Board has promoted an environment which represents a state-of-the-art endeavor with its ongoing development of grounds, technical installations, basic furnishings and services such as, transportation, food, health and maintenance.

Regards.
Matt

[adrianmark]

Thanks a lot Matt.

Seems that this school caters far more for Turkish kids than being a true international school. I may be wrong but that is my gut feeling.

[yaramaz]

I taught for 2 years in another TED in Turkey and it is most definitely not an international school by any means. They were a fine place to work for- my contract was honored and i was well paid and well treated- but I would never send my own (hypothetical!) children there. The students were just as noisy and nuts as any other Turkish private school kids, though most were really sweet on their own. The curriculum seemed to revolve around Ataturk and the Republic. I once counted 230 pictures of the man in ONE lone primary classroom. Mind you, the year I was there, 2 of our high school kids scored in the top 5 of the OSS results nationwide. I guess they taught really good memorization and regurgitation!

[adrianmark]

Yaramaz - great info. Thanks very much

[hgarcia4098]

I work in Mersin at Ted Mersin College in Turkey I have three american daughters I was wondering if you could contact me. May be have some intresting ideas for you.

[Roundtrip]

Adrianmark and others: I have an upcoming interview with TED Istanbul Koleji in Turkey, but the reviews I've read on International Schools Reviews are all pretty bad. Does anyone have inside, first hand information on the school? I would love to go back overseas to teach, but I just turned 60. I don't think many schools will issue work visas to teachers my age.

[CallieWho]

@Roundtrip - I think 60 is the cut off to work legally in Turkey. I don't know how fit you are but those kids will eat you alive if you're not a physically fit 60 year old. They wear me out and I'm 41.

@Adrianmark- I wouldn't send my child to a Turkish school. Find an international school. Much like yaramaz, I also taught at a TED school for 2 years. I completely agree with everything yaramaz said. They are very focused on Ataturk and the Turkish republic. Not only are the students noisy and nuts the little ones can be violent with another. I was shocked at their behavior.

Plus the teaching style at TED schools is not modernized yet. Lots of memorization and teaching to the test. Critical thinking is not encouraged or supported. TED may be considered a good school in Turkey but let's stop and consider Turkey when we hear that statement. Don't get me wrong, I love it here but...

[Qigong]

Hello,

Posting this so accurate information gets out about TED schools.

TED Ankara is one of the oldest established education foundations in Turkey. TED Ankara is on par with Robert College in terms of its curriculum, awards, and graduated students proficiencies. Its campus design has won many international awards. Walk down TED Ankara schools during their breaks and you will find kids playing guitars and drawing.

I have native teaching friends who work for TED Istanbul, TED Ankara, and TED Bursa. Contrary to what has been said here, these three schools all have in place curriculum that promotes and enhances creative and critical thinking. They also have IBT programs that use English as the medium of instruction for social studies, science, and math. Finally, they all use portfolios and products to help them assess progress.

I have worked for TED Antalya college for two years. I am quite happy there and will return next academic year. I teach English literature to high school students and by its sheer nature it requires creative and critical thinking. I assess my students on parameters set by our school and the Common European Framework.

Our TED school in Antalya is only in its 5th year of operation and it takes time to get a school up and organized. For example, this year was our first go at implementation of TED Ankara's curriculum.

I believe TED Antalya is the best in the City in terms of English language learning and second language acquisition. Starting next year our school we will implement a coordinated, creative and critical thinking English component with all of the native teachers. We will also start teaching academic content and academic language a hybrid of CALLA and SIOP.

I believe the local markets of the schools drive the Turkish curriculum and test-taking obsessions. And so when a school first enters this fierce market it takes time to change the culture.

[OverseasTeacher]

Be careful with these TED franchise schools. There are 21 in Turkey. TED College Ankara has the reputation and the history. TED College Istanbul has been around just over ten years and is a diploma mill. They pay a fair wage and housing is good, but they are a buzz kill making you work long days, evenings, weekends and it is a long, long school year. I have worked in ESL on the road and as a international school teacher, and I know people do this to work and travel. Not the case with these TED Istanbul administrators who feel they overpay foreingers in the first place, and so it is okay to work them like a sweat shop employee. I am laid back and like the old joke that the three best things about teaching are June, July and August. Not at TED Istanbul. They work teachers hard, are punitive if you strain at the leash, and are quick to sack people or send them packing at the end of the first year. Not a good place to work. Very bad karma. For-profit money machines like this can put good people off teaching. Lots and lots of better places to work in Istanbul and Turkey. The woman who runs the English language department is a bit unbalanced, but seems to make the school money so is allowed to hold court with impunity. Do go to Turkey though. What a lovely place with some of the most hospitible people on the planet!

[OverseasTeacher]

The school here is in rather good shape really. Resources are more than adequate, and the physical plant is relatively new. However the budget system is somewhat nebulous at best. Money for things is sometimes there, sometimes not, and one never knows. Classrooms are reasonably well kitted out with all the necessary bells and whistles. Curriculum is generated by teachers in year-long plans written in August and submitted to the Ministry of Education. Orwell must have come here to find inspiration for Big Brother and double-speak though. Turkish administrators apparently all take required courses in doublethink and newspeak before they can work as mid-level managers in Ministry Schools.

This is a private Turkish school, as most previous reviewers on International Schools Review internationalschoolsreview.com have mentioned. No international schools in this country. Not yet anyway. Istanbul is super though. What a great city. Housing is lovely. The daily commute in heavy traffic wears you down a bit, but the school's mini-vans are modern, comfortable and well maintained. In my opinion, this school is best suited for singles, but couples seem to be welcome. I see each reviewer in ISR has estimated the salary range differently. That's because no one really sees the salary scale, and there are as many monthly salaries out there as there are overseas hires and contracts. Everyone cuts their own deal and some people get low- balled. If you come in low you are toast, as yearly step increases are minimal. You can get over 40K per year tax free if you have a lot of experience, but then look out as there will be pressure for you to do a whole lot more for that kind of money if it looks like you'll stay for more than a year, which is both unusual and unexpected. High turnover is the norm and the admin. seems to like it that way although it must cost them some real bucks to keep flying loads of people in and out of Istanbul every year on Turkish Airlines.

I just don't get these people. Simply put, they are flip-floppers of the worst kind. I guess it is a cultural thing as most of the reviews on this site dealing with other Turkish schools say much the same thing. Chatty, somewhat spoiled kids, lots of cheating, an arbitrary, mind-bending decision making process and a kind of "Asian" way of thinking that time on task somehow equates to quality in performance. Basically you have to hang around the place a lot waiting for things to happen. Forget planning and being pro-active. No one must be the first to leave and protocol requires the managers to give the nod before anyone dares to move. If you hang out on campus a lot, are willing to spend several weekends and evenings here and you keep quiet about it, you are fine. If you cut out early or complain about the waste of time, you are in for real trouble.

Go ahead and come if you don't need a lot of direction, have a high threshold for frustration and can consistently grin and bear just about anything. These traits are greatly admired by the Turks and you will be rewarded for it if you can "adjust", as they say. No one will treat you badly if you show up 99.9% of the time, do exactly what you are told, are one of the last to leave and don't ask a lot of questions. In short, you can do all right here if you are a company man (or woman/person etc.) Loyalty to the school is next to godliness. The joke is they always write in their literature that they are creating independent thinkers in their school. Bollocks. Independent thinking will get you fired in a heart beat out here.

Turks consistently put the needs of the group over that of the individual and most westerners just can't wrap their heads around that. The group is all-important, even if the group-thinking is counter-productive and, in fact, detrimental to the greater cause at hand. Better to conform and hope for the best than raise an individual cry of alarm. The nail that sticks up in Turkey gets severely hammered down. The miscreants who lord over this awful system are mediocre types given to slight psychopathic tendencies when threatened. Otherwise it is a lovely place.

Sign on for only one year though, even if you think you are a tough cookie. Nothing in the jungles of SE Asia, the Mts. of Central and South America or any other challenging place you may have been can really prepare you for the culture shock that you'll inevitably experience working for the Turks. You can't extrapolate any lessons learned or experiences you have had in other postings as this place can be quite unique in its organizational absurdity.

They seem to make a fair amount of money doing this though, and never miss a payroll. The insurance is good, the conditions okay, and while the days are long and the year much greater in length than most international schools, the time away from campus is magic as Turkey is a wonderful place to visit. I grudgingly admire these folks for their bloody-minded persistence and stubbornness sometimes. I just have a hard time working for them. Good luck if you come here. The food is great. Be prepared to put on a few extra pounds as they feed you well and often at school. Free coffee and tea are served round the clock with lovely treats at tea time and sumptuous lunches by western standards. The Turks are some of the most hospitable people I have ever met anywhere in the world, bar none. It is the "helluva way they run a railroad", so to speak, that is maddening. Complicated at best. Institutional insanity at its worst.

[gloomyGumi]

Jesus that was 1 helluva colorful description I may say. Thank you.

[OverseasTeacher]

Why thank you glummygumi. I'd say more, but I promised it was my last word. Cheers.