Well the TES website is looking very bare tonight as only one school has posted looking for staff- everybody else must be full up…or recruiting locally. So if you are here on a visit visa or feel like quitting your new job because it isn’t as delightful as you had imagined…..why not try this lot? TEACHERS
N/A
KUWAIT
ALSHAYA GROUP OF SCHOOLS
Full time
Permanent
September 2007
Teaching Opportunities in Kuwait, for September 2007A dynamic and well respected school is seeking experienced/qualified English speaking teachers in the following areas:Class Teachers, English, Biology, Physics, ICT, Geography/History and Mathematics/Accounts
(IGCSE experience is an advantage)
Also noticed that in last week’s Arab Times the KAS ( remember them…..) were also adertising- have some internees gone over the wall? I drove round there the day after and couldn’t for the life of me find it……Please ANYBODY out there who has some info, some knowledge, some snippet about this KAS ..TELL US!!!
And so the new Academic year begins- with a smashing THREE DAY weekend. Some people are starting with staff, some without, some with furniture, some without, some even without principals but I’m sure that will all change. One thing unites all staff in all schools in Kuwait- the absolute filth that meets you at the door of the school as you enter……and cries of – ” where are the maids???” (Drinking tea silly, and swapping nightmare Air India stories under the stairs).Get your ruber gloves on, shift those desks and get scrubbing-all this tax free salary comes at a price!
By now many of you will have had the introductory talk from the owner. He / she will have made you feel like one of the family, proud to be working for the school and a simple phone call away should you have any problems……..hold that thought.Mr/ Miss Jeckyll on Day one will become Mr/Miss Hyde by …oh day 5.
You may also have been promised a ‘maximum of 25 in each class’….that thought too should be put on hold……
The good news is that there are approximately 70 working days ’til the Winter vacation…..remember, it’s a jungle out there.
Re today’s news in the UK, shouldn’t private schools in Kuwait be forced to change uniforms to allow parents, already paying high fees, to purchase items of school wear ( and computers-one particular school makes its students buy pcs from them ONLY!) from outside outlets? Often the quality of material in the school owned shops is low. Come on Minister! Let’s have a ruling on that! (Yes, I’m a parent too!)
Will this also effect the Social Studies curriculum in Private Schools? I would love to rewrite that book-it’s bloody awful!
Kuwait Times August 9th:
‘Curriculum to be reviewed
Published Date: August 08, 2007
KUWAIT: Officials at the Ministry of Education recently disclosed that they were in the process of reviewing the school curriculum in respect of the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. A committee had been formed to study the curriculum soon after relations with Iraq had been normalized.
The Assistant Undersecretary at the Ministry of Education Mariam Al-Waleed said that a revision was currently in process of reconstructing the events of the invasion and a committee for this purpose had been formed. She added that the revision would also include the so-called Arab countries that sided with Iraq’s aggression in invading Kuwait….’
Sir,
This is in reference to your story Kuwait admin move risks international school status
Barbara Spilchuk suggests that that ‘The move by the Ministry of Education to replace expatriate administrators in private schools with Kuwaitis “will effectively remove Kuwaiti schools from the international schools scene,” (Arab Times, Aug 8, 2007). I agree that it’s an unwise move for Kuwait to take. Some parents will not bother to place their children in private ‘international’ schools if administrators are Kuwaiti. My daughter struggled with her reading at a large English school here and was given special help by a Kuwaiti teacher whose grammar and spelling was terrible, and the very expensive school did nothing about it.
On the other hand, I note that Mrs Spilchuk is a representative of the International Schools Review. Midway through the Katherine Phillips case this Review called upon western teachers to avoid taking jobs at Kuwait western schools. As their website is frequented by prospective teachers from many different countries they could have deterred many teachers from taking new jobs in Kuwait or from returning to their existing jobs. So here is a situation where ISR deterred western teachers from working in Kuwait and simultaneously suggests these schools should not employ Kuwaiti administrators or ESL teachers. Who do they suggest the schools employ then? Robots?
Samakk Abiyadh
”Dear Dr. Spilchuk,
I am a Western Admin. working in Kuwait. I do not fear for my position. I use in-school suspensions as part of my discipline procedures and the majority of the parents I work with would prefer me to use this method of discipline rather then an out-of-school suspension. I will continue to do this. Prior to doing this, I call the parents, we discuss the incident and the consequences. Thus far I have always had the parents support. Please the Katherine Phillips incident is an isolated case, pushed by a very arrogant parent who has no understanding of the ramifications of what he did as I am sure he does not care.
Many of the international schools are required by their accreditation board to have Western admin if they desire to maintain their accreditation. Having lived in Kuwait for the past 8 years, I have only heard of one teacher who was held and that was for good reasons. Other educators were released from contracts for actually doing very foolish things which included not respecting the traditions and values of the country (the Flowers incident is too humorous to actually use as an example).
The Ministry of Education has a habit of making blanket statements before actually looking at the whole picture. The decision making within the country, as a whole is reactive not proactive and it will take years for them to put together a package which their educationally qualified nationals will find acceptable.
The private schools are a business for profit and need to listen to their parents (the consumers). I am sure that approx. 85% of the parents have chosen to have their children in these private schools for the Western education and the desire to send their children to Western universities. The majority of the parents understand that if the accreditation criteria is not maintained their children will not meet the standards required to attend universities outside Kuwait. This will become a major issue if Western admin. are no longer in the picture.
I am concerned for the many conscientious students and teachers in the many international schools who will suffer because potential teachers are not seeing the whole picture.
From a Western administrator who plans on ending my career in Kuwait (at least 10 more years to go).”
She says ( somewhat wrecklessly I feel!), ‘Your Minister of Education — Nooriya Sabeeh — has made us feel undervalued and discriminated against. ‘
Ooops…no visa for you my dear…..
I don’t think it is as simple as that Shannon- the Kuwaiti govt. knows a thing or too and there are numerous women out there, UK, US educated with qualificatins and experience, married to Kuwaitis, with Kuwaiti natinality who would do an outstanding job as Administrators!
Kuwait admin move risks international school status
KUWAIT CITY: The move by the Ministry of Education to replace expatriate administrators in private schools with Kuwaitis “will effectively remove Kuwaiti schools from the international schools scene,” says Barbara Spilchuk of International Schools Review (ISR). She was answering questions posed by Arab Times regarding the latest decision by the ministry to ban the employment of expatriates as administrators in private schools and to replace existing administrators with Kuwaitis in a phased manner. Universities around the world encourage the teaching of English as Second Language (ESL) by native English speakers, and a loss of Western administrators will have a significant impact in the area of effective ESL development, she added.
“I have to wonder why the Minister believes Arabic first language speakers can better manage an ESL school when the international body of research in this area supports native speakers as the primary contact with children and the key to school leadership for professional development with ESL teachers.” She suggested the Western teachers will leave “because the understanding of ESL curriculum, pedagogy and professional development will not be in evidence once Western administrators are removed.” This, she said, will lead to a public Kuwaiti system and a private Kuwaiti system, both separate from and exclusive of the international community that supports English as a Second Language teaching for a global economy.’
This is one of my favourite as it provides loads of free printables. A good stop by for your first day back and if you have any assemblies to do. It has all subjects.
