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UAE, DUBAI/SABIS TEACHING!!
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JamieWexford wrote: »HI all,
Just looking into teaching in Abu Dhabi in particular. I had an interview with SABIS and also have an interview with the irish website teachandexplore for some privates schools in Abu Dhabi. Any one have any advice?
There was a couple of good posts giving advice a page or two back.
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Pretty much everything in that above comment is accurate. Thank god we have boards for some truth online lol.
The behavior problems are really bad in my school (and it's one of the best apparently), personally I blame....
1: The kids are generally rich and spoiled (not used to people telling them no)
2: They're given way too much freedom with 90min lunch breaks (8/9 year olds and above) and run riot etc... The "shadow teacher" classes are also a bit of a joke as the kids don't listen to their peer and mostly use the class to talk and doss and do anything but work.
3: The super strict school system makes them want to rebel (some have 11 exams every week)
4: Most importantly the supervisor system makes kids NOT respect the teachers as much as I remember when I was a kid in Irish schools. They see the supervisors as people to respect/fear and teachers as the opposite (since you're not allowed to punish kids). I used to fear my teachers giving me a note or detention etc. but teachers cannot do that in Sabis.
5: The high turnover rate of teachers encourages kids to see them as "replaceable".
I find the job 90% classroom management, 10% teaching. For some classes it's actually even worse then that. But I suppose I'm not a qualified teacher so I would struggle more than most in that regard. Thank god I have a scary supervisor, otherwise I would've quit a long time ago lol.
But if none of that puts you off it is quite a good experience!
Also you can save a lot of money here and the lifestyle is nice. It's just Sabis itself lol, ALL smoke and mirrors, don't believe a word of what they tell you.
But yeah, they are quite cruel to the kids, and it has side effects, the kids mostly hate the school. Also as was mentioned the Middle East in general doesn't acknowledge learning problems. So if someone has down syndrome in your class (which can easily happen) you'll just have to deal with it yourself. But I think Sabis is just like any other school here in that regard.0 -
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BigStupidGuy wrote: »Pretty much everything in that above comment is accurate. Thank god we have boards for some truth online lol.
The behavior problems are really bad in my school (and it's one of the best apparently), personally I blame....
1: The kids are generally rich and spoiled (not used to people telling them no)
2: They're given way too much freedom with 90min lunch breaks (8/9 year olds and above) and run riot etc... The "shadow teacher" classes are also a bit of a joke as the kids don't listen to their peer and mostly use the class to talk and doss and do anything but work.
3: The super strict school system makes them want to rebel (some have 11 exams every week)
4: Most importantly the supervisor system makes kids NOT respect the teachers as much as I remember when I was a kid in Irish schools. They see the supervisors as people to respect/fear and teachers as the opposite (since you're not allowed to punish kids). I used to fear my teachers giving me a note or detention etc. but teachers cannot do that in Sabis.
5: The high turnover rate of teachers encourages kids to see them as "replaceable".
I find the job 90% classroom management, 10% teaching. For some classes it's actually even worse then that. But I suppose I'm not a qualified teacher so I would struggle more than most in that regard. Thank god I have a scary supervisor, otherwise I would've quit a long time ago lol.
But if none of that puts you off it is quite a good experience! Also you can save a lot of money here and the lifestyle is nice. It's just Sabis itself lol, ALL smoke and mirrors, don't believe a word of what they tell you.
But yeah, they are quite cruel to the kids, and it has side effects, the kids mostly hate the school. Also as was mentioned the Middle East in general doesn't acknowledge learning problems. So if someone has down syndrome in your class (which can easily happen) you'll just have to deal with it yourself. But I think Sabis is just like any other school here in that regard.
Excellent stuff, BSG; it's much appreciated. I'll certainly be looking at SABIS with a more critical eye from now on. In fact, I don't think I'll be courting them any further.0 -
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Hello everyone,
This board seems to be the best and most up to date about life working for SABIS. I have recently completed 2 interviews and they have given me 3 places to research in the middle east: Ras Al Khaimah, Umm Al Quwain and Manama. I would very much appreciate any suggestions on life there or like to know if anyone else might be posted there in august 2015 0 -
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Hi. Apologies if this has been asked before but just starting to look into teaching in the UAE now. I'm a qualified primary school teacher and have my DIP qualification but no permanent job yet so looking to get away for a while. Just wondering if SABIS is the only way for me to apply to work over there or if there are other ways to apply also. Any feedback is greatly appreciated! 0
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Hi. Apologies if this has been asked before but just starting to look into teaching in the UAE now. I'm a qualified primary school teacher and have my DIP qualification but no permanent job yet so looking to get away for a while. Just wondering if SABIS is the only way for me to apply to work over there or if there are other ways to apply also. Any feedback is greatly appreciated!
I am in a similar position to you. I qualify in July as a primary teacher. I have signed up for recruitment agents in Manchester but I really want to work abroad for a few years before I commit to a career in the UK. I have no major responsibilities so this is the best time to do it I guess. There are other schools that take on teachers but most require 2 years of teaching experience. Are you an NQT? The major issue for me is whether my induction year as an NQT will be valid in a SABIS school. I believe the induction year is time limited and any school abroad has to be approved for the department of education to allow us to do our NQT year. The interviewer told me they are approved by the ministry of education but I am not sure if this is the same thing.0 -
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BigStupidGuy wrote: »Pretty much everything in that above comment is accurate. Thank god we have boards for some truth online lol.
The behavior problems are really bad in my school (and it's one of the best apparently), personally I blame....
1: The kids are generally rich and spoiled (not used to people telling them no)
2: They're given way too much freedom with 90min lunch breaks (8/9 year olds and above) and run riot etc... The "shadow teacher" classes are also a bit of a joke as the kids don't listen to their peer and mostly use the class to talk and doss and do anything but work.
3: The super strict school system makes them want to rebel (some have 11 exams every week)
4: Most importantly the supervisor system makes kids NOT respect the teachers as much as I remember when I was a kid in Irish schools. They see the supervisors as people to respect/fear and teachers as the opposite (since you're not allowed to punish kids). I used to fear my teachers giving me a note or detention etc. but teachers cannot do that in Sabis.
5: The high turnover rate of teachers encourages kids to see them as "replaceable".
I find the job 90% classroom management, 10% teaching. For some classes it's actually even worse then that. But I suppose I'm not a qualified teacher so I would struggle more than most in that regard. Thank god I have a scary supervisor, otherwise I would've quit a long time ago lol.
But if none of that puts you off it is quite a good experience! Also you can save a lot of money here and the lifestyle is nice. It's just Sabis itself lol, ALL smoke and mirrors, don't believe a word of what they tell you.
But yeah, they are quite cruel to the kids, and it has side effects, the kids mostly hate the school. Also as was mentioned the Middle East in general doesn't acknowledge learning problems. So if someone has down syndrome in your class (which can easily happen) you'll just have to deal with it yourself. But I think Sabis is just like any other school here in that regard.
This is useful information. It would be good to hear more about general life in Manama.0 -
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There's around 1000 kids in grade school here, then there's KG also added to that. I'm actually not sure of the number of staff to be honest. I suppose there's one teacher for every 30 kids or so, then admin on top of that.
The standard of grades is very high. You're expected to keep grades above 85% even in KG. Even if your kids have learning disorders. Although most can't do that, if you're a native Bahrain then you pretty much cannot fail no matter how bad your grades. There's so many kids struggling in school with bad grades, at first I couldn't understand how they got so far in school, then I realized the aforementioned fact. To make matters worse, these are usually the worst behaved kids also.
Also it's worth noting that as the grades get higher the number of classes diminish. There's like, a handful of kids in grads 7-12 but hundreds in the lower ones. I'm not entirely sure why this is, but if I had to guess...
1: They can't cope with the workload and leave.
2: They just fail exams.
3: They get sense and go to a proper school.
I doubt I'll stay another year to be honest. The only reason I'd want to would be for money, and I have enough of that now. No ones knows anyone out here, if you come you'll make around 30 friends in training week easy Then you'll likely spend most time with your room mate. It's around a 30 minute drive to Manama center. There's some things within walking distance to the school. A shop or two, gym, crossfit, bird sanctuary, hotels, bars.
Keep asking if you've any questions lol Sabis tell you nothing online really. It's about looking good more so than actually being good here. 0 -
BigStupidGuy wrote: »There's around 1000 kids in grade school here, then there's KG also added to that. I'm actually not sure of the number of staff to be honest. I suppose there's one teacher for every 30 kids or so, then admin on top of that.
The standard of grades is very high. You're expected to keep grades above 85% even in KG. Even if your kids have learning disorders. Although most can't do that, if you're a native Bahrain then you pretty much cannot fail no matter how bad your grades. There's so many kids struggling in school with bad grades, at first I couldn't understand how they got so far in school, then I realized the aforementioned fact. To make matters worse, these are usually the worst behaved kids also.
Also it's worth noting that as the grades get higher the number of classes diminish. There's like, a handful of kids in grads 7-12 but hundreds in the lower ones. I'm not entirely sure why this is, but if I had to guess...
1: They can't cope with the workload and leave.
2: They just fail exams.
3: They get sense and go to a proper school.
I doubt I'll stay another year to be honest. The only reason I'd want to would be for money, and I have enough of that now. No ones knows anyone out here, if you come you'll make around 30 friends in training week easy Then you'll likely spend most time with your room mate. It's around a 30 minute drive to Manama center. There's some things within walking distance to the school. A shop or two, gym, crossfit, bird sanctuary, hotels, bars.
Keep asking if you've any questions lol Sabis tell you nothing online really. It's about looking good more so than actually being good here.
Wow, that's a lot of children. How have you found the support out there? That's my main concern really. I have some experience of teaching but this year it will be my first time with a class of children and it would be nice to know about the atmosphere in the staff room and general support. Thanks again 0 -
BigStupidGuy wrote: »There's around 1000 kids in grade school here, then there's KG also added to that. I'm actually not sure of the number of staff to be honest. I suppose there's one teacher for every 30 kids or so, then admin on top of that.
The standard of grades is very high. You're expected to keep grades above 85% even in KG. Even if your kids have learning disorders. Although most can't do that, if you're a native Bahrain then you pretty much cannot fail no matter how bad your grades. There's so many kids struggling in school with bad grades, at first I couldn't understand how they got so far in school, then I realized the aforementioned fact. To make matters worse, these are usually the worst behaved kids also.
Also it's worth noting that as the grades get higher the number of classes diminish. There's like, a handful of kids in grads 7-12 but hundreds in the lower ones. I'm not entirely sure why this is, but if I had to guess...
1: They can't cope with the workload and leave.
2: They just fail exams.
3: They get sense and go to a proper school.
I doubt I'll stay another year to be honest. The only reason I'd want to would be for money, and I have enough of that now. No ones knows anyone out here, if you come you'll make around 30 friends in training week easy Then you'll likely spend most time with your room mate. It's around a 30 minute drive to Manama center. There's some things within walking distance to the school. A shop or two, gym, crossfit, bird sanctuary, hotels, bars.
Keep asking if you've any questions lol Sabis tell you nothing online really. It's about looking good more so than actually being good here.
Wow, that's a lot of children. How have you found the support out there? That's my main concern really. I have some experience of teaching but this year it will be my first time with a class of children and it would be nice to know about the atmosphere in the staff room and general support. Do you or any of the other teachers have a teaching assistant?
Thanks again 0 -
You'll only have a teaching assistant if you're in KG. Other than that the support system is normal I think. You'll have plenty of help from the admin staff whenever you need it They want you to do well lol.
Having said that though, some of the staff is useless and damn near incompetent (annoyingly so). You'll get to know the reliable people once you're here, for obvious reasons I can't name them here
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