*Please note this is my own personal experience and I understand that everyone teaching in Kuwait or the Middle East may have had different experiences.
So rewind back to August 2014, when I touched down in Kuwait and was excited at the prospect of teaching in a Middle Eastern country. I have always been drawn to the Middle East since I travelled to Jordan and now I have travelled to a few more countries, I am in love!
But let's get back to my teaching experience, so initially all was okay until about November/December when I started to get a feel of the Principal and how she was not equipped to deal with people. She had poor management as well as poor communication skills. I raised a number of issues with her and the response I always got back was "What do you want me to do?" which I thought was not very helpful let alone professional!
Actually I should have mentioned prior to that, what shocked me the most were two things:
1. The negative attitudes of most teachers really shocked me. I could not believe I would sit at the table in the staffroom whilst marking my books and hear them say 'Oh my kids are just dumb...thick...stupid'. They also used the excuse 'They don't get it...and they are slow because they're ESL learners'.
Sorry but I've taught children who had no English at the start of the year and are conversing and writing basic sentences by the end - so that was just a cop-out!
2. Serial complainers - again a lot of the teachers would just complain day in and day out about literally anything they could. Even my flatmate who eventually left in December, used to ask why they moaned about everything.
Anyways, I was still trying to be positive about the school at this point and I was meeting my deadlines, working overtime and at the weekends. I was then asked if I would be interested in attending a COBIS Middle Leaders Conference which was exciting but I was a bit apprehensive as it came with a condition. It was to stay with the company for 2 years so that certain issues could be implemented. I understand the point of implementing what was learnt but I wasn't sure if I wanted to stay in Kuwait for 2 years.
Kuwait as peaceful as it is with amazing weather and beaches and endless malls there isn't much else to do. There are some quirky markets along with some cool bespoke markets too which I enjoyed but they aren't really advertised as much and you do have to go on the hunt to find out about them unless you hear it from word of mouth. Kuwait is fine for teaching for perhaps 2 years but any longer I don't think so.
So I kind of got forced into going to the COBIS Conference which was great, it was so useful and eye opening to hear other leader's experiences and advise on how to tackle difficult situations too. However when I returned that's when I noticed a major change in how I was treated. I found out during my absence that the Principal had scrapped all the planning the Maths Committee had done for 'Maths Week', so I was very annoyed as each member knew their role and what was expected. I won't go into all the details but I had a very long meeting with her that day and voiced my concerns about issues within the school and changes that needed to be made in order for the children to learn effectively. She had no strategical answers which really baffled me. A principal who doesn't truly believe in her school or the children and did not even attemp to acknowledge or deal with problems caused ultimately by her.
Just to give you an idea of what problems were in the school:
- Unqualified staff ( including the Principal!) Some teachers only had TEFL!
- No support for NQT's
- Most staff ( including the Principal and Vice Principal) had no idea about the National Curriculum
- Most staff had no knowledge on how to level children
- Consistent negative attitudes and comments teachers made towards children
- Lack of knowledge of how to plan
- No communal ethos
- Expat teachers rude to the local Arabic staff
- Lying about levels and marks
- Teachers spent their free periods planning parties rather than marking and then complained after they had no time!
You might think well who am I to list these problems but the fact is, knowing what you are teaching and assessing are fundamental to teaching. The other factors are also important too and I have to say I didn't feel as if I was working in a school this year at all. There was no communal feel whatsoever.
I was annoyed with myself as I wish I had not been naive and let her use me for a lot things like CPD, parent workshops, assessments, etc. At this point I knew I would not be happy staying another year but wasn't sure what to do but I was to stick it out until the end of my contract.
I am relieved I finally made the choice to leave the company and it was most definitely the right choice. If I had stayed, my CPD would not have been developed and I perhaps would have learnt bad habits something I steered very clear of this year. I would not have progressed to become an effective and excellent teacher.
It's sad because the parents put so much trust in the teachers and school and are of course paying fees for high quality education and they are not getting it.
I think the company in general needs to reassess it's priorities. Does it just want to be a low quality daycare provider? Or does it actually and genuinely care about the children's education?
Overall, I didn't have a great experience of working at the school/for the company but I made some lovely friendships with the local Arabic staff and 2 expat teachers at my school along with some lovely teachers at the sister school/branches. But I will miss the relationships I formed with my parents and of course my children.
So if any of you are considering moving to the Middle East for the sun, sea, sand and tax free salary as well as easy teaching - think again. You may want to research well into the school you are interested in. Be aware that a lot of them are similar and will sugar coat the school before you arrive.
Love and Blessings,
Sara xx
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