I thought of that. A truer comparison would be a "Teodoro-Jesus" in a Mexican community, where the name "Jesus" is commonly used just as "Mohammed" is used here. Would Mexicans rally for the teacher's punishment if somebody named a Teddy Bear "Jesus"? I really don't think so. Anyhow, I am as politically correct as the next guy - campaigned for Nader and the Green .! But living in the Middle East raises issues that go deeper than political stripe.

I'm an foreign teacher in an Islamic country. The story about Gillian Gibbons, who was convicted of insulting religion because she allowed her students to name their teddy bear "Mohamed," is VERY disturbing. Consider that the name Mohamed is a name as common as Josh or Steve. The IT guy at my school is named Mohamed, as is the caretaker at my apartment building, both of the taxi drivers I usually call when I need a ride, one member of the teaching staff, and two of my students. One of my students goes by the nicname of "Momo." Am I insulting religion by allowing my students to use that nicname in place of "Mohamed"?

Is there is a conspiracy of silence in the international school community about the volatility of the Islamic world and what that means for teachers? With my heavy teaching load, I haven't made a lot of progress with Arabic language study, but one doesn't need fluency to register the angry hostility of ranting and raving that is broadcast from loudspeakers at the mosque at every Friday sermon. Our teacher housing is right next door to a mosque, and it is absolutely horrifying to me. At the same time there is a facade of modernization and casual attitudes that can lull one into relaxing one's behavior. Incidents like the current affair in Sudan should be a wake-up call. I just don't understand the absence of protest and response. Robert Bolous, the director of Unity School where this all took place, has refused to appeal the sentence. What message does that leave?

Thanks, Jeff - very helpful, especially the suggestion about early drop-off as cargo... but I don't know what you mean when you say "the big plastic containers." The only big plastic containers I can think of are those clear plastic storage bins they sell at Wal-Mart and the like, which might be wound up in duck tape, but would certainly bust apart given normal airline treatment. Can you tell me more about the containers you're referring to? Thanks!

My new school in Kuwait informed me that shipping belongings was very inconvenient because it can be held up in customs for months. Instead of an allowance for shipping, they are willing to pay for extra luggage. Should I just use plain old cardboard boxes? I would buy old used suitcases, but I don't have the time to go searching for them. The big buckle & lock travel chests that were popular many years ago are not even on the market these days. At any rate, it looks as though I will not be traveling light this time.

I think it is very unreasonable to label Katherine Phillips as a hypocrite. Do you actually believe that this woman abused a student? All she did was assign him an in-school suspension. For this she was barred from leaving the country pending a criminal investigation? Outrageous. Naturally she wants to continue with her career -- why shouldn't she? The fact that she is willing to return to Kuwait should be taken as a great compliment to Kuwait, for it conveys the fact that she still has enough respect and faith in Kuwait to believe that her situation was exceptional and it is still a good place to live and work. Instead of insulting her, how about giving her the credit she deserves. I am really surprised to see her smeared here. What is your intention in calling her a hypocrite? What do you hope to accomplish with that kind of statement?

I registered with ISR less than a year ago to get the inside scoop on schools that I might end up working at. I have seen both the good and bad fruits of anonymous posting. I was very sympathetic to the administrator in Trieste who felt his school had been unfairly maligned, and indeed what is to stop someone with a grudge from outright slander and character assasination without repercussions? On the other hand, I myself found an excellent job by disregarding negative reviews which were slanted and outdated. If you can operate with all things taken into good consideration, I think anonymity is ultimately a good thing here. A recent very active topic on here shifted into a discussion of teachers' western habits and lifestyle coming under criticism in Islamic countries, and though it was challenging, I felt that it was valuable creative confrontation. The most recent posts in that topic have been communications between individuals, some of whom choose not to be anonymous, in which they express their unbridled personal criticisms at one another. First I giggled, then I shook my head in disapproval, and finally I considered that this kind of open communication, even when it gets nasty, may even be okay. Sentiments may flare, but where things are out in the open, lessons may also be learned, and making amends is even possible. Hopefully the forum will not deteriorate into constant ranting and mudslinging... though some people probably think it's already that. I am going to try to raise my tolerance and keep coming back to see how those in the International School world are reporting. The anonymity may be messy, but I like it. It allows us to see exactly what we are dealing with, and as long we learn to take it all with a grain of salt, the honesty it allows is very valuable. In our professional daily lives, the scales are tipped the other way; we have great accountability but little honesty. For those who are seeking it, this forum provides a welcome alternative to that.

[quote="meinq8"]"You're not teaching here, too, are you? (Or in any Muslim country? I hope not.)[/quote]

No I'm not currently teaching in an Islamic country, but why would that be bad? I expect educated people to accept cultural and religious diversity.

Maybe what you're trying to say is that international schools don't have real relevancy for Kuwaitis because there is too much of a disconnect between Kuwaiti culture (including its dominant religion) and the international model...? Maybe that's true. The wording "they wouldn't dream of it" made me feel that you were insinuating that Kuwaitis would consider westerners and their schools to be decadent. The stereotype of muslims as humorless, judgemental and condemning IS an unfortunate stereotype. My comment that you sounded like you were practically calling us dogs and infidels was an attempt to establish distance between that stereotype (which I hope not to encounter too much wherever I go) and whatever it was you WERE saying... I apologize if you took it as an affront. Indeed I was trying to get you to clarify that you were NOT demonstrating that kind of attitude.

I have a lot of experience teaching in the US, and there are many fundamentalist Christians who eschew secular education. They would probably regard me as ungodly and say that secular education is satanic. I regard that portion of the population as ignorant. I don't despize them, but I just think they've got blinders on. I feel the same way about any community that operates with an attitude of religious-based distrust and intolerance. I can even be comfortable knowing that that element is very strong in a given society - Christian, Islamic, whatever - but if there's no allowance for my distaste of it, then perhaps I should stay away.

[quote="meinq8"]"Yes, you are way off. ... That's a stereotype I had when I first came here, which was completely wrong.[/quote]

You had that stereotype when you first came here, but in your last post you said, "Most Kuwaitis (including me) wouldn't dream of putting their children in those schools, because they don't adhere to Islamic or Kuwaiti cultural standards."

I don't get it... you had stereotypes when you first came to Kuwait, but you are Kuwaiti yourself?

By the way, when you tell me that Kuwaitis wouldn't dream of putting their children in "those schools" because they don't adhere to Islamic or Kuwaiti cultural standards, you are enforcing another (hopefully false) stereotype of rigid Islamic insularity and fundamentalist thinking. You might as well call us dogs and infidels.

I suspect that a lot of this conflict arose from the fact that the administrator in question is a female, and the powerful Kuwaiti father is punishing her for what he perceives as the humiliation of his adolescent son being disciplined by a woman. Am I way off here? Of course this attitude is bound to clash with modern western educational practices.

Search Associates fees are not steep for teachers. We're talking $200, which includes representation, access to their data banks, opportunity to generate automatic letters of interest and send them to recruiters, one time fair registration. I agree that the reps don't always bend over backwards to give you personal direction and advice. I would have liked to have experienced more of that. But I don't think you can really expect more than what you get for the price. With regards to the teacher who was falsely accused and then shut out, that sounds like a nightmare, but there are some unfortunate realities that have to be taken into consideration. First, Search Associates is a business, and they want to succeed financially. They make a lot more money from the schools than they do from the teacher fees. They are naturally going to try to hold on to the substantial patronage of a school. There is no labor union to go to bat for a teacher in the international school world. I don't know if you could enlist the help of an international lawyer or not. At any rate, that situation may be a casualty of the international school world. How can Search Associates take a teachers word for it that he/she is not accused for good reason? They have no way of knowing, and after the events in Thailand last year, where that whacko pedophile guy who was teaching in Bangkok claimed responsibility for killing JonBenet Ramsey, who can blame Seach Associates for listening to the school? I understand that an injustice may have been done, but I don't think it is Search Associate's responsibility to sort it out. I am not 100% happy with all the service I have received from Search Associates, but I think they deliver enough for their fee. People who insist on everything happening with a high level of service and accountability can be credited for keeping standards high, but I think they might have a bumpy time teaching in international schools.

I know there are a lot more teachers who must have stories or experience to share on this topic. I visited friends a couple years ago, a married (straight) couple who were teaching together at an IS, and they told me that there were a few gay teachers on the staff who were comfortably "out," and how nice it was to be in a progressive community, unlike what they were used to in US schools. I'm wondering if it all depends on the social climate of the host country. If h-m-s-x-l-ty (I found the word was censored here !! - what's up with that?) is offically illegal in the host country (as it is in much of Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and I believe Poland) does it follow that gay teachers would be unwelcome at international schools in those countries? Some of you might think this is a no-brainer, but gay people may understand that living under the radar is a way of life even in modern, western countries, especially if you don't live in a large city. I'd like to hear reassurances from some GLBT teachers who have managed to enjoy teaching jobs in unlikely locations. I can be prudent, but if the homophobia were too oppressive in BOTH the host country AND the school, it would not be a good experience.