The International Schools Review Forum

I am moving from the U.S. to Abu Dhabi to accept a teaching position at the International School of Choueifat. Their curriculum seems superior to other ME schools, and I am very excited to make this geographical change! Have any of you worked at a Choueifat or SABIS school? I interviewed at one of their U.S. schools and I was very impressed! Any advice on Choueifat would be appreciated!

Avoid Sabis

Hi Avoid Sabis,

Your response (and username) surprises me. I have heard wonderful things about the SABIS schools and I am very excited to be moving to Abu Dhabi.

Why do you write 'Avoid Sabis?' They have a wonderful reputation and their students have gone on to great colleges and universities. I can 'deal' with the restrictions in another society if I CHOOSE to move there, just as 'we' in America hope/expect those who come here will adjust/adapt to our society. It's the same thing.

I looked at the college acceptance records of their schools - overseas and in the U.S. - and they are phenomenal. Their curriculum works obviously. As a teacher, that's the bottom line for me.

Sabis - Bargepole required

I am really curious as to where you obtained your positive experiences with Sabis.

Sabis has a very poor reputation among most international educators. The curriculum and delivery are controlled so much that teachers do not have any autonomy or choice in the classroom. They do not require certified teachers. They limit contact between teachers and parents. Salaries are very low.

The International Schools of Choueifat as academic background are the best in UAE.
Unfortunately, I have heard that teachers are not well paid.

[b]Umm Rashid said:[/b]
[quote]The International Schools of Choueifat as academic background are the best in UAE. Unfortunately, I have heard that teachers are not well paid.[/quote]

Mmm...well, according to Choueifat they have the best academic background in the UAE. Having taught with them for multiple contracts in various locations, I can tell you that I would personally send my kids to The Indian High School or Our Own English High School before Choueifat. I would be guaranteed better academic expections and much better discipline in those schools than in the Choueifat schools. Choueifat is great at propoganda-they tell parents of mostly Arab backgrounds exactly what they want to hear. But Umm Rashid is right: the teachers are not well paid. They also tend to be the least qualified since qualified teachers tend to hold out for better contracts elsewhere.

Having taught in Saudia Arabia, Egypt and now in Qatar, I have heard nothing good about Chewyfat "schools". I have had several colleagues who have had the great misfortune to "teach" at these institutions and their experiences were little short of horrific.

First of all, many Chewyfat "schools" employ "teachers" who are not properly trained or qualified. In some cases, these "teachers" were supposed to be teaching English, but in fact their own command of the language was so poor and so limited that their lessons were almost worthless.

Secondly, the younger children in these institutions are not given age-appropriate materials, just dull text. No colour, no pictures, nothing that can be terned "child-friendly". Play-based learning is actively discouraged.

Thirdly, the "teachers" have to stick rigidly to the SABIS textbooks. Don't try to extend the more able or do reinforcement activities for the less able. Woe betide the "teacher" who does not follow the textbook. So much for differentiation!

Fourthly, it is Chewyfat policy not to allow parents to meet their child's "teachers".

Fifthly, trememndous emphasis is placed on regurgitation and repetition, but any real understanding of what you have learned is discouraged because that might mean deviating from the correct page of the textbook.

Finally, the SABIS schools call themselves "international schools", but really they are just for Arab kids. Of course, all the mothers turn up to school in their black bedsheets and the fathers turn up in their white bedsheets, while the Filipino maids carry the kids' bags for them. The kids just jabber at each other in Arabic all the time and shout insults at their Nepali drivers, so it is a waste of time trying to teach the children that racism is wrong.

Maybe some of the parents would like their children to learn English, but unfortunately it does not occur to them that sending your child to a school full of Arabs is not a good way to do that.

If you venture anywhere near the SABIS or chew the fat schools don't even touch the bargepole. No really, don't!

I worked there a long time ago - bargepole, mate. Big, BIG, bargepole.

"The International Schools of Choueifat as academic background are the best in UAE."

IMAGINE WHAT THE OTHERS ARE LIKE WHEN THOSE OF US WHO HAVE BEEN THERE SAY

:evil: STAY AWAY!!!! :twisted:

Avoid sabis is at all costs

The middle east is a place generally to avoid, as the turnover is extremely high and schools are generally poorly run.

The world of international education is full of horror stories and most of them come from this region.

Just watch the job vacancies each year and watch the recruitment companies try and shift them.