The ISR is quoted in today's Kuwait Times commenting on Kuwati Admin in private schools.Is this woman aware that many Kuwaitis are western educated ( through the very system she criticises) and that there are many dual nationality Kuwaitis who are educated from UK/US etc universities who would do an excellent job as Kuwaiti admin ? Her comments reek of the western colonial attitude- we are here to educate the arabs......pah!
www.kuwaitrocks.wordpress.com
ISR and Kuwait
ISR and Kuwait
Last edited by miski on Wed Aug 08, 2007 1:27 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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TexianTravel
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A rep from ISR commented today in the Kuwait Times on Kuwait's choice to put Kuwaitis in administration positions in private schools. She felt this spelt the end of 'proper' education here.
The link was mis-posted and should have been a link to a blog which deals with teaching in Kuwait. :cry: Sorry!
The link was mis-posted and should have been a link to a blog which deals with teaching in Kuwait. :cry: Sorry!
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jeffofarabia
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Here is the article. I don't think she is insulting Kuwait. She makes a pretty good point. Kuwaiti private schools are really not international in the way we think of them. Most of the students are local. Most of the owners are local. Most of the students go to local universities. I don't see how Kuwaiti administrators will change and already unusual international school scene.
Again here is the article from the Arab Times:
[quote]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.
By Valiya S. Sajjad
Arab Times Staff
[/quote]
Again here is the article from the Arab Times:
[quote]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.
By Valiya S. Sajjad
Arab Times Staff
[/quote]
And a very astute mother wrote in the Arab Times today :
'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
'
'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
'
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jeffofarabia
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TexianTravel
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An excellent question! I would interpret it to mean the principals, those who actually supervise instruction. However, those people only have as much power as the owner of the school, who will be a Kuwaiti, will give them.
My former school, while not in Kuwait, is a case in point. We had a western superintendent, western principals, and western teachers. Yet EVERY structure not directly linked to instruction was under the owner, a national. The owner even supervised departments that SHOULD have been linked to instruction, such as IT. Thus these departments began to exist to support themselves and not the students. Transportation decisions were not based on what the students needed but on what was convenient. The same for the cafeteria, security, even the library.
So if a Kuwaiti owner, as the owner of my former school was, is unwilling to let the professionals he/she hired do their jobs, I don't really see that there will be a difference.
My former school, while not in Kuwait, is a case in point. We had a western superintendent, western principals, and western teachers. Yet EVERY structure not directly linked to instruction was under the owner, a national. The owner even supervised departments that SHOULD have been linked to instruction, such as IT. Thus these departments began to exist to support themselves and not the students. Transportation decisions were not based on what the students needed but on what was convenient. The same for the cafeteria, security, even the library.
So if a Kuwaiti owner, as the owner of my former school was, is unwilling to let the professionals he/she hired do their jobs, I don't really see that there will be a difference.
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jeffofarabia
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so miski,
are you saying you're not really qualified enough for an admin job but might take advantage of your kuwaiti passport? i think you might have stumbled on the heart of the problem.
my biggest worry as an expat in kuwait is that unskilled people will get the jobs. look at what the kuwaiti government has done with taxis at the airport. they have reserved these jobs for drivers who don't speak English. The country is full of drivers with excellent English, but who picks you up at the airport? What is the first impression many people get of Kuwait when your taxi driver tries to rip you off and doesn't know where to take you.
This whole program is just a job making scheme for Kuwaitis. If there are qualified people...wait, it won't matter. They will just be hired because of their passport.
are you saying you're not really qualified enough for an admin job but might take advantage of your kuwaiti passport? i think you might have stumbled on the heart of the problem.
my biggest worry as an expat in kuwait is that unskilled people will get the jobs. look at what the kuwaiti government has done with taxis at the airport. they have reserved these jobs for drivers who don't speak English. The country is full of drivers with excellent English, but who picks you up at the airport? What is the first impression many people get of Kuwait when your taxi driver tries to rip you off and doesn't know where to take you.
This whole program is just a job making scheme for Kuwaitis. If there are qualified people...wait, it won't matter. They will just be hired because of their passport.
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jeffofarabia
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That is a very valid point, Miski. I know someone who was told not to wear a hijab in school even though she is a Muslim, since she didn't wear it at the interview for the job. I thought that was crazy.
One thing that drives me nuts in Kuwait are foreigner who learn absolutely nothing about Islam, Arabic culture or Kuwait. There is quite a lot to do. Most people don't even try, though.
One thing that drives me nuts in Kuwait are foreigner who learn absolutely nothing about Islam, Arabic culture or Kuwait. There is quite a lot to do. Most people don't even try, though.
I think Kuwait should make the move to hiring Kuwaities as principals and put them in other admin spaces. The more self sufficient Kuwait is as a country the less they have to rely on others. Look at the UK and the US, do we have foriegn nationals on contract as principals? If they hold green cards, yes they will hold those positions. However, Kuwait looks outside of their country for others to hold those positions when I am sure they have qualified people that could do those jobs inside of Kuwait. Kuwait needs a functioning working class.
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TexianTravel
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One of the things which truly bothered me about my former school was its "no hijab" policy. It did not hire qualified women who wore them, and got rid of highly qualified women who adopted them after being hired.
I suppose one could make the argument that it would have made our "American" school less "American" in appearance, but only by violating the most "American" of principles, which is freedom of worship.
On the other hand, if all or most of the women in the school wear the hijab, there is nothing, in appearance at least, to distinguish it from a national school. So would a parent pay the fees for an international education that it looked like their child wasn't getting?
Because I don't think many parents understand educational processes enough to distinguish between them. At least, that was my experience in Egypt. The parents placed their child in our American school because they thought the American process was easier or because they knew the Egyptian schools were something they didn't want. Very few placed their child in our school because they understood the American approach to education and valued it.
So if we had a lot of women in hijabs teaching, many parents would have looked at us and said, "An Egyptian school" and placed their child somewhere else. Unfortunate, but true.
I don't know what the answer is. Discrimination is wrong. As far as I know, Egypt had no anti-discrimination policies. If it did I wouldn't have had so many Coptic Christians telling me how difficult it was for them to find employment, and how there were no Christians in public office.
In that environment, upholding a non-discriminatory policy would have been a singularly thankless task. And it would have cost the school its international cachet, the reason it existed in the first place. So the choices were "violate the 'American' in the name of the school through religious discrimination" or "violate the 'American' in the name of the school by making it look Egyptian." Hard choice.
I suppose one could make the argument that it would have made our "American" school less "American" in appearance, but only by violating the most "American" of principles, which is freedom of worship.
On the other hand, if all or most of the women in the school wear the hijab, there is nothing, in appearance at least, to distinguish it from a national school. So would a parent pay the fees for an international education that it looked like their child wasn't getting?
Because I don't think many parents understand educational processes enough to distinguish between them. At least, that was my experience in Egypt. The parents placed their child in our American school because they thought the American process was easier or because they knew the Egyptian schools were something they didn't want. Very few placed their child in our school because they understood the American approach to education and valued it.
So if we had a lot of women in hijabs teaching, many parents would have looked at us and said, "An Egyptian school" and placed their child somewhere else. Unfortunate, but true.
I don't know what the answer is. Discrimination is wrong. As far as I know, Egypt had no anti-discrimination policies. If it did I wouldn't have had so many Coptic Christians telling me how difficult it was for them to find employment, and how there were no Christians in public office.
In that environment, upholding a non-discriminatory policy would have been a singularly thankless task. And it would have cost the school its international cachet, the reason it existed in the first place. So the choices were "violate the 'American' in the name of the school through religious discrimination" or "violate the 'American' in the name of the school by making it look Egyptian." Hard choice.