ENS looks impressive, and certainly has money, but you would be ill advised to consider working here. Morale is terrible and staff meetings (when they happen) are jaw-droppingly depressing, largely consisting of you being told how awful and useless you are. At one meeting the MD read out e-mails he had received from a member of staff who had been fired.
There is a bad 'us and them' situation with the management (mostly Jordanians), and there seems to be a clear trend to replace western staff with local hires (more Jordanians). Some departments have very few western staff left now.
Management overall is poor, with no clear definition and little in the way of forward planning. Clear incompetents have been promoted in some cases - including a HoD who revels in his many titles, but who does very little work at all.
Conditions of service and contracts are changed mid-agreement, and the school gets away with it - claiming to be above the law because of its royal connections.
So, think for yourself on this one. Is this awful setup the sort of school you'd want to join?
2 comments:
Ya know, every experience is what one makes of it. I was there for a while... Yes there were seemingly insurmountable obstacals in terms of politics and student behavior. However anyone with international teaching experience, and who is realistic about expectations can do well. There are a lot of pluses: PYP Candidacy,awesome teaching staff (which makes up for the idiocy of much of the administration), salary - approx. 12,000-14,ooo tax free DHS/month, nice free flats, an awesome city to live in; great for camping, sailing, and partying. Anyway, just thought I'd provide some pluses to balance things out a bit.
That's right, anon - "every experience is what one makes of it". So you can choose the supine approach, and let yourself get rolled over by the bastards, or you can stand up and make a fight of things. It depends on what you believe in - making things easy for yourself and abandoning your self-respect for a while, or having your say and then moving on with a clear conscience.
It's clear which route you have taken, anon, but I wouldn't let your experience pass as serious advice, except for the very faint-hearted. Anyway, 14,000 dirhams a month is sub-standard for AD these days. Why sell yourself so cheap? If you're gonna part with your soul, at least get a decent price for it!
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