ISR has received an eye-opening letter from a teacher describing an extreme situation that we feel merits discussion among the International Schools Review community. We share this letter with you here and invite your comments:
Dear ISR, I’m currently in South America at a school that caters to wealthy locals and I have encountered a situation I’ve never been forced to confront in all my years teaching overseas. Here’s what happened….
Last Saturday I parked at the mall and as I made my way toward the entrance, the smell of marijuana coming from a BMW was so overwhelming I couldn’t resist turning my head to see who would be so blatant as to be smoking in such a public place, especially here in South America where very distinct laws are in place. I was shocked! In the front seats I glanced two of my high school’s students, one with joint in hand. They both saw me looking and I continued walking without looking back or saying a word.
Monday, before class, one of the boys came to see me, although he’s not a student of mine. He told me his parents are aware of his activities and should I report him to the school, his wealthy and well-connected parents will make ‘trouble for me’. He also brought up my son (also a student at the school), and I clearly got the idea that he was making a not so veiled threat. These kids here are rich and their sense of power and entitlement is off the charts. For all I know, his parents are in the drug business, possibly big time.
I did speak with the director but kept the incident hypothetical. His response was that unless something takes place on campus, “It’s none of our business.” I am stunned that these kids have the power to do as they please and threaten me into silence.
I’m feeling abused, helpless and vulnerable, for both my son and myself, and at this point I am seriously considering leaving for home. If this incident is any indication of how things operate here, I don’t care to be around at report card time!
Any comments or advice in any way, shape, or form from educators with a similar experience as mine, or thoughts on this topic would be very reassuring at this time.
Thanks ISR for being here for us. Sincerely,
(Name withheld by request)
Please scroll down to comment
ISR Discussion Boards 
I currently work at an “International” school that has Arab leadership and the standards are far lower than anything I have ever seen before in my 15 years of teaching. I am constantly told to make my exams easy enough for a child to pass, when I teach High School. Even when I make the exams so easy, the students complain that the test was too hard for them and it wasn’t fair. Most of them fail, because they will not put in any effort whatsoever. Instead, they leave the test questions blank. They will not make any attempt to use their brains to think and answer them. The only questions the students are willing to answer are the multiple choice and even those they do poorly on. So when the kids complain and I tell them to get off their lazy backsides and try studying for once, they run home to their parents and tell them the test was too hard. Then the parents come to the school and complain it was unfair. If the admin won’t accommodate them by curving the test or fluffing up the grades, those parents will threaten to file a complaint against the school with the government authorities. This what they do every time, and the administration buckles to them. The parents say “jump” and the admin says, “how high?”. And the kids know it, so they will never study or make any attempt to actually learn. It gets worse every year. In addition, we have many teachers from other middle eastern countries, most of whom are afraid of the students and will give them whatever they want. They will threaten these teachers all the time, and those teachers have good reason to be afraid. These kids can get them fired easily. In my case, it’s harder for them to do this to me, because I’m a western expat. So I can tell the students to go away and am not afraid of them. Still, if they really push the issue, they can cause problems for me. The admin will pressure me to change grades or make exams even easier. So don’t think it’s only American Administrators. In reality, it’s a business, the students are really “customers” and the owner of the school wants to keep them happy so he can keep getting those tuition checks. It’s actually the owners that pressure the administrators to lower their standards. In the end, it’s the kids who get screwed, because if or when they go to university, they find out what real academic standards, courses and exams are like. This has been going on and getting worse & worse for the last 20 years. The scariest part? These poorly-educated, unmotivated and entitled young people are the future bankers, businessmen, politicians & civil engineers that will build the highways & bridges we will be living in and driving on in the years ahead. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
LikeLike
I’d recommend simply getting a job elsewhere next year. Serve your term and move on–especially to protect your son.
If you sign up to work with the elite, you can expect abuse in any country, but in some countries, the situation is worse.
Move on.
LikeLike
While I do not entirely agree with what your Director said,I am not sure exactly how much you told him or her.You did say hypothetical.Thing is,it was off the school property,so hence,unless it was a school sponsored/supervised outing,then what you saw was best ignored, and being in South America, try you best to avoid looking at or into a car unless you are crossing the street or hear it accelerate toward you.When the student approached you, you most likely should have responded with ” I do not care what you do in your own time and it was none of my business,although I hope you will make better life decisions in the future”, and then said,” If you so much as think about threatening me or my child,I will definitely deal with that” and then walk away.
Then I would march to the Director’s office and told him/her what just happened and do not wish to persue anything but will not accept harassment either.
LikeLike
Good day Diego,
Me thinks most, if not all teachers have a serious misconception of our duties and responsibilities when working overseas. As a career US Army officer I spent three tours of duty as “a foreign teacher” in three different countries under MAAG (Military Advisor) which eventually led me to a MA in Education.
US Army preparation for these assignments entailed extensive preparation including a stint in Language Schools, and most importantly customs and mores of each country. Where we learned the “do’s and don’ts” of each specific country.
Not tooting my horn, but as a Infantry ROTC Graduate, when I retired from the greatest job in the world, SERVING W/HONOR OUR COUNTRY, I was an outstanding civilian educator for a few years in Latin America.
My best advise to all foreign job seeking positions is to do extensive research and prepare for the job you are seeking. Leave behind all misconceptions and have a ball!
Best advise – prepare, mind your business, and be a PROFESSIONAL, and in Latin America, consider the ever present and dangerous MACHISMO CONCEPT AND STRICT SOCIAL STRATA! Especially with the wealthy STRATA VI, where 14/16 year old boys visit whore houses regularly.
These “special” students are arrogant, spoiled, vindictive and very dangerous. We (teachers) are there to teach – nothing more. We teachers will be at the III/IV strata levels .
Frank T Rivera
COL US Army, Ret
MA ED
LikeLike
Hi Frank.I agree,after having spent 6 years in a latin Culture.They will respect being strong though and if one shows weakness,you can head for the airport right away.No need to create waves and risk offending local culture when possible.And one can’t fit western norms and the idea of social justice into the picture or you will have troubles.
LikeLike
I take issue with your gross overgeneralization: “most, if not all, teachers have a serious misconception of our duties and responsibilties whenworking overseas.”
Anyone who has been properly trained, certified and with even limited practical working experience in their home countries will have a fairly solid foundation as to determine what one’s responsibilities are in the classroom. As someone claiming to have an MEd you more than most should know that. Furthermore, you would presume to know my qualifications and experience, or my competence and understanding of my role as an educator overseas based on absolutely no information other than I happen to teach abroad?
In my experience, the only misunderstanding concerning roles and responsibilties of educators overseas happens when the institutions employing us-for whatever reasons-fail in adequately communicating them at the start. And there is only so much pre-job research can do to mitigate that.
LikeLike
Seriously…name and shame this school and the director. A student threatens your family at school and the director’s response is “it’s none of our business?”
Years ago, teaching in a corrupt, impoverished 3rd world country, a student hinted that my vehicle might “disappear” soon and that I should keep an eye on it. The director at this school was not exactly competent either, but the student was at least immediately suspended.
LikeLike
if you are looking for an excuse to leave, well I guess you have one to tell those who will ask you why you left. Is the kid serious? not likely, if he was going to cause you trouble, he would have done so, he was bluffing. You can reverse the situation on him, and threaten to notify his parents and the school unless he pays you 🙂 am I serious? perhaps.
LikeLike
LEAVE!!! Do not rationalize, do not justify, don’t say anything. When “push comes to shove” the administration WILL side with the tuition-paying- parents of some truly spoiled brats. I will not go into my situation (s), but I have been in the “business” for 20 years. Some were great places others were the pits. Eventually you learn “when to hold ’em and when to fold ’em. This time FOLD ‘EM, it is NOT worth the stress.
LikeLike
I don’t get all these suggestions to leave. If one were to pack up and move every time a student got ballsy, inappropriate, or flashed attitude, one wouldn’t last six weeks in ANY international situation. International teaching is for teachers who can roll with most situations. I wasn’t real good at it my first year, but I quickly got better. Most of us can make that adjustment. One way to stop feeling “abused, helpless and vulnerable” is to stop ALLOWING yourself to feel those supremely unhelpful emotions.
LikeLike
“Thanks”, guys. This has helped me alot as a parent to understand the general psych of educators who have decided to teach abroad and to make an informed decision accordingly. This also especially helps me to understand why children in such schools act the way they act; carrying with them the characters they learn in schools to their adulthood. As the prominent public justice lawyer, Bryan Stevenson, said, “Our worst crime as individuals is never worse than the crime of us as a society. An act of murder by a kid is not only an act of murder; there are always stories behind it where we as grown-ups take a cruicial parts in it”.
LikeLike
Unfortunately, moneyed youth and their parents have a lot more power in many parts of the latin and arab and other parts of the World than those with scruples. You will not win in most such cases as one of the school’s motivating forces is money and they will usually not side with you because if they did, the parents may file an expensive lawsuit or more likely, withdraw their children from the school, and then the school may blame you even though you had the moral high ground.
LikeLike
I think people are missing the real point here, ‘A STUDENT THREATENED A TEACHER’ on school grounds. Yes, who cares about the pot smoking because the real issue is the threat. The teacher is not being a drama queen if they are concerned about their safety from a threat by a student. If I was teaching in the United States and a student threatened me, I would sure as heck take it seriously because they actually might kill you. Why should any threat be taken lightly, especially in a foreign country?
LikeLike
Sad to say, but the principal is right. This person went to this country to teach, not to be a police….. First of all, if she smelt marijuana on a Saturday, she should not even be seeking to find out where it is coming from or who is smoking, as she was not on campus and it is the weekend, she is not working.
People have to learn to mind their own business sometimes and stay in their lanes.
LikeLike
Leave!
LikeLike
Have a friend teaching high school in Hong Kong. Lots of rich kids of course. We were out at the bars, and she spots one of her students, dressed up and made up, hangin with these guys in their 20’s. I asked how old she was, and my friend said, ’15.’ Obviously she was under age and drinking and such. But my friend said she’s a girl from a messed up family and she obviously hangs out with shady characters who could be in triads. I wondered if we should say something to her. My friend’s response was, ‘I’m not her mom. I just hope she doesn’t see me.’ We went on with our evening. I felt a little bad, but some things are beyond your control. You have even less control overseas. If you go into education to ‘save’ every child, then you will certainly be disappointed. You have to pick your fights.
LikeLike
If you had come across students – even off-campus – engaged in activities which could cause them or others harm, then you would have an obligation to inform the school, and it would be the school’s responsibility to inform the parents.
Smoking marijuana is not one of these activities.
Since this is so, and since you did not catch them on school grounds or breaking a school rule, it’s not up to you to take it any further.
The threats are another matter. A student came up to you in your capacity as a teacher on campus and apparently tried to bully you. It is certainly the job of the direction to deal with the matter.
The fact that the student who has – under normal circumstances – nothing to do with you should try to convince you to stay silent tells me that he must be particularly afraid of the reaction of his parents and of the school.
To be “stunned that these kids have the power to do as they please and threaten me into silence” is unfair to the administration and to the families of the child involved. You didn’t give the director facts but spoke only hypothetically. If he knows that you have been threatened, he has a legal and “educational” responsibility to react.
“I’m feeling abused, helpless and vulnerable…”
A bit of a drama queen? If you truly are worried about your son, then you should send him to a school back home. If you really are worried about your own safety, leave. Otherwise, stop with the drama.
To some of the other people who have posted here: “Punks”? “Rats”? “Spineless”?
You’re in the wrong job. Sell life insurance. Disdain for policy holders is positively encouraged in the life-insurance business.
LikeLike
Got a news report for ya… what happens off campus in none of your business. Grow up. If it happens on campus let admin take care of it. Just teach your class and don’t worry about things you can’t control. GROW UP.
LikeLike
I was struck by the line “I couldn’t resist turning my head…” Yes, you could resist, and in foreign countries, you SHOULD resist being too curious about such things. MYOB is a basic survival tactic.
LikeLike
You have a decision to make: how will you deal with inequality?
It sounds as if you are new to this school, new to this country, new to international teaching, and possibly also new to the teaching profession. No matter where you go, there will be power structures, entitlement, and unfairness. You alone can decide where your own breaking point is.
But wherever you go, you can find similar issues, particularly for people who become sensitized or claim a victim role.
My advice would be to chalk this up as a learning experience and to try to be prepared to be flexible in the next unimaginable situation, because it will come.
LikeLike
I don’t want to seem unsympathetic, but a high school teacher who would be shocked by off-campus pot smoking, whether abroad or at home, is pretty easily shocked. Kids are kids everywhere. If the student had come to me agitated in the way you describe, I would simply have smiled and said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I didn’t see a thing.” What goes on in my classroom and on campus is enough of a responsibility; what goes on off campus is none of my affair. I certainly never would have gone to the director. If I had even thought of it, I would have anticipated exactly the answer from him that you describe.
You’ll never survive as an international teacher if you don’t learn NOT to see certain things.
As to what to do now, I’d keep working and forget that this ever happened.
LikeLike
VERY well-said.
LikeLike
Totally agree. You must be quite young and new. You cannot fight every battle when overseas, esp. things off campus. I rarely side with admin., but in this case mind your own business.
LikeLike
Totally agree. You must be quite young and new. You cannot fight every battle when overseas, esp. things off campus. I rarely side with admin., but in this case mind your own business.
LikeLike
Truly an outstanding “ADVISE” for all International Teachers – present and future. Should be added on responses for future applicants.as “Very Strong Advise.”
LikeLike
This comment board seriously needs thumbs up, thumbs down buttons so we don’t repeat ourselves. The author of this is a real busy-body – who cares 1) if kids smoke pot these days, I did 2) and what happens off campus. If weed smoking is illegal in the country, let the cops take care of it. If they don’t bust rich kids, what’s new?
LikeLike
I agree with the director that it’s none of your business. As for the ‘idea’ that he threatened you ‘clearly’ . . . what exactly did he say? And just as important, what did YOU say.
LikeLike
Lots of details missing – how old is your child? Do you think these kids are carrying weapons? I had a kid threaten me in school in New Mexico! He was suspended 2 days, back in my face calling me a liar when he returned, and I had to drive by him, with my 7 year old in a car, on a dirt road, to get home nearly every day. He was often standing with rocks in his hands. Thankfully he was soon placed in a residential treatment facility for drug addiction. Looking back maybe I should have quit. In the USA, in October, with a year lease and no job prospects, I stuck it out and moved in June.
LikeLike
Take it from the house in Amity and GET OUT!!!!!!!
LikeLike
Just a bunch of nonsense. It is very clear that you need to “get a grip” on yourself. If this is difficult for you then you should go home!
LikeLike
The story sounds quite shallow to me. We have been in many countries… we make choices about where we go to and live. It is obvious that this will be happening in South America or more fool you. Why did the boy threaten you in the first place, you said nothing or did nothing, smoking weed is common place these days. I do not agree with it myself but know it happens with young people, even in schools I have taught in myself. Also the director is not spineless he is merely powerless of these situations. He accepted this himself when he took up the post. You live and learn! We have been in 5 countries and often in volatile situations with our 3 children, we make choices!
LikeLike
everyone else has said it all, more articulately than i could. but you also have my good wishes and support. just take care of yourelf.
LikeLike
I’m sorry, but didn’t the threat to you take place on campus? The student brought the issue to school. Not you. Deal with it like a professional should. The kid is probably just scared and wanted to be the bully first to scare you. That IS entitled Latin culture. That is what they do.
LikeLike
I have taught in “entitled Latin culture” for a number of years. I have not had to surrender my sense of ethics, even though I have taught many children of criminals. The key to getting along at these schools is to get the students to like you, respect you, and even in a way protect you. I had one student tell me, “Nothing bad will ever happen to you in this town. We students have your back.” I did not inquire too closely into the specifics of that, but he was right; not only did nothing bad ever happen to me in that famously dangerous town, I FELT insulated. And what did I do to earn such a comment? I just tried to be a fair, reasonable, knowledgeable teacher with a good sense of humor, as I would anywhere. No matter what their backgrounds, high school students want to be liked, and if you can meet them halfway on that, in my experience most problems dissolve.
LikeLike
I think you have been able to strike a balance between responsibility, acceptance and cultural awareness.
I agree with your take on how to teach and LIVE in the community.
I work and live in Hanoi, Vietnam as a science teacher and dept head. I am quite happy here. It takes a great deal of understanding, acceptance, flexibility, patience, and a sense of enjoyment to deal and work with my students, colleagues, admin, and parents. I’ve had my share of mistakes and consequences. Yes, I’ve even dealt with pot-smoking teenagers … quietly, privately, and appropriately (only 1 incident ever) so that the student is now in Europe studying at an IB school.
Thank you to you and the other commenters.
I really enjoy reading about other international teacher’s stories.
LikeLike
People in some countries have unlimited power. They do not play by “our” rules. The best thing is to try to assess what danger you or your child may be in and then take action based upon it. By take action I mean leave the school. To ensure your safety I would not confront the situation. Rest assured the parents of those children know what is going on. The neighbors of those children know what is going on too.
You can’t change their culture. You are an outsider. The rules you live your life by are not valid to apply to other people. You must learn to mind your own business and regulate only what you can control and that means things that happen within your own classroom.
I do agree with you that the situation is outrageous. The use of drugs is wrong plain and simple. But again, you are not in your home country. You are living as a foreigner in a different country where the unwritten rules are much more enforceable than anything that is official.
I have lived in countries like you describe. I purposefully avoided places our students congregated in public because I never wanted to encounter a situation like you did. I kept my life separate from their completely. Sounds like a coward’s way, doesn’t it? But for me that was survival skill since I needed my job. I also do not have any children who attend the school I work at.
You are in a difficult situation. I would, if the risk is not too high, finish out the current school year and inform your director that due to the needs of your family you will have to seek employment elsewhere. Good luck.
LikeLike
I would speak to the director about this leaving no detail out. Hypotheticals never get a straight answer. Any school should look after their staff and if a threat is made veiled or not against you or your family then it should be taken seriously. If sufficient support is not shown then you are well within your rights to leave, no one could ever argue that you were wrong to go. As entitled as some international students think they are most parents (dependent on country) do support the teacher. If the school you work in does not support you then why should you honour your contract as they have not met their side of the deal.
LikeLike
Get out now! The risk of staying on isn’t worth it!
LikeLike
Like that sort of thing doesn’t happen in schools in the States?? The weed smoking I mean – oh, and they have guns too!
LikeLike
I have a son and wife and if there was any ANY danger to them I would leave. People who are saying that “but leaving with little to no notice is not going to help your career” probably have no children of their own.
Your #1 priority is your family NOT the school and not your career. In the end we make decisions for ourselves but you are also making decisions for your son so you should think about what it means for him as well. If you feel there is any chance of something happening to you or him then you leave and if another school were to hold that against you then that is the type of school you do not want to work for.
LikeLike
JP’s point is still valid, whether he or she has a family or not. It won’t help one’s career. That said, if one feels there is real danger, the one needs to do what one needs to do.
I question how real this danger is though. I DO have a family and I would hesitate and think carefully before teaching my son that it’s okay to make life-changing decisions based on fear. Again though, I’m not in the OP’s shoes.
LikeLike
Do what you want to do, but leaving with little to no notice is not going to help your career.
I really feel this situation could have been handled better, but given that what has transpired has already transpired… Were I in your shoes I would assure the kid that his choices to recklessly smoke weed in a VERY public place is his concern and to leave your son out of it. The real problem here is the threat, not the weed. But the weed is what prompted the threat. I would make it clear to this kid that you’re not worried about the weed (whether that’s true or not) and that he needs to back off. Let him know you don’t consider him worth the effort.
I think it’s highly likely this threat was made out of genuine fear that you report his behavior. That can be used to your advantage if played correctly.
Leaving this weekend (as others have suggested) seems like a decision made out of fear and that can’t be a good thing. Don’t let a brat push you around…
Just my 2 cents…
LikeLike
I agree, good advice.
LikeLike
Certain places require of teachers the utmost of discretion. In Cambodia, for instance, local teachers are terrorised by their students at times and always buckle under the very real threat of death. Typically, this takes the form of being run down on their motorcycles by SUVs. Cultures of impunity allow this to thrive, the authorities will take no action in your favour. Chances are any authorities you appeal to may consist of relatives of the students in question. Keep your head down until you have an exit strategy in place…
LikeLike
Not sure wher you worked but I was never threatened nor would any if the students consider it. Seems like a bold generalisation with very limited evidence.
LikeLike
I did say ‘local’ teachers. I’ve never heard of it happening to expat teachers, the problem is the culture of impunity which infests not just Cambodia, but numerous other countries which suffer from a lack of rule-of-law…
LikeLike
Please post a link to a verifiable story where this happened and I’ll take notice. Your comments sound more like pub talk, late night pub talk. I’ve taught the kids of criminals in Cambodia and never got that kind of ‘attitude’ from them, perhaps because I treat them simply as another student and I develop bonds with them as one of my students. They didn’t choose what family they were born into and may have been raised without a good moral compass. Sound like a teaching opportunity to me.
LikeLike
Absolutely agree with this. Students do not choose their circumstances – high, middle, low, none of them. Treat them uniformly with respect and sympathy, even if they seem unlovable at first. Works wonders.
LikeLike
Yes, Patrick it works wonders but unfortunately there are students that regardless of how much sympathy and respect you give them, you will not succeed in getting through to them, and you will not succeed in negating them as a problem in your classroom.
Now you’ve regaled us with tales of your classroom management acumen, and while that has been very entertaining, what I am interested in is how you handle students that you cannot control. Because we all have them. If you haven’t yet, consider yourself lucky and be sure to come back here and tell us about it when it does happen to you, because it eventually will.
LikeLike
Difficult to find a ‘verifiable link’ as google doesn’t seem to throw up anything other than how many Cambodian teachers were killed by the Khmer Rouge, and the odd murdered foreign teacher. Unfortunately, my Khmer writing skills are not what they should be, or I’d search Cambodian news sites in Khmer.
You may not ever have been made aware of it Anon (if that is really is your name) as Cambodians are somewhat loath to discuss such societal ugliness, but it most certainly does happen that local teachers are taught the most extreme kind of lesson by those who live in the certainty that no-one will ever hold them to account for their actions, no matter how heinous…
LikeLike
Welcome to teaching the 1%.
LikeLike
I think I would be tempted to very quetly but seriously getmyself and my son out of the school as quickly as possible. It sounds very dangerous and if you are not supported I would feel very vulnerable. Take care. There are plenty of other lovely schools which would welcome yourself and your son with open arms.
LikeLike
It’s not a good situation. If you feel like the threat is very likely to happen, then leave. There are other schools with entitled kids, such as my school in Seoul, Korea but our kids are generally nice, hardworking and respectful. Try this part of the world!
LikeLike
This is not a good situation. If you are feeling unsafe and vulnerable I would suggest you plan on leaving this weekend. Obviously the director is spineless and has backed down in the past. You’re on your own in what sounds like a lawless country.
I find it disgusting that these kids have the power they do. Keep in mind this power is only applicable in their own country and probably only in parts of the country. Never the less, these otherwise losers and their parents can call the shots in their own neighborhood. You can’t win.
Personally I would just leave. Then I would call the director and tell him to crawl back into his shell in no uncertain terms. Be sure to document this and report it to ISS and Search. For whatever that is worth.
LikeLike
How unpleasant. I think you need to use your own judgement. On the one hand, play safe, keep head down, move out and on asap. Especially when they threaten your child.
On the other hand, maybe the parents don’t know and don’t condone such activity. I think parents should be notified what their children have done, that they have threatened staff, and that police could be involved.
You should definitely document what happened and put it on record.
LikeLike
Back your bags and leave! Immediately!
LikeLike
Working in entitled, rich spoilt kids environments entails a lot of difficult decision-making. These rats will intimidate you and anyone else who has the nerve to stand up to their threats. I have been in a similar situation in Mexico and what I did was to inform the DG in writing, with the names of the kids clearly indicated. I then verified with the local police about drug enforcement actions and I also spoke to my embassy about my legal and social responsibilities in a foreign country. The DG called a meeting of the parents and kids and invited me to come to describe what occurred. At first the kids denied everything but eventually they accepted that it was true and the school suspended them. I had been threatened as well and the DG told the parents that the kids would be expelled and reported to the police if this ever occurred again. It was my last year there so I wasn’t worried but you have to decide if it is worth the hassle.
Don’t be intimidated by these punks or they’ll get the message that they can do it to anyone.
LikeLike
Tell his tutor and/or head of year what the student said to you. The issue is not just the smoking, it is the threat. If the school don’t take it any further then form your judgements, keep your head down and work through your contract. In all likelihood they will talk to the student and the parents. The kid will get sanctioned and that will be that.
LikeLike