This review, which plainly stated the name of our school, was reviewed by a person identified only by the title Teacher. However, this person was immediately identifiable to all at our school who had encountered her during her very brief tenure (of less than one month); she is remembered as a bad example of and important lesson in how very misleading resumes/Curricula Vitae, long-distance interviews, and even verified references can be.

She sent our school her CV; it set forth admirable qualities and skills as a teacher and colleague. She was subsequently interviewed at length by telephone, on two different occasions and by appointed times that were arranged according to her convenience. In those telephone interviews, the nature and specifics and expectations of the teaching position, the terms and conditions of the contract, and employee benefits were discussed, and all her questions were addressed. In addition to her salary, these benefits included round-trip air fare from her home to our city, housing, medical care, visa, and work permit. She readily agreed to all, whereupon a copy of her contract was emailed to her for her to review, and she accepted our offer of employment. Arrangements were completed and she arrived at our school. Upon arrival, she signed the contract to which she had verbally agreed a copy of which, signed and each page initialed by her, lies before me and which refutes her allegations about teaching responsibilities and duties.

In a matter of mere days, this person proved herself entirely incapable whatsoever of carrying out even the most minimal responsibilities of her job. She was not able to manage classrooms of a maximum of only 13 students; she was not capable of following the already established curriculum plan; she did not produce lesson plans based on said curriculum plan; and she was not able to work in a cooperative manner with colleagues and members of the administration. Rather than familiarizing herself with the curriculum and extensive resources, visual aids, manipulatives, and materials, making and implementing lesson plans, and teaching well, she invested energy during work hours inquiring about clubs and social life in Jordan, emailing, and complaining.

She mentioned to a colleague that she was not fluent in French her main teaching responsibility and the focus of her stated qualifications and strengths! and stated that not much French was needed to teach je m appelle (my name is). When the head of our French department who is from France spoke French with her in order to assess her accent and vocabulary, she responded in English only. Our Spanish teacher who hails from Spain noted that, in Spanish, she had limited vocabulary and a flawed accent.

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I must first of all note that it is utterly and absolutely unacceptable, malicious, and offensive to refer to any member of Jordans royal family in a derogatory manner. The person who wrote this posting was treated only with absolutely professional consideration and respect by all; under no circumstance whatsoever was she or has anyone in any position in our school ever been shouted at, patronized, or treated with anything less than respect. At the core of our schools philosophy are the importance of respect, tolerance, and understanding, all of which inform our schools policies and procedures with regard to employees, parents, and students as well as how we all conduct ourselves as teachers, administrators, colleagues, and human beings.

With regard to other allegations in this posting on your website, confidentiality of records is of paramount importance in any organization, including ours. Yet, this person made, and you printed, allegations about employee firings that are not only untrue, but neither she nor any other unauthorized person would have access to individual employee records. Her allegations included a statement that one staff member was fired for being pregnant; I am happy to say that we have welcomed two babies in the last several months alone, with several more on the way blessings for us and for their mothers, all newly hired this year. No one has been, nor will any staff member be, fired for being pregnant. Last year, because of a health reasons alone, one pregnant teacher did leave under her own doctors orders for complete bed rest, and her health and that of her unborn child were of course our greatest concern.

With regard to our school, The School of Life Jordan has, in less than three-years existence, been recognized by the Ministry of Education as excelling in every regard. Our curriculum is rigorous, solid, and sound. Our students excel in core subjects as well as in the study of four languages, and have done an outstanding job in national competitions in areas as varied as language arts and robotics.

I have been an educator for 33 years. I have worked as a teacher and administrator in schools in both the United States and Jordan, and have been with our school since its inception three years ago. I am presently the Acting Principal as well as Head of Math and Science at the school, and serve as advisor to and personal representative of the Director of Curriculum of our school. I am honored to have, finally, found in our school an educational institution guided by and practicing sound ethical and educational principles.

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Janet Hadid
Acting Principal
The School of Life Jordan
Amman, Jordan