Pros
I loved the students and some of the parents. It was very refreshing after having come from teaching public school where there is no respect anywhere.
Cons
There are cliques everywhere. I saw in another Glassdoor post that if you aren’t besties with admin, they turn very fast against you and that is true. None of my coworkers would talk to me, and when they had a problem with me, they rattled to admin rather than addressing it with me. The admin also chose to be very nice to my face but every time they would observe me, they would write me up for “speaking to much” or “not noticing a student had a ruler” or “not making the students sit up immediately” even when I feel like my eyes are bouncing all over the place all the time trying to catch any misstep and I get on it as soon as I see it. I also really didn’t like how robotic everything was. The kids were a little fidgety and I got docked for it (despite reiterating the expectations probably a billion times every day) but that’s also because the rules were ridiculous. All across the school students are expected to sit up straight, chairs pulled in, feet on the floor, hands clasped on desk, tracking and tapping when reading (which no one does ever normally). And they get 30 minutes for recess and 30 minutes for lunch in the class in which they have to stay at their seats only talking quietly. That is so stifling for a kid. I get that there needs to be more structure than the public school, but the private school of Thales honestly felt like a stifling environment. No colors anywhere, no crafts, no differentiating the curriculum to make it more engaging and inclusive… I would not send any of my kids there. I don’t like the CEO either as he doesn’t have a background in education and he implements his own values and political beliefs into the school. One of which is that Disney is the equivalent of saying Voldemort. I get that Disney has some controversial views but I don’t believe anyone’s views should be pushed onto another, especially when I’m trying to print a page of Disney scavenger hunt words for a class full of less than 10 year olds who believe the best of this world and just want Disney and a brain warm up. I also wanted to mention that when I was fired, I was not told why at all. They said to contact HR if I wanted to know why. I did and they said they didn’t have to tell me. So I really don’t know why I was let go. I feel like I did the best possible job I could. Despite coming from public school and having to learn the private school system, I managed to get really far ahead with my planning (to the end of the year with all my printing) and I was on top of my game. This was such a bad experience that despite loving kids and teaching others, I can’t look at a teaching posting without having flashbacks and feeling short of breath.I got so much hate directed to me from this school and my last job that I can’t go back to teaching which really stinks as this job started off really well in the beginning before I was deemed an outcast (I don’t know why)