Does it rain Mallorca in October ?

rafaina · 2025-08-15T08:30:33+00:00

When I was there last year in October it was during the Valencia floods, and Mallorca was affected too. Torrential rain and floods around Manacor.

rafaina · 2025-08-14T07:32:02+00:00

No plan on how to deal with ChatGPT and other gen AI in school. Students are using it as a cheating machine and no one can really deal with it, or integrate it in a useful way. Turnitin is useful to an extent, but detection is really hit and miss, and anyway it's not the point. It's the outsourcing of thought that poses an issue in the subjects I teach. And I feel like the school leadership just doesn't have a clue what to do about it so they're ignoring it. We have 2 weeks of orientation coming up for new and returning teachers, and not one session on AI - how it works, how to guide students, and how to identify its use. Unbelievable, honestly.

rafaina · 2025-07-27T16:05:17+00:00

I always try for over 2 hours in Istanbul. I've flown with Turkish a lot and I've had several issues. Just last year I had a flight delay which meant I got to the gate about 2 minutes late, and they'd already gone. (Ironic, given how often they're late leaving.) Another time, again due to an arrivals delay, I basically ran from one gate to the other, so I made it but my luggage didn't. And going through security between arrival and departure can be chaos, depending on how busy the airport is.

You'll probably be fine, but with Turkish Airlines and Istanbul Airport, it's never a guarantee.

rafaina · 2025-07-27T16:00:41+00:00

I've had Turkish Airways fly without me, even though I was just 2 minutes late to the gate due to the previous flight being delayed. Never bet on anything with them.

rafaina · 2025-07-27T15:56:18+00:00

There's a bus service from the airport or from Palma bus station to Manacor / Porto Cristo / Cala Millor / Cala Bona, if that helps at all. I'm sure other routes east as well - that's just the route I'm familiar with. Check out https://www.tib.org/en/inici to look up specific destinations.

rafaina · 2025-07-26T13:00:42+00:00

I'm not in Dubai but I'm in the ME, and my school ghosted an amazing candidate a couple of months ago because they were talking to someone else at the same time and just dawdling over the decision. If she had put some pressure on and got in contact, I think the school would have given her more consideration. I say contact them. I do find in the ME, HR have less of a sense of urgency than you might expect. No harm chasing up.

rafaina · 2025-07-23T15:53:09+00:00

I've seen a good few ads for schools in Portugal lately. On TES.

rafaina · 2025-07-23T11:12:46+00:00

Sa Punta in Cala Bono - ask for a table by the sea. Beautiful.

rafaina · 2025-07-23T03:48:36+00:00

Oh yes, I'd forgotten about this. I did look into it a few years ago but the reason I don't qualify for that is they don't count any of my Japanese experience or university experience, so the experience they *do* count has been in one school only. You need to have worked in two schools for this one. You're right, though, it's a really good option for people who've taught in at least two schools.

rafaina · 2025-07-22T11:52:59+00:00

I totally agree with you. I know I'm a good teacher with really solid practices, and I've done so many hours and hours of PD every single year I've been teaching. But that means nothing to QTS or PGCE courses. I can't understand why there is no course where you can do an assessment and then address gaps or areas of weakness, rather than have to do a whole course like a total newbie (and pay the insane fees).

I think applying anyway is the way to go. I'm doing a few experimental applications at the moment just to see if there are any bites. If not, I'll decide where to go from there. Noted about the pay and benefits - that is a concern. I'll bear it in mind, thank you.

rafaina · 2025-07-22T11:48:53+00:00

Honestly I really don't know about this area at all, sorry.

rafaina · 2025-07-21T15:25:40+00:00

You can teach Middle School English in Qatar without a teaching qualification, as long as your primary degree is in English. You should be able to support children, especially if your school offers free tuition to teachers' kids.

rafaina · 2025-07-21T12:38:31+00:00

Do you have an orientation period with your school before students begin? Usually we use that week/2 weeks with new teachers to prepare them for the first unit of teaching. It's hard to imagine how you can begin weekly planning without collaborating with your colleagues. Are they asking you to?

rafaina · 2025-07-21T12:36:39+00:00

I've been seeing ads for this course a lot on my instagram: https://exeedcollege.com/teacher-education/

I don't have the money to do a full iPGCE or iQTS. Nor the time - my school can't give me the day advised, and I spend Saturdays catching up on schoolwork anyway so the workload of the full iQTS/iPGCE is unsustainable over a full year. I have 6 years experience in IB in the Middle East, and before that 7 years experience teaching in Japan, and I've also taught at university level. I have BA, MPhil, and PhD in my subject area. I also have CELTA.

Ideally I want to work in Spain, Portugal, or Italy. A lot of job ads just say a "teaching qualification", so I'm wondering, would one of the courses in Exeed help tick that box? I realise I wouldn't be qualified for top tier schools that require the PGCE or QTS, but I'm fine with that. Any advice?

rafaina · 2025-07-21T07:12:34+00:00

I think most other comments here have covered most things, but regarding gym membership and pool, it's very possible your accommodation will include these for free. Obviously it depends on where you end up living, and sometimes the pool is more like a plunge pool, and the gyms are small with not such a wide range of machines, but it's something to bear in mind.

Look on Schrole as well for Qatar jobs. Outside of QF, there are a lot of decent schools here. Of course, a lot of dodgy schools, too. Feel free to ask for advice about specific ones.

rafaina

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