INTERVIEWERS: HEBA HASSAN & MAHMOUD MANSI
About Jane Whitby: Principal of ELM International School. She is an active member of The Association of Teachers and Lecturers and the National College of School Leadership in the UK for over 10 years and have consistently attended courses, alongside other leading Head teachers and Principals, exploring research and strategies and therefore enabling schools to become schools suitable for children of the 21st Century. Specialisms include Leading English, Leading Mathematics, Religious Education and Special Educational Needs – all for ages 3-18.
Jane is currently also writing 3 books. One is related to Assessing Pupils Progress to enable each child to reach their best in all areas of education, another is to do with living in Alexandria – something she has done for 4 years, and the last one is a book of modern day proverbs which have a spiritual basis. Jane loves writing and has also had poetry published.
Jane has had a variety of jobs and has run her own businesses but settled on education as her calling in life. Her main focus is improving and ensuring life chances for children and raising leaders from within the Egyptian community.
About ELM School: It comprises both the IPC Program and the Seedlings Montessori Program, located in Kafr Abdu, Alexandria.
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: You have worked for more than twenty years in the field of Education, both in the UK and Egypt. What is the most significant difference regarding the work environment?
Jane Whitby: The main difference between the UK and here is the ability to get things done the first time you ask for it and for things to be done exactly as you ask. In the UK, especially in a school environment, you do not need to follow anyone to do their job. Everyone knows what is expected of them and they do their job to the maximum; knowing they are contributing to the whole school environment not matter what their job is. In Egypt, things are very different right across the board although I must say in our school, ELM International School, we have a really happy working environment where we find we don’t have to follow people as much and people do make an extra effort without being asked.
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: How is managing teachers different than managing employees?
Jane Whitby: I have worked in a variety of fields: Limousine services, Wedding events, different management roles and the CEO of my own business BUT working with teachers is a totally different game. You have to connect with them on many levels, personal, social, spiritual etc. to get the best from them. How they feel will affect how the children behave so it is important to look after teachers. I have worked with over 10 Head Teachers and the 2 that were the most powerful were the ones who genuinely cared about staff and helped them to give their best. I prefer this strategy: to love and care for people and then they will do the same for the children. Other strategies that work are: 1 – Being willing to do what you expect others to do, if not more. 2 – Work phenomenally hard to support your teachers knowing that a teacher never has enough hours in a day to do what they need to do. 3 – Use more ‘carrot’ and praise than anything else and firmly discipline when someone is blatantly breaking the rules or damaging the ethos of a class/team or school.
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: Teaching is a very challenging mission, how do you manage to keep your teachers motivated in order to always keep their high spirits while teaching the students?
Jane Whitby: We laugh a lot in my school so spirits are high. There is no time for laziness so teachers are always operating on raw energy. I expect the best from and for my staff and this in turn makes them have the same attitude towards the children. I provide proper Professional Development and run the school as if it was an excellent school in the UK so the teachers appreciate such an environment especially in Egypt where schools are often very poor in management and Professional Development. My staff get weeks of training throughout the year which is all certificated and they know they will not get this anywhere else. I know all the children in my school and know their strengths and weaknesses academically. Therefore, we all work as a team to make sure that the children develop at an individual pace which makes teaching and learning more meaningful and the teachers see great results which makes them very motivated.
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: Apart from the educational programme the children are attaining, as a parent how can I help my child develop his/her skills, how can I help him/her establish their future goals and become good employees and leaders?
Jane Whitby: Wow – that’s a big question. We do an awful lot here to ensure we are making our children into Leaders. So how can this be translated from school to parents?
1 – To help children achieve their best – parents must at least know the real academic levels of children compared to children in the UK – only then can you then make sure their own teacher helps them towards the correct levels for a child of their age.
2 – Make them punctual, polite and self – organized – the basic skills of any leader.
3 – Be involved with their homework! Do not send them out for private tuition – do the work with them so that you learn together and so that they see you are interested in your own children.
4 – READ, READ, READ and read with your children, to your children and let them see you reading.
5 -Limit the TV or IPad to an hour and a half per day. Turn it on for specific purposes only do not let it drown out the ‘noise of life’. By having this limited time, you can spend more time with your child, engage in conversations and find out about them as they continue to grow and change.
6 – Don’t make excuses for your child when they are wrong. Let them understand the difference between ‘needs’ and ‘wants’ and help them accept the consequences of wrong actions.
7 – Make them eat healthily and well! Make them drink lots of water! Make them sleep at least 12 hours per day for a 3 year old and adjust that appropriately for each age.
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: Would you advise a CEO or a manager to attain a Montessori Teaching Diploma? How would this add benefit to their work, managing their employees and organisation?
Jane Whitby: I think you can never be over-qualified 🙂 I have always sought extra learning and often engage in courses with the NCSL in the UK (National College of School Leadership). Anyone saying they are a Montessori Nursery who only uses resources but are not properly trained should enhance their provision by being trained and then the trainer can train others – this is the minimum and is a must We have a teacher in EY1; Mrs Marta, and she is an outstanding Montessori practitioner as she had training with us from a specialist who came to the school. There is a massive difference between saying you ‘do’ Montessori and actually being Montessori trained. The benefits of having a professional Montessori Teaching diploma, according to Mrs Marta are:
1: To understand the purpose and the learning for each activity not just get the child to do an activity – this is so you can redirect, strengthen and enhance the learning per child as well as develop basic skills.
2: To be able to enable a child to move from one level of learning to another using the same equipment according to the age and development of each child. This is because all Montessori materials are divided by specific sensory/practical skills.
3: A Montessori Teaching Diploma is absolutely necessary for anyone working with young children as without it they cannot train staff properly and therefore the children will not use the resources properly and their learning will be low.
4: Lastly, anyone on a Montessori Teaching Diploma will begin to understand the importance of the ethos of Montessori and this will therefore enhance the independent and free spirited classroom learning environment.
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: From your life and work in Egypt, what do you think Egyptian employees suffer from the most?
Jane Whitby: I see many Egyptians, in a variety of fields, do not find pleasure or purpose in their work – this may be for many reasons. Maybe they do not see that there are opportunities for development, maybe it is because wages are low, maybe it’s because they feel trapped – I think it is a mixture but I also know many Egyptians who are self-motivated, hardworking, forward thinking and very creative despite wages etc. I think, therefore, that the same problems exist all over the world for all people.
For me, I have always believed that if something needs doing, you should do it yourself. Do everything unto God so that whether or not you are given recognition or not – God still sees. Do what you believe you should be doing, no matter who else thinks otherwise and work HARD. Always improve your work environment, the business you are in and the people around you. This is the minimum.
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: From your point of view and experience, what are the possible solutions to handle unemployment in Egypt?
Jane Whitby: People need to be entrepreneurial and stop expecting others to fix their problems. Our children age 8 started 2 of their own business recently after studying a project about Entrepreneurism. They made a service for cars and an ice cream make with their own branding and everything – if 8 year olds can do it, with no financial outlay in the first instance, and then there is hope for many. Some of my Seedlings teachers, many of whom are Egyptian, state that the reason people don’t work are because they don’t want. They quoted the fact that other nationalities come to Egypt and find work quickly and in some instances I see that this is right. I also notice that when people come to interview – they don’t really want a job or they just want to sit and do nothing, therefore I go through about 60 CV’s before I employ 1 person. I cannot stand lazy people and therefore only employ those who really want to make a difference. In Egypt – I find the number of people few.
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: What are the criteria upon which you choose your staff members in ELM? How do you filter the applicants’ CVs and what are the key questions you ask in the interviews?
Jane Whitby: 1: Foreigners – They must know and love Egypt – this is important as it is not an easy country to live in at all. I usually do not employ anyone who has only experienced Sharm El-Sheik or Hurghada. They must truly love children, be properly qualified and be really hardworking. They must have been in their last couple of work places for a few years – I don’t trust job hoppers. References are always taken up before interview so that I don’t waste my time. They must be very energetic, creative in their thoughts and be coming to Egypt to make a difference to the lives of children. Anyone not wanting or showing this, gets their CV put in the bin.
2: Egyptians – the same applies actually except the love Egypt bit – although of course if they are miserable about being in their own country they do not get past interview stage point 1.
Questions I ask in an interview are:
1: What 3 words would your last colleague use to describe you?
2: What difficult situation did you experience at work and how did you deal with it?
3: Tell me a time you were very creative in a lesson and what was the learning outcomes for your children?
4: How do you differentiate for all the children in your class so that children get an individual and personalised learning experience?
5: What is the most recent training you received and how did you put it into practice?
6: Why are you really leaving your last job?
7: What changes did you make to your last school that have been long lasting?
8: What are your personal and academic areas for development?
9: Why do you want to come and work in Egypt as opposed to all the other countries in the world?
10? Why should I give you the job and not the others who are applying?
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: How do you describe the market of private education in Egypt?
Jane Whitby: Personally, I think it’s quite poor compared to the governmental schools in the UK. I think the testing, assessment, personalised learning, creative planning, meaningful education experiences for children that is fit for the 21Century – is lacking in Alexandria. I wish all schools would really change curriculums, change and develop IT, equip teachers with constant International standard training, use proper assessment techniques etc. and therefore really make a difference to the life success of children being educated in school.
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: ELM is a new educational facility providing exceptional services to the Alexandrian community. How do you manage to train your staff members to stand out?
Jane Whitby: I make full and comprehensive training packages for all staff no matter how long they have been teaching and no matter where they have come from. They are trained and monitored in everything to make sure that the skills and techniques are being used correctly. We have a bank of trainers (both at ELM and in the UK) and we make sure we are totally up to date with all new developments. It’s exciting. They manage to stand out by being the best so that they may provide the best. I am proud of the attitude of my staff.
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: What are the biggest challenges that face your HR department? And your school as a whole?
Jane Whitby: To be honest, we don’t face many challenges, which has surprised me. We get tons of CV’s and the reputation of the school has grown enormously so lots of people apply here as they know what we offer the staff. The HR department is now efficient and we have a full set of procedures that are followed per CV or when people leave the school. Our school is overstaffed to make sure the children do not suffer in any unusual event. As for the school – on reflection I can see we have done well: we are very well resourced, very happy, hardworking and the children achieve high levels as if they are in a school in England. We even have a new healthy school canteen so that staff did not eat unhealthy food or no food at all. I think the biggest challenge is TIME. This is in all schools – there just isn’t enough time 🙂
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and time.