Job Discussion Forums

MO39 · Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2005 6:37 pm Post subject:

thelmadatter,

Thanks for metaphorically crossing your fingers for me. I sometimes hesitate to ask too many questions of people I'm hoping will give me a job (don't want to be a pest), but your suggestions as to how to frame my questions sound right to me. Since I won't be arriving back in Mexico for a couple of months, I should find "political" ways to keep in touch with my contact person, so she won't forget about me.

M@tt · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 473 Location: here and there

There is great variation from campus to campus in many respects, despite the central campus's attempts to standardize the whole system (as someone already mentioned). I taught for a year on the Veracruz campus and applied to a dozen other campuses. I interviewed in person or on the phone at about 8 campuses and had experiences ranging from neutral to very positive at all of them. If you talk to enough people you also learn which campuses are badly managed, strapped for money, high turnover, etc. It sounds like the original poster (or maybe someone a few responses later) had a nightmare experience at that particular campus but I can assure you that they're not all the same. Based on my own experiences, I was very surprised to read what that other applicant went through.

Of course I was probably well-received because I'm white, and everyone knows that no white teacher is hired at the Tec for his/her teaching credentials, only as window dressing.

As for finding the right contact, my general advice to anyone interested in working at a Tec campus is to start at the general website, click on each individual campus website that you are interested in, and note both the secretary's number and any email/phones you can find for a director of languages/english. Assuming you speak some Spanish, start calling people until you get hold of the correct person., who will probably ask you some questions, give you an email address and expect to receive a copy of your CV by email. That's basically what I did while job-searching from within Mexico and scored about 6 interviews that way in two days. It's much quicker than the way I did it before I lived in Mexico (sending email first to names I found on the website, without knowing whether they were the correct person or not).

Good luck and don't let one or two negative experiences get you down if you're truly interested in working there. Just move on to another campus that interests you.

thelmadatter · Posted: Sat Jul 09, 2005 3:13 pm Post subject: window dressing?

Window dressing????

I work damn hard for somene who is getting paid merely to be window dressing.

While I agree they want native speakers for the "prestige" value (esp. since all the Mexican teachers I have met here have incredible English), Ive been doing a LOT of course redesign and now am giving basic composition classes to the English teachers here (something that seems to be woefully neglected in foreign language classes in general). My director feels that we should be prepared should the new version of the TOEFL (which we use to "prove" our students learned what we say they learned) becomes the institutional version. The new version is way more academic in general and includes a writing portion. Even if this is not the case, writing is a valuable life skill. Amazing what sentences I get from students sometimes - even those who pass the grammar tests well -- actually.. its not so amazing - grammar isn't communication.

Im also the CALL "specialist" here.

So hopefully I have more than a foreign face to offer my students.

Samantha · Joined: 25 Oct 2003 Posts: 2038 Location: Mexican Riviera

Thelma, You are definitely more than window dressing! Your campus sounds like it is run very professionally.

samizinha · Joined: 12 May 2005 Posts: 174 Location: Vacalandia

My colleagues and I got hired at the Tec because of our qualifications- Hon. B.A., B.Ed and M.A. I'm not a white English speaking babysitter, I'm an educator.

M@tt · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 473 Location: here and there

Right. That was my attempt at sarcasm, in response to a previous post. I also made a concerted effort to be a good teacher, and I was hired for my qualifications and experience, essentially by the Polish coordinator of the English department who is not big on window dressing.

Truly ridiculous how seriously some people take themselves.

moonraven · Joined: 24 Mar 2004 Posts: 3094

Truly ridiculous how seriously some people take working for The Man.

thelmadatter · Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2005 10:09 pm Post subject: sarcasm

ah OK M@tt... I didnt catch the sarcasm in your statement.

I guess I DO get a little touchy, having been ragged on repeatedly because of where I work.

Right Sam ... qualifications count for a LOT at Tec. When you get settled, I�d love to see how ya�ll do things over at CEM. I might learn something.

Samantha · Joined: 25 Oct 2003 Posts: 2038 Location: Mexican Riviera

I have a question or two for those of you teaching at ITESM. How many hours a week do you teach? Is there more part-time work than full-time?

M@tt · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 473 Location: here and there

I took my mission very seriously--infiltrate The Man's compound and attempt to change things from the inside. We have operatives stationed all over the country.

samizinha · Joined: 12 May 2005 Posts: 174 Location: Vacalandia

The seriousness thing is probably a Canadian trait- more pulque may help. As for my social conscientiousness, I've been doing the left wing student thing for too long now- I need money, and The Man is the provider. I'm with you though M@tt, covert operations from the inside... nice.

samizinha · Joined: 12 May 2005 Posts: 174 Location: Vacalandia

The seriousness thing is probably a Canadian trait- more pulque may help. As for my social conscientiousness, I've been doing the left wing student thing for too long now- I need money, and The Man is the provider. I'm with you though M@tt, covert operations from the inside... nice.

moonraven · Joined: 24 Mar 2004 Posts: 3094

Covert operations--don't make me laugh. Why not joing the CIA if you need money--they specializied in covert operations last I heard.

samizinha · Joined: 12 May 2005 Posts: 174 Location: Vacalandia

I applied to CSIS Smile

thelmadatter · Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2005 2:28 pm Post subject: seriousness and alcohol

Samantha.. There is a lot more part-time than full-time work here ... but that is true of many universities... most classes are taught by part-time (however they are called). But Tec still pays better at part-time level than most other schools.

I find pulque helpful when I get too serious as well. I like it "curado" with mango. However, I prefer alcohol that really "bites." Just came back from Oaxaca City with two bottles of mezcal oooooooooweeeeeeee!

BTW... I totally fell in love with the Oaxaca City/Mitla area... I think I might have found where I will retire (if I ever do).