Job Discussion Forums

[El Gallo]

The private schools I worked at were very strict about the teachers being on time using lateness to dock pay significantly.

[yankeechemist]

How much homework should you give them: Daily, weekly, occaidsionally.

Should it be collected promptly?

[J Sevigny]

A lot of your questions about the specifics of teaching, ie, exams, homework, lateness-vs-promptness are only going to be answered when you have a job and learn the school or institute's rules.

[Samantha]

Exactly. There is no "once size fits all" when it comes to anything in Mexico, much less the schools and their policies.

[geaaronson]

Yesterday, for the first time in over 4 years I was late for class. Yes, the traffic congestion in DF was particularly congested and the trains made 7 minute stops at each station instead of the usual 45 seconds, why I don�t know, but my student was not particularly chagrined. He also lives in DF and commutes about town so he is aware of the situation. And yes, it is horrendous, throughout the city as opposed to NYC where there are select bottlenecks.

Students who are on time are silently annoyed with their cohorts who are chronically late, and I sense a note of apology on their part when discussing their colleagues at the beginning of the class. They are somewhat aware of the fixation we gringoes have on punctuality and are apologetic that their friends are being �Mexican�.

[geaaronson]

I came across three scorpions last year in Merida, Yucatan. I stepped on and assassinated all three but when I told those nearby what I had done, all shrugged their shoulders.

It took the third kill before I learned the lack of interest. Apparently, the dark brown alacrans I was killing are harmless.

And no, I have never seen a white one.

[hlamb]

I am expected to be on time for my classes, and I always have a few students who show up on time also. But I am now used to people wandering in long after the class has started. I refuse to go over the material again-it's up to them to catch up, and I do present new material at the beginning of the class. But I make a point of not starting tests until at least the ten minute mark of any class.

[jillford64]

Rules and expectations about being on time will vary from school to school. At my school (private language school) we have to sign in to a book in the office at least 10 minutes before our first class in the morning and our first class in the afternoon. We are expected to be on time to all classes. The students are expected to arrive on time. Attendance, which includes punctuality, is part of their grade. Sometimes this can mean the difference between passing and failing, so they are fairly motivated to show up on time. If they arrive late for an exam, they just have less time to complete the exam, although I always wait to do the listening part until all the students have arrived. The students are almost always polite and respectful, but as others have mentioned, they tend to be very talkative. The classes are expensive for them (or their parents or grandparents) so they are almost always motivated to learn.

I've been told that puncutality isn't important for personal or family functions, but more than 10 minutes late for a business meeting is bad form.