Job Discussion Forums

[english2go]

I have no idea if either Raymond or Ole will read this but I can't make it today. Maybe we can set something up for next week.

[treasurechess]

Since George can't make it today, let's try for next week. For me Tuesday works. If you prefer another day, let us know. It's better if George, Ole, and I are all present since we are trying to set up this association and all three of us have major input. - Raymond

[OleLarssen]

OK, this organizational method sucks. Why don't you guys PM me your phone numbers and private e-mails, and I will send out a mass e-mail that we can use to orient ourselves.

[treasurechess]

Hi guys, I have provided Ole and George my phone and email. I propose that they, Ole and George, agree to a meeting at a specified day and time on a weekday afternoon at McCafe, since I am available in the afternoons and they have been unable to make previous attempts at an organizing meeting.

Thanks.

Raymond

[treasurechess]

Would Sunday be better for an initial meeting? It's seems like there is no response for George's idea to meet at McCafe on a weekday. Michael Whittemore, owner of an excellent English school, is interested particularly if there is a mechanism on a web page to get more teachers or page for posting the need and availability of subs..

I also brought up the idea of the association with a lawyer. To get started in Costa Rica you need 10 people for the organization and to start getting donations.

I think the idea of an ESL assocation is a good one if we can ever get started.

Raymond

[OleLarssen]

I'm now back from vacation and available practically any time for the next two weeks. George, just let us know a date and time in the afternoon and I think we can all go.

[OleLarssen]

Soluciones Idiomaticas and inlingua are both interested in attending the meeting.

[english2go]

Hi Raymond, Ole and any other followers,

Raymond, I beleive you should just set a time, choose a place and see who shows up. Remember you are the one who started this thread way back when.

I am very interested in being involved, but I really don't have time to keep checking back and see who can or cannot make an initial meeting. It would be great to have Michael Whittemore, Kinsley from Soluciones Idiomaticas, someone from Inlingua as well as any other representatives from other schools and a few veteran ESL teachers all attend, but the likelyhood of everyone agreeing on a time and place is another thing.

I recommended a mid-afternoon meeting during the week at a central location, but that's just because it works for me. I would not attend a Sunday meeting and doubt many others would. However, if you keep waiting for everyone to sychronize their afendas it will never happen.

I suggest that you post a time and place at least a week in advance, send e-mails or make follow up calls to those key people you would like to see attend. After that we will check our agendas, juggle them if possible and show up if it is important enough.

[OleLarssen]

I'm going to ask around to see if anyone is willing to host a webpage for us.

Edit:
CREA - Costa Rican ESL Association
CRESLA - same thing, different wrapping
TEINCR - Teaching English in Costa Rica

Any other suggestions? Not exactly the most important right now but I'd like to get some sort of website up and running as soon as possible to publish information on. Which is what I'm guessing we are doing in the most basic sense - making reliable information available.

[treasurechess]

Hi everyone.
I think I would like to hold our first meeting at the Latina Cafe at Libreria Lehmann on the 2nd floor on Wed. at 2 pm on August 12. They are located on Central Ave, next to the Perimercado around the corner from the Teatro Nacional. They have a nice long table and I could go early and make a reservation. Please let me know ASAP if this is convenient. I will confirm it as we get closer to the date. If McCafe is more convenient, please also let me know as ASAP. If either George or Ole can come I think we should go ahead.
We need to discuss the basics: name and mission, (the ESL associations I found online are all teachers associations, e.g. APIBA-Assoc. of Profesores de Ingles de Buenos Aires,) and what about the existing ACPI-Association Costaricense de Profesores de Ingles? They don't have a web site. Should we try to talk to their president...in case we can develop a partnership...so we don't have to start from scratch? We can open membership to the schools but there are far fewer schools than teachers. Also, what about officers? I suggest President, Treasurer, Web Site Manager, and Secretary. These functions need to be explored in more detail at the meeting. I suggest having one year terms and for the officers to be paid, depending on the resources of the association.
Also, is the asociation profit or non-profit? I can register the association with the gov't but what about any fees? And, we should have some basic by-laws for the 2nd meeting which should include these topics in more detail and rules and procedures for naming of officers, penalty for non-performing officers, dues, etc. I propose $25 for institutional membership per year and $20 for individual teachers. We can raise the dues in the future when we are more established. We need to discuss some services that the association can provide schools and teachers. We can list the members on the web site. We can provide advertising for schools. We can have an escort service meeting newly arrived teachers at the airport or accompanying them or helping them with buses to their teaching assignment. Just an idea. Or have a substitute teacher page on the web site linking job offerings with prospective teachers.
Please reply with any additions, disagreements or other opinions.

George, can you preside over the first meeting? If not, maybe Ole or I can.

I look forward to meeting anyone interested and in getting the Costa Rica ESL Association off to a fun start! Please bring your ideas for making the association viable.

Thanks.

Raymond

[OleLarssen]

Raymond,

Meeting place and date:

I think downtown San Jose would be a bad idea simply because of the parking issues there. I think that's part of the reason George suggested something in Sabana, which has plenty of parking. However, I went to that McDonalds a week ago and it doesn't have the seating we need. Some options: Mac's in Sabana Sur, plenty of parking, super-easy to find (right next to the pyramid building across from the park) and nice seating possible. In Barrio Escalante/San Pedro we could go to Cheesecake House 50 metres north of Intensa which has good seating and great parking. Or in Escazu we could go to The Pub, which is easy to find and has good parking. There are some other options that come to mind, but I suggest we vote between:

- Mac's (my preferred option, because it's central to a lot of the schools we're talking about. Later I would like to find a Tico place to meet at simply because they need the money more than already-famous Mac's.)
- Cheesecake House or somewhere else in the Los Yoses/San Pedro area
- The Pub in Escazu

August 12th is Monday of week 28 and is fine with me. Let's find a date that is OK for everyone active in this thread at list, and the rest can come as they please.

Organizational issues

It's my opinion that we set down a creed and some goals first of all so we know what we want and where we want to go and have a meeting or two first of all, and only then try to establish a structure. By doing it this way we open up for ideas and suggestions from as many people and instances as possible, in order to incorporate as much into our first effort as we can.

I do think we should have membership as suggested by Raymond: institutional and individual, and that it should be a for-profit organization simply because a) there is money to be made and b) a budget will allow us to expand our scope of operations far beyond a simple information hub. I think the institutional fee should be higher though, even to start with, since we need to fund one of the most important things we can have: a web site. Do you think we could get a subforum in Dave's ESL forum? Would be kind of neat.

Contact list:

People/places we need/should talk to, or have already:

ACPI-Association Costaricense de Profesores de Ingles - I've never heard of this, and neither has my girlfriend. How can we contact them?

- Soluciones Idiomaticas
- New Learning Academy
- Inlingua
- Instituto Britannico
- Universities?

[treasurechess]

Hello everyone.

Well, George sent me a pm saying he does not have time for our association and does not want to preside over a meeting. So without his support and participation, I think we are in trouble. He says there are only 3 of us who have shown any interest in this and that Ole does not teach anymore. If this is true, then I am the only teacher trying to put this thing together.
Also, I have some doubts of an ESL association made up of both schools and teachers. The associations I found online are either one or the other.
So I think that an association of ESL schools and teachers is something like apples and oranges, and that its focus will be weakened if we try to have both. And with George not having the time to participate fully, we lose someone with credibility and experience.
So I suggest for the time being we keep the idea in mind, and maybe look for any teachers who have the interest and the time to put an organization together. Remember that most teachers only stay for a few months on their tourist visa. And I doubt we can pull this off with only 2 or 3 people. George says that's more important than all of our other plans-maybe he's right. The best laid plans of mice and men... (sometimes come to naught...is that how the daying goes?)

Raymond

[OleLarssen]

I'm more than a little confused as to why it makes a difference whether I'm teaching or not? Is my blood not sufficiently pure?

Anyway, yes, I agree that without a person like George we're pretty much screwed.