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Isla Guapa
Joined: 19 Apr 2010
Posts: 1520
Location: Mexico City o sea La Gran Manzana Mexicana
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 Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 6:51 pm Post subject: |
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| MotherF wrote: |
| Chancellor wrote: |
| doublethinker wrote: |
Ha!
I work at an IBO school, and I pretty much have no qualifications whatsoever (a lot less than you!)
And I'm certainly not the only one. |
The IBO website is giving false information (that you have to have government teacher certification and experience in your home country)? |
The first life lesson for those wishing to live successfully in Mexico--There are multiple truths. |
Or, to put it another way, it all depends . . .  |
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Chancellor
Joined: 31 Oct 2005
Posts: 1337
Location: Ji'an, China - if you're willing to send me cigars, I accept donations :)
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| Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 8:31 pm Post subject: |
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| Isla Guapa wrote: |
| MotherF wrote: |
| Chancellor wrote: |
| doublethinker wrote: |
Ha!
I work at an IBO school, and I pretty much have no qualifications whatsoever (a lot less than you!)
And I'm certainly not the only one. |
The IBO website is giving false information (that you have to have government teacher certification and experience in your home country)? |
The first life lesson for those wishing to live successfully in Mexico--There are multiple truths. |
Or, to put it another way, it all depends . . . |
Let me guess: some of it has to do with how many pesos you can slip under the table to the head of the school? |
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FreddyM
Joined: 05 Jan 2006
Posts: 180
Location: Mexico
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| Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 9:14 pm Post subject: |
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| Chancellor wrote: |
| Isla Guapa wrote: |
| MotherF wrote: |
| Chancellor wrote: |
| doublethinker wrote: |
Ha!
I work at an IBO school, and I pretty much have no qualifications whatsoever (a lot less than you!)
And I'm certainly not the only one. |
The IBO website is giving false information (that you have to have government teacher certification and experience in your home country)? |
The first life lesson for those wishing to live successfully in Mexico--There are multiple truths. |
Or, to put it another way, it all depends . . . |
Let me guess: some of it has to do with how many pesos you can slip under the table to the head of the school? |
I think the biggest reason that most IBO schools in Mexico do not hire highly-qualified and credentialed teachers is that there is a real shortage of them. Most that do hold all the proper qualifications and credentials that the IBO asks for end up in really high-end schools such as the American schools. But there are at least a dozen other IBO certified schools in DF alone, and most probably can't find enough qualified teachers to fill their teaching slots. I'm not sure how they get away with it, but the practice is far more common than unusual. |
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FreddyM
Joined: 05 Jan 2006
Posts: 180
Location: Mexico
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| Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 9:22 pm Post subject: |
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| Chancellor wrote: |
Along similar lines as the original post, I have everything I need to teach early childhood through eighth grade and ESL in the Texas government schools but need my probationary year as the teacher of record before I can take the final pedagogy and professional responsibilities exam. The job market is insanely tight as schools across the country are laying off teachers left and right.
I also have a bachelor of science degree, a 250-hour TESL certificate with 20-hour teaching practicum from Coventry House International/ONTESOL in Toronto along with a Standard 2 (Interim) certificate from TESL Canada.
My Spanish is upper beginner to low intermediate (hence my interest in Latin America; I want to improve my Spanish by being immersed in it).
So, with that little bit, what are my chances of landing a job in an elementary or middle school (public or private) in Mexico? I'm fairly certain the IBO and other international schools are out of the question. |
I'd say that with your qualifications, you're already better suited for teaching than more than 90% of the teachers in the country, or in DF. Not even the high-end international schools are out of reach, although lack of experience may hurt you a bit. Look for schools just a notch below and you're more than suited for the job, even without experience.
I work at an "international" school, and I'd guess that less than a fourth of the faculty have any kind of real teaching credential (bachelor's in education and/or certification, whether from an English speaking country or even Mexico), and that includes all the Spanish faculty. The English faculty seems to be made up of a mish mash of foreigners without any education background, and locals with stacks of TEFL certificates of some kind of another. |
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Chancellor
Joined: 31 Oct 2005
Posts: 1337
Location: Ji'an, China - if you're willing to send me cigars, I accept donations :)
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| Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 10:21 pm Post subject: |
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| FreddyM wrote: |
| Chancellor wrote: |
Along similar lines as the original post, I have everything I need to teach early childhood through eighth grade and ESL in the Texas government schools but need my probationary year as the teacher of record before I can take the final pedagogy and professional responsibilities exam. The job market is insanely tight as schools across the country are laying off teachers left and right.
I also have a bachelor of science degree, a 250-hour TESL certificate with 20-hour teaching practicum from Coventry House International/ONTESOL in Toronto along with a Standard 2 (Interim) certificate from TESL Canada.
My Spanish is upper beginner to low intermediate (hence my interest in Latin America; I want to improve my Spanish by being immersed in it).
So, with that little bit, what are my chances of landing a job in an elementary or middle school (public or private) in Mexico? I'm fairly certain the IBO and other international schools are out of the question. |
I'd say that with your qualifications, you're already better suited for teaching than more than 90% of the teachers in the country, or in DF. Not even the high-end international schools are out of reach, although lack of experience may hurt you a bit. Look for schools just a notch below and you're more than suited for the job, even without experience.
I work at an "international" school, and I'd guess that less than a fourth of the faculty have any kind of real teaching credential (bachelor's in education and/or certification, whether from an English speaking country or even Mexico), and that includes all the Spanish faculty. The English faculty seems to be made up of a mish mash of foreigners without any education background, and locals with stacks of TEFL certificates of some kind of another. |
So, what's the job market like along the Rio Grande or places like Villahermosa or Oaxaca? |
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Chancellor
Joined: 31 Oct 2005
Posts: 1337
Location: Ji'an, China - if you're willing to send me cigars, I accept donations :)
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| Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 10:22 pm Post subject: |
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| FreddyM wrote: |
| Chancellor wrote: |
| Isla Guapa wrote: |
| MotherF wrote: |
| Chancellor wrote: |
| doublethinker wrote: |
Ha!
I work at an IBO school, and I pretty much have no qualifications whatsoever (a lot less than you!)
And I'm certainly not the only one. |
The IBO website is giving false information (that you have to have government teacher certification and experience in your home country)? |
The first life lesson for those wishing to live successfully in Mexico--There are multiple truths. |
Or, to put it another way, it all depends . . . |
Let me guess: some of it has to do with how many pesos you can slip under the table to the head of the school? |
I think the biggest reason that most IBO schools in Mexico do not hire highly-qualified and credentialed teachers is that there is a real shortage of them. Most that do hold all the proper qualifications and credentials that the IBO asks for end up in really high-end schools such as the American schools. But there are at least a dozen other IBO certified schools in DF alone, and most probably can't find enough qualified teachers to fill their teaching slots. I'm not sure how they get away with it, but the practice is far more common than unusual. |
I guess I'm a bit surprised that IBO allows any of its schools to get around hiring what IBO considers to be qualified teachers. |
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Isla Guapa
Joined: 19 Apr 2010
Posts: 1520
Location: Mexico City o sea La Gran Manzana Mexicana
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| Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 10:30 pm Post subject: |
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| Chancellor wrote: |
So, what's the job market like along the Rio Grande or places like Villahermosa or Oaxaca? |
I can understand why you might want to work in Oaxaca (one of my favorite cities in Mexico), but why are you interested in the border area or Villahermosa, which I sometimes refer to as Villafea, just my little joke . |
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MotherF
Joined: 07 Jun 2010
Posts: 1450
Location: 17�48'N 97�46'W
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| Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 11:30 pm Post subject: |
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There are only a couple of colegios in Oaxaca City that have foriegn English teachers. Most of them were hired because they were in the right place at the right time. I know one guy who worked at the "top" one, Instituto Blaise Pascal, he was 4 credit hours shy of finishing his BA in underwater basket weaving and he had a no-name TEFL certificate.
I think across the country, it really has little to do with passing pesos under the table and everything to do with walking in a few minutes after a former teacher walks out. |
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Chancellor
Joined: 31 Oct 2005
Posts: 1337
Location: Ji'an, China - if you're willing to send me cigars, I accept donations :)
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| Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 11:49 pm Post subject: |
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| Isla Guapa wrote: |
| Chancellor wrote: |
So, what's the job market like along the Rio Grande or places like Villahermosa or Oaxaca? |
I can understand why you might want to work in Oaxaca (one of my favorite cities in Mexico), but why are you interested in the border area or Villahermosa, which I sometimes refer to as Villafea, just my little joke . |
Villahermosa because it's in a world-renowned region for chocolate (a food group all its own) and the border area because of the drier climate (for the most part; I suspect that the area around Matamoros might be more humid given its proximity to the Gulf; basically the same reason I've been looking for teaching jobs in West Texas). |
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Isla Guapa
Joined: 19 Apr 2010
Posts: 1520
Location: Mexico City o sea La Gran Manzana Mexicana
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| Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 12:02 am Post subject: |
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| Chancellor wrote: |
| Isla Guapa wrote: |
| Chancellor wrote: |
So, what's the job market like along the Rio Grande or places like Villahermosa or Oaxaca? |
I can understand why you might want to work in Oaxaca (one of my favorite cities in Mexico), but why are you interested in the border area or Villahermosa, which I sometimes refer to as Villafea, just my little joke . |
Villahermosa because it's in a world-renowned region for chocolate (a food group all its own) and the border area because of the drier climate (for the most part; I suspect that the area around Matamoros might be more humid given its proximity to the Gulf; basically the same reason I've been looking for teaching jobs in West Texas). |
Villahermosa is an unlovely town with a hot and humid climate. The only thing of note there is a lovely archaeological park featuring the famous Olmec heads. If you're looking for a dry climate, there are any number of charming colonial cities in the central highlands which feature lovely weather and have lots to see and do. |
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MotherF
Joined: 07 Jun 2010
Posts: 1450
Location: 17�48'N 97�46'W
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| Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 12:52 am Post subject: |
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| My brother-in-law lives in Villahermosa. He had to build a second story on to his house to deal with the annual flooding. He also stocks up on Chocolate every time he visits Oaxaca and takes Oaxacan Chocolate back as gifts for friends and colleagues. |
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jaimem-g
Joined: 21 May 2010
Posts: 85
Location: The Desert, CA
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| Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 1:25 am Post subject: |
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The chocolate may be grown in Tabasco, but it's prepared the best in Oaxaca. 
That said, I'm not sure where you are now (I'm assuming in a more humid part of Texas). My advice is check out those schools in Mexico City. I'd probably pick Puebla, Guadalajara or Oaxaca City to work in, but you should network with the posters talking about work available in the DF area.
Anywhere in the geograpical triangle between those cities I mention will have a nice climate almost all of the time but you need to go where the jobs are and don't postpone getting that credential. Mexico City is great except for the smog. Anywhere along the border is probably too dangerous and you can always take a trip to Oaxaca and get all the chocolate you want! |
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Isla Guapa
Joined: 19 Apr 2010
Posts: 1520
Location: Mexico City o sea La Gran Manzana Mexicana
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| Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 2:35 am Post subject: |
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| Excellent advice from MotherF and jaimem-g. They know what they're talking about except for jaime's comment about the smog in Mexico City. Maybe I've become used to it after 4 years, but it doesn't bother me any more. In any event, the air quality has greatly improved in the last 10 years or so. |
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Phil_K
Joined: 25 Jan 2007
Posts: 2041
Location: A World of my Own
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| Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 4:24 am Post subject: |
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| Isla Guapa wrote: |
| Excellent advice from MotherF and jaimem-g. They know what they're talking about except for jaime's comment about the smog in Mexico City. Maybe I've become used to it after 4 years, but it doesn't bother me any more. In any event, the air quality has greatly improved in the last 10 years or so. |
Absolutely! The myth of unbearable pollution in D.F. has always mystified me. It seems no worse to me than any other large city. |
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Isla Guapa
Joined: 19 Apr 2010
Posts: 1520
Location: Mexico City o sea La Gran Manzana Mexicana
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| Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 4:30 am Post subject: |
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| Phil_K wrote: |
| Isla Guapa wrote: |
| Excellent advice from MotherF and jaimem-g. They know what they're talking about except for jaime's comment about the smog in Mexico City. Maybe I've become used to it after 4 years, but it doesn't bother me any more. In any event, the air quality has greatly improved in the last 10 years or so. |
Absolutely! The myth of unbearable pollution in D.F. has always mystified me. It seems no worse to me than any other large city. |
A myth it is, Phil. I wonder how it got started . . . |
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