Job Discussion Forums

[still trying]

I have been living here in Villahermosa, Tabasco for about 9 months and a got a job the first weekI arrived with Harmon Hall. I had read some not too bad things about them on this site and was a little desperate having just arrived from Nicaragua (very hard to find work as a teacher there) I fortunately had a place to stay for free until I connected with some work. A few words of warning about this company...They are a franchise and even though teacher's experiences in other HH's might have been ok, be forwarned about the franchise here in Villa. I had to start their teacher training that eventually was paid...key word..eventually; they also help you with your work visa which is a good thing but a word of advice...If you can afford to pay your own visa, about $170 US dollars, please do it. I was told that they would understand if I got outside work (but please not with a direct competitor, which of course is understandable). but as soon as I got a private class with a Doctor who pays me 200 pesos an hour, I became "persona non grata" in this institute. They made it quite clear , and even told me that "we paid your visa, and we gave you money for the uniform",which they do for every teacher..If you have them pay your visa, make sure that you get a separate officially stamped letter authorizing you taking private classes. They had given me a lot of classes 8-11am & 4-930pm and also they have a very strange way of doing this.(another story) Because I had the class with the Doctor on Thursdays they took all my hours away except the minimum requirement of 2 1/2 hours. They talked about me behind my back and they really made it an uncomfortable situation. They even yelled at me when I offered to take a group (who also had asked for me specifically) and offered to do an extra 1/2 hour for three days to make up for the Thursday class. They refused and said that they WOULDN'T change their system just for me...This is standard procedure for the bosses here in Villa, but usually when they castigate the teachers, the teachers just quit. I am a little more stubborn. After having worked in Costa Rica and Nicaragua I have to tell you that this was the most unprofessional work situation that I have been subjected to. The majority of the teachers are just working there because it will look good on their resume because HH has a very good rep in Mex. I am now trying to do something on my own and although it is difficult, it is much better than what I went through at HH. The high rate of teacher turnover, the low pay, the unprofessionalism of this particular institute prompted me to sign up on this site to warn others. I am sure that all the HHs are not this way, but I can get some of the other teachers (nationals) to write also and share their experiences with you. I had a lot of fun teaching with their method and as a teacher, learning another way to do things is always a plus, so maybe if you are thinking about Mexico, steer clear of the Villahermosa HH. There are other institutes here but HH is the most well-known. Good luck. Still trying....

[moonraven]

still trying:

I am sorry to hear about your experience at HH. Unfortunately, I am not surprised by anything you have written. I directed one of the HH franchises for 4 years--and I probably spent more energy keeping the owner (who mercifully lived in another city) and the owner's various rip-off shenanagins at bay than I spent doing anything else. The training is worthwhile if one has had no other teacher training--but the only rational way to see HH work is that it's a scholarship for teaching.

You lucked out in one respect, however: normally HH never pays teachers for the pre-service training period.

The regulations when I worked for HH (I left 6 years ago when the owner effectively rescinded our contracts, according to the Ley federal de Trabajo, by not paying us our complete salaries--and I therefore demanded liquidation when I left) were that teachers were not allowed to work for other schools or give private lessons (the rationale at that time was that teachers had been trained in the HH method and would be using it in non-HH contexts--which was the same rationale that they used to blackball folks who resigned.) If you had been told that it was okay, and then punished because you took them at their word, I would say that it was par for the course for "selling" you on working there.

I never ran those scams, but the owner routinely promised MUCH higher salaries to prospects than they were going to receive--and when confronted said that they were really still "training" and hadn't proven themselves yet. There was always "creative accounting" in the works to avoid paying staff annual "utilidades", as well. And rip-offs with the "savings plan"--which was really just money loaned to the HH organization at very low interest rates.

Most of the folks who own HH franchises have no background whatsoever as educators, and many do not even speak English. They are in it for the money, and that's it. There's nothing inherently wrong with that--except that the way they pay for their "good life" is exploiting the beep out of the folks who work for them.

[still trying]

Boy I can imagine what you went through. I watched the Director of this HH who seems to be a nice guy buy he lacks a spine. The shenanigans that you spoke of are rampant in this HH also. Unpaid yearly bonuses etc. I just wonder how they plan to stay in business. There has been a BIG drop in both class size and number of groups. The latest in this HH is that they are now training 2 children, one who is 15/16 and the other who is 17, both of whom are children of bosses there. When I said previously that there was a high rate of teacher turnover, I wasn't kidding and I guess this is they way they thought that they could best deal with that little problem. I have three of their ex-teachers working with me now and although we are a fledgling and kind of rag-tag but professional outfit, I expect that we will be alright because at least we are working and we are out of HH. Take care all and believe me when I say that money is not everything...