Job Discussion Forums

[imbabyj]

I have noticed alot of inquiries and curiosity so I will try to give a fair and balanced view of the school. Firstly, my name is Jeremy Johnson and I post as imbabyj. I am not dreamon or I forgot what else as I was falsely accused. I did recruit for the school for about a month. Since then I have done pretty much nothing but teaching in my small town. I am related to the owners but I get paid the exact same as all the other teachers and I dont get any special treatment (I did get my choice of location but feel I earned it after several years). Business is business here even if you are related.

The negatives-

Pay- If you have students loans or credit card debt the pay is not sufficient to support that. The pay is 6000 pesos a month which is comfortable in the small towns and villages. I usually have about 50-100 dollars left each 2 weeks.

Organization- This is a plus and minus. The owners are extremely organized almost to the point of annoying. Everything has its place and system.

Disabilities- If you have any type of walking disability the schools are not real friendly to that(locations). Most are all up quite a few flights of stairs.

Split shifts- Mond.-Thurs. you have morning and evening shifts. Not alot of free time during those days to do very much.

Nationality- They only hire American teachers. I understand with the brits and aussies because of the accent but canadians I don�t see the big difference. Maybe they are slowly breaking down on that because I noticed them talking with a few canadians.

Weekend class- There is usually a four hour friday or saturday class. Friday is cool but I am not thrilled about saturdays.


The Positives-

Pay- Pay is always on time and sometimes early. I dont have any outside debts so I live very comfortable and am able to travel to all the local beaches etc... I eat out daily and still have money left over. The schools are all in small towns so money goes alot further than in the cities.

Schools- The schools are all new and have everything you need ready to start. They are all set up very nice usually on the top floor with a nice view. Most have someone that comes and cleans daily. You are the only teacher at your school. You dont have anyone looking over your shoulder daily which is very nice. There are observations occasionally and we have 2 meetings a months to discuss any problems or issues. Usually, you are one of the only foreigners in town (which makes learning Spanish easier because you have no choice). One thing I noticed though. Maybe we should start a new thread on this. It does not matter where I go even in the most remote small villages. I always hear of some crazy old canadian lady living there. I never see them only hear of them like they are some type of bigfoot or something. Has anyone actually spotted one or is it just a myth???

Method- The method is amazing. No backpack books, no New Interchange, nothing like that. The method is Chomsky and for the beginners there are two guide books to add a little structure but with the same basic principles of language through communication. The guides were created by the school. The real fun comes when you get a little more advanced students. For example, we may have the topic the Holocaust. The class will be supported with real video from the Holocaust (which can be a little graphic but really hits home with the students), debates, and vocabulary to support the topic. This is real teaching and not out of a grammar book. The method is psychology based so you take your students on a roller coaster ride of emotions and language learning. It is not uncommon for there to be tears and complete awe. The positive impact on the students have been amazing. No teacher has ever not liked it once they taught here. Everyone says it is their #1 favorite thing about the school.

Classes- Classes are small no more than 10 per class. The students in small towns are very different than in the cities and still have respect. They all know the need to learn English and are hungry. Even prepa students are a joy for the most part. Classes are 1 hour long mon.-thurs with a 4 hour fri. or sat. class. 28 hours a week is full time. Allows plenty of beach time. Most classes are teen - adults with one class of kids 4-5 to get your daily excercise. Really they are extremely well behaved.

Location- Nayarit is very safe I have never felt threatened not even on a 3 am walk home from the local antro or pub. It is located between Guadalajara, Puerto Vallarta, and Mazatlan. All within 3 hours. Mountainous, beautiful beaches, and the people here are passive. They are not as agressive as other places like Sinaloa, DF, GDL.

Housing- I have lived in almost every house at one point or another. All are nice with the exception of one(I have a dog and it is like a motel room so it does not work for me) All the rest are very nice and some even have someone that cleans it daily. The school usually makes a trade with a low income family to clean the school and apartment in exchange for classes. That varies city to city.

That is pretty much all I can think of at the moment. I dont have internet at the moment but will try to reply to any questions or comments. I tried to give my point of view on the positives and negatives and to help clear some things up on the method a little.

[ls650]

[TheLongWayHome]

Makes me want to take a coyotito.

[Samantha]

ls650 wrote:

[MELEE]

I'm glad you took the time to point out some "negatives"
But I really can't believe that anyone in the language teaching profession could "understand with the brits and aussies because of the accent"

[Mr. Kalgukshi]

This has been done at least three times before.

It would be a very bad move to attempt it again.