Job Discussion Forums

[ton a bricks]

I am in a bind. I came to live in DF in February thinking I could find a "situation" to do practice teaching (or co-teaching or short term substitute teaching) at a primary or high school or prepa and then decide if I should go back to doing that work.

I left Canada fourteen years ago because I didn't want to teach high school anymore. But now after years of teaching university and adult ESL across Mexico, I want to try teaching younger students again, to see if I am up to the challenge, and to get more income stability..

And after three months I have had no "situation" arise where I could go in without a commitment to teaching for a year. I even offered to voluteer free for four weeks at one place and they never returned my email...

Anyone know of anything I could maybe do here in DF, to be SURE I really want to go back to working with kids before I dive in and accept a job for next fall??? Thanks...

[Guy Courchesne]

There's an all-boys Catholic school called Cedros that would probably fit your bill quite well. They take on interns, though the kids are quite the lot to handle. It's a weird time of year to jump in though. PM me if you want the contact name.

[Prof.Gringo]

[EFLeducator]

[ton a bricks]

I am thinking of making the switch to a colegio because I want to find some more security- in some of the universities I've taught at, English is sort of an "extra" course, sometimes it doesn't count for the grade point average, and from one year to the next it can be changed from required to optional.

But I don't want tp go in with the idea I may quit in two or three months, since it is stability I am looking for in the first place! If I am out of a job at the middle of a term, I likely will be out of a job for a few months.

If a colegio is willing to let someone come in and have a trial run, it sounds like they are being honest about the fact that a lot of the times, the new teacher can't make the adjustment.

My last Mexican prepa job was in a new isolated rural prepa where there had been no "tradition" of prepa, and the first cohort included a few older students who were even more unruly than the 16 and 17 year olds. The director had served time for drug trafficking and appeared drunk around the village on a regular basis. Needless to say, it was difficult for a foreigner to try to impose discipline...

[the peanut gallery]

What a nightmare! Lord of the Flies comes to mind.

[ton a bricks]

That is only part of it! But I don't want to go into too many details, except tp say it took three years to get the director out of there...