Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Whoa, Dude
There's, like, internet at home. What. The. Fuck.
Gnarly.
New job is going well...it's a lot more work than I thought it would be, but that's OK. A big part of the work is just getting used to the students and the new environment. But the teachers are way more friendly, and more professional, and more on top of things in general. AND there is a free bus if I come and go at normal school times. Woohoo.
Also the kids don't scream all day. I never thought I took normal speaking tones for granted before.
Mumsy is coming in less than two weeks, so I also need to get my shit together in that respect too...making lesson plans, figuring out work the kiddos can do for 2 days while I'm gone, and making sure there is stuff for her to do to keep her busy and happy. I have a good idea of a mixture of touristy and cool things to do though.
Gnarly.
New job is going well...it's a lot more work than I thought it would be, but that's OK. A big part of the work is just getting used to the students and the new environment. But the teachers are way more friendly, and more professional, and more on top of things in general. AND there is a free bus if I come and go at normal school times. Woohoo.
Also the kids don't scream all day. I never thought I took normal speaking tones for granted before.
Mumsy is coming in less than two weeks, so I also need to get my shit together in that respect too...making lesson plans, figuring out work the kiddos can do for 2 days while I'm gone, and making sure there is stuff for her to do to keep her busy and happy. I have a good idea of a mixture of touristy and cool things to do though.
- Day 1 - Walk around Guanajuato, go to a museum or two that I've been too lazy to get to on my own.
- Day 2 - Hike down to town from one of the villages further up in the hills
- Day 3 - Bus trips to Cristo Rey (GINORMOUS statue of Jesus on the geographic center of Mexico) and Dolores Hidalgo (next town over, "Cradle of Mexican Independence")
- Day 4 - Either/or 1) More museums in Guanajuato 2) León shopping for leather goods, then San Miguel de Allende (cute little American retiree enclave) possibly for dinner and walking around.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
An Eventful Week
On Monday, when I checked my phone after work, I had three missed calls and a text message from a girl for whom I had bent over backwards over the summer.
A friend of mine down here had to go back home because her mom got cancer, and she would be leaving behind her job. Her job was teaching 3rd through 6th grade English at an affluent private school. I shadowed her for two days, taught a class, and then went back to the school another day to teach another class. You see, they had two people going through this "interview" process and couldn't decide who to hire. And so I spent 3 days more or less working at the school, unpaid.
My friend went back to the US and I still hadn't heard about the job. I was going to go back to the US for my cousin's wedding and to see family, and had to book tickets. So I called my friend's co-worker, the English coordinator for the school, to ask about the job situation and explained my situation. This was about three or four weeks after my friend had returned home. The girl told me that everything was fine, to do what I had to do, and if it overlapped with school things it wasn't a big deal. She made it sound like I had the job, and they just had to confirm it.
Then I ran into her on the street a few days later and she told me they gave the other girl the job.
I was kind of pissed. I went back to the US, and literally days after I got back to Guanajuato I found the job at the preschool. So, needless to say I was pretty surprised to see the missed calls from her. And out of curiosity I called back.
The girl they had hired instead of me ran away. She sent an email to the English coordinator saying she wouldn't be there, and disappeared. So the English coordinator called me.
At first I was a little annoyed that they would think that I was just hanging around without anything going on. I met with the girl to talk to her, and to hear the details. Maybe I would be able to finagle a raise at the preschool...
I met her at a cafe close to my house, and was pretty surprised that she was really nice, and seemed like she genuinely wanted me to come and work at the school. So that was nice. But the main incentive was that they would pay me twice as much for something much more organized, with less hours.
I went back to the preschool the next day, and pretty much had a horrible day. One of a series. I was still getting over my cold, I had to yell, the kids were a mess and out of control. All in all, a normal day. But I was fed up, and at least I had another option. I called the English coordinator back at the other school, and told her I'd be taking the job. And I told the academic coordinator at the preschool that I was sick and would be going to the doctor. Then I called her later and told her that the doctor didn't know what was wrong, but wanted to do some more tests. And the next day I called again, and told her that they should probably find a new English teacher, since I wasn't sure what was going on with my health.
I felt kind of bad for doing the same thing to them that the girl I was replacing had done in the first place, but not bad enough, given the circumstances, to not do it.
So now I have a new job. I had my first official day on Friday, and it went pretty well. The classes are much shorter - 50 minutes each - which is really easy to fill after having an hour and 50 minutes to fill at the preschool. And the kids know how to behave. It's partly the age difference but it's also the fact that this place is, well, a real school. Not some kind of real life experiment in educational philosophy. I think I much prefer this.
A friend of mine down here had to go back home because her mom got cancer, and she would be leaving behind her job. Her job was teaching 3rd through 6th grade English at an affluent private school. I shadowed her for two days, taught a class, and then went back to the school another day to teach another class. You see, they had two people going through this "interview" process and couldn't decide who to hire. And so I spent 3 days more or less working at the school, unpaid.
My friend went back to the US and I still hadn't heard about the job. I was going to go back to the US for my cousin's wedding and to see family, and had to book tickets. So I called my friend's co-worker, the English coordinator for the school, to ask about the job situation and explained my situation. This was about three or four weeks after my friend had returned home. The girl told me that everything was fine, to do what I had to do, and if it overlapped with school things it wasn't a big deal. She made it sound like I had the job, and they just had to confirm it.
Then I ran into her on the street a few days later and she told me they gave the other girl the job.
I was kind of pissed. I went back to the US, and literally days after I got back to Guanajuato I found the job at the preschool. So, needless to say I was pretty surprised to see the missed calls from her. And out of curiosity I called back.
The girl they had hired instead of me ran away. She sent an email to the English coordinator saying she wouldn't be there, and disappeared. So the English coordinator called me.
At first I was a little annoyed that they would think that I was just hanging around without anything going on. I met with the girl to talk to her, and to hear the details. Maybe I would be able to finagle a raise at the preschool...
I met her at a cafe close to my house, and was pretty surprised that she was really nice, and seemed like she genuinely wanted me to come and work at the school. So that was nice. But the main incentive was that they would pay me twice as much for something much more organized, with less hours.
I went back to the preschool the next day, and pretty much had a horrible day. One of a series. I was still getting over my cold, I had to yell, the kids were a mess and out of control. All in all, a normal day. But I was fed up, and at least I had another option. I called the English coordinator back at the other school, and told her I'd be taking the job. And I told the academic coordinator at the preschool that I was sick and would be going to the doctor. Then I called her later and told her that the doctor didn't know what was wrong, but wanted to do some more tests. And the next day I called again, and told her that they should probably find a new English teacher, since I wasn't sure what was going on with my health.
I felt kind of bad for doing the same thing to them that the girl I was replacing had done in the first place, but not bad enough, given the circumstances, to not do it.
So now I have a new job. I had my first official day on Friday, and it went pretty well. The classes are much shorter - 50 minutes each - which is really easy to fill after having an hour and 50 minutes to fill at the preschool. And the kids know how to behave. It's partly the age difference but it's also the fact that this place is, well, a real school. Not some kind of real life experiment in educational philosophy. I think I much prefer this.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Consumption
I came down with a bad cold and subsequently lost my voice. I can still talk. I just lost my voice. I sound like a 60 year old who has smoked 4 packs of cigarettes per day for half of her life, when I'm not hacking up a lung or three. At least the weekend gives me time to recuperate, because talking loudly and/or yelling all day does not exactly rest one's voice. I can't remember the last time I had a cough this bad, to be honest. I'm half expecting to see blood on a handkerchief, at which point I'll be packing my trunk for the sanatorium.
Cough. Cough.
In the meantime, I've seen half a dozen or so movies, none of which have made a particularly lasting impression (call The Devil's Backbone a light Pan's Labyrinth) and read a bit. I haven't been going out, and the idea of doing so just makes me tired.
Hack.
Something that I've been putting off is writing reports about the behavior of all the kiddos that I think could potentially have issues down the line, so the director knows what's going on, and the school has a paper trail if something should, unfortunately, go wrong. Now, if it were only a few kids, I wouldn't be procrastinating. But after I did the tally, the number was somewhere around 15.
Fifteen fucking kids who could have, or maybe already do have, either academic issues or social issues. What the fuck. Fifteen out of about fifty. Thirty percent goes beyond any kind of reasonable measure of behavioral issues...it means there's something systemic, either about this group in particular, or the school, or the home environments (which is probably a function of society - overworking parents, not much supervision...)
Coughcoughcough.
Anyway, when it gets to such a ridiculous, endemic point, it just really gets me thinking about the market the school is trying to pick up - who are so out of control, even at such a young age, but they have money so it's ok. And I wasn't conscious of growing up like that in the US (maybe I did?) so seeing how the whole situation makes these kids weird and self-centered, with the attention span of goldfish. There was a great Onion article called "Wealthy Teen Nearly Experiences Consequences" that, at the time, reminded me of the area where my ex boyfriend grew up, himself, and his friends. Now it makes me think about me what these kids will become.
Snarf.
Cough. Cough.
In the meantime, I've seen half a dozen or so movies, none of which have made a particularly lasting impression (call The Devil's Backbone a light Pan's Labyrinth) and read a bit. I haven't been going out, and the idea of doing so just makes me tired.
Hack.
Something that I've been putting off is writing reports about the behavior of all the kiddos that I think could potentially have issues down the line, so the director knows what's going on, and the school has a paper trail if something should, unfortunately, go wrong. Now, if it were only a few kids, I wouldn't be procrastinating. But after I did the tally, the number was somewhere around 15.
Fifteen fucking kids who could have, or maybe already do have, either academic issues or social issues. What the fuck. Fifteen out of about fifty. Thirty percent goes beyond any kind of reasonable measure of behavioral issues...it means there's something systemic, either about this group in particular, or the school, or the home environments (which is probably a function of society - overworking parents, not much supervision...)
Coughcoughcough.
Anyway, when it gets to such a ridiculous, endemic point, it just really gets me thinking about the market the school is trying to pick up - who are so out of control, even at such a young age, but they have money so it's ok. And I wasn't conscious of growing up like that in the US (maybe I did?) so seeing how the whole situation makes these kids weird and self-centered, with the attention span of goldfish. There was a great Onion article called "Wealthy Teen Nearly Experiences Consequences" that, at the time, reminded me of the area where my ex boyfriend grew up, himself, and his friends. Now it makes me think about me what these kids will become.
Snarf.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
The Good and the Bad
Good: The new principal at the school actually seems to be doing his job, and things at work were a lot smoother this past week.
Bad: Someone stole my camera. I brought it into the school to show a few co-workers pictures from the Mexico City trip. Later that day I realized it wasn't in my bag, but my wallet was, so obviously nobody stole it from my bag. My guess is that I left it carelessly sitting on a cabinet or a bookcase, started a class and forgot about it, left the room later, and then someone took it. It wasn't an expensive camera to start with, and I took pretty crappy care of it so its condition wasn't great, but it still sucks. I don't have money to replace it.
Good: There is a gigantic international music, drama, dance - arts in general - festival in the city, which started on Wednesday. The big show each night has free bleacher seating, and it goes on until the end of the month.
Bad: The big name shows (e.g. Cafe Tacuba) sold out of tickets months ago, and lines for the bleacher seating already have people camping out.
Good: I didn't check my email for 5 days, and didn't feel a compulsion to do so.
Bad: I missed an email from one of my best friends, who is in Tunisia, asking when I was free for a phone call.
Good: It's a gorgeous, sunny day, not too hot yet, and I'm enjoying the time to catch up on the news and things that go far beyond the daily ho hum of small-city Mehico.
Bad: Someone stole my camera. I brought it into the school to show a few co-workers pictures from the Mexico City trip. Later that day I realized it wasn't in my bag, but my wallet was, so obviously nobody stole it from my bag. My guess is that I left it carelessly sitting on a cabinet or a bookcase, started a class and forgot about it, left the room later, and then someone took it. It wasn't an expensive camera to start with, and I took pretty crappy care of it so its condition wasn't great, but it still sucks. I don't have money to replace it.
Good: There is a gigantic international music, drama, dance - arts in general - festival in the city, which started on Wednesday. The big show each night has free bleacher seating, and it goes on until the end of the month.
Bad: The big name shows (e.g. Cafe Tacuba) sold out of tickets months ago, and lines for the bleacher seating already have people camping out.
Good: I didn't check my email for 5 days, and didn't feel a compulsion to do so.
Bad: I missed an email from one of my best friends, who is in Tunisia, asking when I was free for a phone call.
Good: It's a gorgeous, sunny day, not too hot yet, and I'm enjoying the time to catch up on the news and things that go far beyond the daily ho hum of small-city Mehico.
Monday, October 6, 2008
The Sexxx Scandal
Two weeks ago, there was a meet-the-faculty night at the Guanajuato Holiday Inn. The school at which I work invited the parents to a presentation - the school would present its pedagogical ideology, and those who work to fulfill it (i.e. the teachers.) Very respectable and hunky dory.
Except, after about an hour of the meeting, the microphone was turned over to the parents in the audience. And something the administration had neglected to tell the staff at large, is that there were pending allegations of sexual abuse against one of the teachers. Apparently, a kid had told his parents that one of the teachers of "touching" him. In the middle of the classroom, in front of other students. At that point, no charges had been filed, the teacher was still working at the school, and the child had been withdrawn about a week after the accusations had been made.
We found out later that the accuser generally had issues with both teachers and the kids in his classes. We found out later that he had accused another teacher of choking him, a report that was later shown to be completely unfounded. So I guess the school figured that a) the kid was a liar and b) the whole thing would blow over.
Not so much.
Parents at the meeting demanded the immediate suspension of the teacher, which occurred, although he had not been formally accused of anything. The other teachers, who had had no previous knowledge of the situation, were pretty much left confused and upset with the whole situation. Upset for not knowing what was going to happen beforehand, upset because of the castigation they felt, even though nobody had done anything wrong.
So, fast forward a couple of weeks.
Charges still have not been filed, but the teacher in question quit, because he felt that a) the administration was not behind him and b) if he came back, he would be pretty much ineffective. There was a meeting with the parents of the other children in the grade of the student who had unofficially accused the teacher, and the administration told the teacher that he would have an opportunity to give the parents his version of the story.
When it came time for the meeting, they did not even let him into the room. He was, understandably, annoyed.
So, today at work, we had a whole day's worth of meetings to address all this crap. Lots of touchy feely how-do-you-feel-about-the-situation mumbo jumbo. It's a crappy situation all around, but I think what it shows above and beyond all else is administrative incompetence.
If you're trying to teach kids morality and ethics, you really should be the ones to set an example. Instead, the administration has zig-zagged and tried to hide behind itself on technicalities on BOTH sides of the issue; first underreacting and figuring the issue would blow over, then overreacting and suspending the teacher. I'm pretty sure the teacher has a right to sue the school for suspending him based on hearsay, and I think he ought to - especially considering the disrespect the school showed him by not letting him into the meeting where he was the main topic.
Except, after about an hour of the meeting, the microphone was turned over to the parents in the audience. And something the administration had neglected to tell the staff at large, is that there were pending allegations of sexual abuse against one of the teachers. Apparently, a kid had told his parents that one of the teachers of "touching" him. In the middle of the classroom, in front of other students. At that point, no charges had been filed, the teacher was still working at the school, and the child had been withdrawn about a week after the accusations had been made.
We found out later that the accuser generally had issues with both teachers and the kids in his classes. We found out later that he had accused another teacher of choking him, a report that was later shown to be completely unfounded. So I guess the school figured that a) the kid was a liar and b) the whole thing would blow over.
Not so much.
Parents at the meeting demanded the immediate suspension of the teacher, which occurred, although he had not been formally accused of anything. The other teachers, who had had no previous knowledge of the situation, were pretty much left confused and upset with the whole situation. Upset for not knowing what was going to happen beforehand, upset because of the castigation they felt, even though nobody had done anything wrong.
So, fast forward a couple of weeks.
Charges still have not been filed, but the teacher in question quit, because he felt that a) the administration was not behind him and b) if he came back, he would be pretty much ineffective. There was a meeting with the parents of the other children in the grade of the student who had unofficially accused the teacher, and the administration told the teacher that he would have an opportunity to give the parents his version of the story.
When it came time for the meeting, they did not even let him into the room. He was, understandably, annoyed.
So, today at work, we had a whole day's worth of meetings to address all this crap. Lots of touchy feely how-do-you-feel-about-the-situation mumbo jumbo. It's a crappy situation all around, but I think what it shows above and beyond all else is administrative incompetence.
If you're trying to teach kids morality and ethics, you really should be the ones to set an example. Instead, the administration has zig-zagged and tried to hide behind itself on technicalities on BOTH sides of the issue; first underreacting and figuring the issue would blow over, then overreacting and suspending the teacher. I'm pretty sure the teacher has a right to sue the school for suspending him based on hearsay, and I think he ought to - especially considering the disrespect the school showed him by not letting him into the meeting where he was the main topic.
Politics as Usual
Since I hadn't really updated in ages, I was looking back at old entries and was struck by the one about John McCain I wrote about a year ago. A year ago, I was disgusted with the Democratic primaries and fed up with the election even before it got started.
I'm still fed up with the election, especially since the process has now started, but at least Obama makes responsible, informed decisions. It may be boring and lame and elitist, but at least it's sensible. McCain, not so much.
He may, and hopefully still does, listen to ABBA. But I guess he can do so just as well in the Senate as he could in the White House. He'd probably have time to watch Mamma Mia! while in the Senate, and definitely not while in the White House. Really, it'd be for his own good if he weren't elected. At least then he'd have time to enjoy his non-retirement.
I'm still fed up with the election, especially since the process has now started, but at least Obama makes responsible, informed decisions. It may be boring and lame and elitist, but at least it's sensible. McCain, not so much.
He may, and hopefully still does, listen to ABBA. But I guess he can do so just as well in the Senate as he could in the White House. He'd probably have time to watch Mamma Mia! while in the Senate, and definitely not while in the White House. Really, it'd be for his own good if he weren't elected. At least then he'd have time to enjoy his non-retirement.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Scandalous Preschool
I'm not sure how to approach this topic, because I'm probably breaking confidentiality rules. If I don't name names, it will probably be a lot easier. And, frankly, names don't need to be named, because it would just make the situation that much more ridiculous.
I have been working at a preschool/quasi-primary school for about six weeks now. During this period, there has been a sex scandal. About a dozen children (more or less 15% of the school) have been withdrawn by their parents. The reasons for this vary depending on who you ask. If you ask the school administration, it's because another parent wanted to open up her own school. If you ask the parents, it's because they don't trust the school's administration. And they don't trust the school's administration because of a) the aforementioned sex scandal and b) the fact that an assistant gave a sleeping kid to the wrong adults at pickup time.
Now, you may ask, how the hell could an assistant give a kid to the wrong parents? In the six weeks I have been working, there has been a 100% turnover of assistants. They are stuck dealing with, and trying to discipline, a bunch of spoiled brats who don't care about much except Spiderman. Not all the kids are like that, of course. There are a lot of really good, cute, smart,
well-behaved students.
But the ones the assistants get stuck with are the ones who, frankly, suck. Who will grow up to
be the smartasses who frustrate everyone who has to work with them, who may or may not straighten themselves out (despite or because of Daddy's money.) And, here at least, these kids hit their teachers and their assistants. I've been hit by 3 or 4 kids, and the assistants have it much, much worse. I don't know what their pay is like, but I imagine it's a lot worse than mine. And I am getting four thousand pesos per month to put up with this crap. So, say the aides make three thousand, which is reasonable enough as a wage for fairly uneducated labor, but absolutely not reasonable considering their actual job.
I would agree with the parents that the administration is incompetent. I get no help, and they hired me knowing that I had no teaching experience. The on-staff psychiatrist and academic coordinator have offered to help, but they are never around. There are staff meetings once a month. Last month's included an hour-long presentation from a bank. The agenda is not determined by what we need to talk about, because, frankly, the administration does not ask us what we need to talk about.
So, what should I do? I should probably also mention that my immediate supervisor quit regarding the aforementioned sex scandal (which deserves a whole entry of its own, and will have one soon) and they now need a primary school English teacher. So, I'm the only full-time Englishy teacher on staff for a school that offers “bilingual” education.
...In happier news, I slept a combined total of 23 hours this weekend.
A Pretty Walk
Went for a walk over one of the hills a few weeks ago, to a little town close by, with the boy and some of his friends. As frustrating as it can be to be here sometimes, it's still pretty awesome, and pretty pretty.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
