CasE STuDY: ENGLiSH TEaCHER MM
Another sane and sober and rational feminine perspective from a happily married mother of two, no less. English Teacher MM has taught in Ecuador, Japan and Mexico, and she thinks it's all right.
How long have you been teaching and where?
I started in 1995 in Ecuador for six months (fresh out of uni), never thought I'd stick with it, but after six months back in the US I was soooo ready to get out of there. Did a cert and went to Japan for 18 months. Then I came to Mexico in Feb of 1998, I've been here ever since. I didn't take a year off from teaching, my job offers 1 year paid sabbatical after 6 years of service.
What's your lifestyle like where you live now?
Actually, if just like most 30 somethings in the US, only I live in Mexico. I'm married now and have twins who were born in 2004. My husband is in grad school, so we don't have lots of extra money. When he finishes he should be making twice what I currently make, I'm looking forward to that! The first five years in Mexico I always had enough money do eat out when ever I wanted, go to clubs, travel on the weekends. But I work 8 hours a day (3 in the classroom)so I always had to get up early every morning, a lot different from the language school life in Japan.
Who have been your most venal and incompetent employers?
Oh definitely the first place I worked at in Japan, they were nothing compared to the horror stories you hear. But I taught little kids seven hours a day (exhausting) and had to follow there curriculum to the letter (frustrating). On the first day I arrived (they had recruited me from abroad) they told me a story about how they had once had a teacher with a lot of experience and they had been really happy to hire her, but it had turned into a nightmare because she thought she knew better then they did how to teach Japanese children. :)What's your favorite way of killing ten minutes in class?
It depends on the class. In general I'd have to say playing a cross between wheel of fortune and hangman. They guess letters of vocab words like hangman, but they get 10 points for each correct consonate and have to buy vowels for 5 points.Do you ever have sex with your students?
No, if they are students in your class there are all kinds of issues as to why that's a bad idea. I did meet my husband because he was in a class of mine. But we didn't get involved until later, when another situation gave us a chance to get to know each other as peers, not teacher-student. In Japan and Ecuador I was there with my ex (an American teacher)Any particular advantages / disadvantages to being a woman in this business?
I think it opens up more jobs, I know in Japan some of the kids schools didn't want to hire men. In general there seem to be a lot more women in the field, especially among the ones who consider themselves professional teachers, when you go to TESOL or British Council conventions the majority of the people are women. In hot weather with no airconditioning, its a lot more comfortable for women! I can wear a sundress, my male collegues are in slacks and dress shirts. As for disadvantages, where I work now I teach young adults 80% male, I started here when I was 25, a lot of our students want to be in the young female teachers' classes. That whole image of loose American women and all. That also has been a bit of a problem travelling around in Latin America, you think you're making friends and they think its foreplay!Ever been the subject of sexual harassment by a manipulative drunken psychopathic DOS or owner?
HA! no, I've never even had a DOS. (I mean worked at a school where there was a DOS :)) Thanks a lot. Are you a hot chick? Send me a picture if so. How would you know if it was really me?
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