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TEACHING AND LIVING IN MEXICO

Mexico is a country of approximately 112 million people with a variation of climate from desert type in the north to tropical in the south. The City of Mexico itself is situated at 2,200 metres above sea level in an upland valley, with a population of approximately 20 million and a warm temperate climate. The Lancaster School is situated in Tlalpan – a charming, colonial suburb on the southern edge of the city, which has largely avoided the overcrowding and resulting problems of pollution that have characterised other parts of Mexico City.

The pace of life in Mexico City is more rapid than in large cities in Europe. There are many cultural, entertainment and recreational facilities, especially for those prepared to integrate into the Mexican lifestyle. The Mexican middle class is very receptive to foreigners who show that they wish to understand and work within the culture of the country, but rejects very quickly those who show any hint of arrogance of attitude or who do not move from being long-term tourists. Parents and Mexican teachers at the Lancaster mix socially with teachers from Britain and are very friendly and helpful. There is also a relatively large British community in Mexico City. Many middle class Mexicans speak English but generally there is a necessity to speak Spanish. A working knowledge is therefore desirable though not essential, as Mexicans are extremely tolerant of muddled tenses and sign language. They never laugh at you but instead, respect your effort to speak their language and are more welcoming if you try to do so. The school provides free Spanish classes for all overseas staff.

The school year for pupils runs from the middle of August to the beginning of July and staff are expected to be in school for one week before the pupils arrive. There are holidays of approximately two weeks each at Christmas and Easter and occasional long weekends for national holidays. The normal working day starts earlier than in Europe and runs from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. School children work solidly through the morning hours with a break for "lunch" around 11:00. Apart from normal duties before and after school and at break time teachers will be expected to substitute for absent colleagues and occasionally to work outside normal school hours seeing parents, attending courses or taking children on whole day field trips.

There are staff meetings each week to discuss policy and any problems that arise and we also have in-service training to analyse issues of particular importance in more depth. There is a staff representative group to raise issues of general concern to teachers with the management. Teachers are responsible for carrying out the necessary planning, preparation, evaluation and classroom management in order to fulfil school policy and meet the needs of each pupil in their care. They are expected to co-ordinate with their colleagues and participate actively in the process of curriculum development and policy making in general. We expect teachers arriving from Britain to bring with them the latest educational developments and keep us up to date with current thinking in Britain.

The school is committed to providing high quality in-service training for its staff and both IB courses and Latin American Heads Conference activities have given teachers the chance to gain important professional experience both in Mexico and in other parts of Latin America.

Successful applicants will need to be well-organised, resourceful, open-minded, patient and creative people with a good sense of humour and above all a high degree of adaptability. Teaching in a foreign country, particularly one with a highly bureaucratic and autocratic state education system, can be frustrating at times but those teachers who are able to look at things with a positive frame of mind find teaching at the Lancaster School a very pleasant and rewarding experience.

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