If you choose to teach English in Mexico you’ll have the chance to experience firsthand the rich Mexican culture. Teachers are generally expected to live in the country for at least a year, and many choose to stay beyond that because Mexico is a truly beautiful place to live in. Whether you’re teaching in a major metropolitan area or a small rural city, you’ll find the Mexican experience uniquely enlightening and enriching.

Qualifications

In order to teach English in Mexico, you must be certified in TEFL or CELTA. These certifications qualify native English speakers to teach in a classroom setting. Getting certified is fairly easy- most colleges and learning centers offer short-term programs that can earn you your certificate in a matter of months.

Most importantly, you will be required to get a work permit in order to work in Mexico. It’s vital to make sure your immigration papers are in order, because working illegally in Mexico leaves you open to deportation. Keep in mind that most Mexican work passes are good for only up to six months; at that point, you will most likely have to cross back into the US. Even entering the US for a matter of hours will reset your pass, and you’ll be able to re-enter for another six months.

Application requirements in Mexico are sometimes inconsistent, and it’s best to be over-prepared. Arrive with all possible paperwork in hand- bring your birth certificate, college transcripts, reference letters, and anything else you might possibly need. It’s difficult to predict what you’ll be asked for, and you’ll want to spare yourself the expense and trouble of having to return home for something you didn’t bring.

Finding a job

Those who plan to teach in Mexico should not plan on being hired before they arrive. Although in other countries you can often find a job before you head over, this is not common in Mexico. Your best bet is to research possible employment before you leave, and then get ready for an interview once you arrive in Mexico.

Most English teachers in Mexico are employed by schools. English is taught from elementary school on up through college, and native English speakers are always in high demand as teachers. However, you do have other options. Some companies will hire English teachers to train their employees in English communication. There are also numerous private language institutions that hold English classes, which any citizen can attend.

Depending on what type of teaching you wish to do, you may want to centralize your job search around a particular area. Mexico City and other large metro areas are the easiest places to find English teaching jobs. This is also where you’re most likely to find good pay, decent hours, and acceptable housing.

There is honestly no real shortcut when it comes to finding a teaching job in Mexico. There are plenty of jobs available, but information is sometimes unreliable and you won’t really know what you’re getting into until you actually arrive at the location and apply for the job. This is another reason why finding a job before you get to Mexico just isn’t feasible. So prepare yourself to do some legwork once you arrive.

Teaching English in Mexico is a real challenge, and you should be prepared for some obstacles. If you can secure yourself a good job, if you have a sense of adventure and aren’t afraid of some new experiences, it can be an amazing time. Our best advice is to arrive prepared… and don’t give up!

Please spend a few minutes writing down what the words “worthy ideal” mean to you. To me it is my vision of perfection…a vision of how I would ideally like things to be.It is a vision that I find inspiring and energizing!

If your success with guitar is totally dependant on working towards a worthy ideal, doesn’t it make sense that you first need to figure out what YOUR worthy ideal is? How can you progressively realize something if you don’t know what it is? Let’s do some exercises to figure your one out…

Please invest at least a couple of hours doing the following exercises. They will really help you to build a picture of your worthy ideal in your mind’s eye…

Exercise 1:
Imagine how would ideally like to play.Try and imagine what your guitar playing would sound, look and feel like.What guitar techniques are you a master of? How does your improvising sound? What about your composing? Please write your answers down now.

Exercise 2:
Imagine your ideal guitar playing career. Would you be a master guitar teacher? What about an amazing performing artist? Or what about performing as part of a highly successful band? How about being an in demand studio guitarist? What do you TRULY want to do? Please write down your answers now.

Exercise 3:
Write down your worthy ideal. Write it down in the present tense, as if you have already achieved it.Try to condense it down into a one paragraph statement.

Exercise 4:
Invest 5 minutes every morning and night to read your worthy ideal. This will help you to stay motivated and focused on what you TRULY want.

Clarity is essential. Without it you won’t be able to start developing an effective plan to work towards your worthy ideal.

You may find as you answer the questions that self-doubt starts to creep in. You may doubt whether or not what you write down is even possible! This is normal. Just write down your answers anyway You don’t need to know right now HOW you will achieve your worthy ideal. All you need to do is figure out WHAT it is.

The first instrument is often a music keyboard. These are reasonably priced and stimulate an interest in music even in very young children. Ask your school music teacher for advice, because some of the very low cost keyboards are very limited. The higher priced keyboards play notes softer if they are hit less hard, more like a piano.

Your child may enjoy the sound of a particluar instrument. This can be a major motivational factor, so it is a good idea to go with the child’s ideas, at least initially. Many children change the instrument they play in the first few years of their music education.

Many children may find it easier to play woodwind instruments like a clarinet than brass instruments like trumpets and trombones. Woodwind instruments do not require the lip vibrations that brass players need.

Most children’s choice of instrument is a matter of chance. It depends on what instrument is favored by visiting music tutors.

There are more professional violinists than players of any other instrument. This is one reason parents often encourage their children to take up the violin. Buying a violin is a tricky business.

You can buy a violin for less than 70 dollars on the Internet. Should you buy it? Never.

A violin is not just a pair of shoes. Shoes are designed to be used and thrown away when they wears out. A well-made violin will last for hundreds of years. The 70 dollar violin above should just be thrown away. Buying one for your child is a waste of 70 dollars.

If your child is taking up the violin, or any instrument, it might be an idea to rent rather than buy, until you see how your child takes to the instrument. That is the point at which you should consider buying.

Buy the best instrument you can afford. Price is definitely linked with tonal quality. Listen to a range of violins, pianos or trumpets being played by the musician in the retailers. You will notice differences between the different instruments. Always buy a musical instrument you and your child like the sound from. Musical training will attune the child’s ear to any deficiency in the instrument you buy, and this will detract from the pleasure he or she gains from playing it.

I recently retired from teaching after having a fourth grade classroom for nearly thirty five years. I loved teaching more than anything else, but planning elementary lesson plans nearly did me in a few times. At several times throughout my teaching career I would come home and complain to my husband that I wanted to be done. The job was too hard, the pay was too small, I was underappreciated, and I had to spend hours each week making elementary lessons plans that half of the time I didn’t even follow.

Five years before retirement another teacher gave me some of the best and most relieving advice of my teaching career. I’ll admit that I was a little upset that I hadn’t heard this news thirty years before, but I was grateful nonetheless to get all the help I could. This teacher suggested that I start looking for other ways and sources of getting great elementary lesson plans for my classroom.

At first I laughed at her and responded with a simple “yeah right.” I had myself convinced that I was the only reliable source of elementary lesson plans and that my classroom would fall apart if I didn’t have the perfect plans going into each morning. I was wrong. My teacher friend suggested that I utilize resources that other teachers have made in my own classroom. She suggested that I look for elementary lesson plans at bookstores, teaching stores, and even on the internet.

I began to look around for other sources of elementary lesson plans during the summer between two school years. I was skeptical about finding something that worked, yet I found the idea intriguing enough to be worth my trying. What I discovered as I really began looking for elementary lesson plans was unbelievable: there really is a wealth of information and resource available for teachers in the area of elementary lesson plans. I had no idea how much work had been written and published in this area. I stumbled upon a treasure house of solid information that changed everything about the last five years of my career.

So teachers, regardless of how long you’ve been in the classroom, start looking now for great alternatives for elementary lesson plans. You’ll be glad you did.