Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Still here

I don't have a lot of time to write, but a quick update is in order. I am still here in southern Mexico. I've decided to stay, even though I won't be able to get that other situation I was hoping for. But I am the English Academy Director, which is a slight increase in pay, etc.

One cool thing is that I am in meetings with the Academic Vice-President about my vision for the English Academy. At the moment it is not officially recognized by the university. That is one of the things I want to change. Eventually, I want it to become a School of Languages which offers a Bachelor's Degree in English. Additionally, I want it to be in charge of all the English classes that the university has in all of its majors. I also want it to offer refresher courses for professionals. Plus, there should (will) be a course for teachers that is continual and required, but counted as a part of their teaching load. These are just a few of the ideas I have for the English Academy. I'm very excited about the possibilities.

I also want to start talking with the ESL department of the college where I got my BA. I can learn a lot about how these things work from them, and we may be able to work out a deal where workers from there come here to teach, and our best students from here go there to finish their degree.

At the moment we're in the middle of registration, and we have far fewer students than we should. Pray for us.

No comments: