ESL Teacher/Volunteer Supervisor Intern is Isla Mujeres

VolunQuest has an immediate opening for an ESL Teacher/Volunteer Supervisor Intern is Isla Mujeres, Mexico

Job Description:

ESL Teacher/Volunteer Supervisors are responsible for teaching the national English curriculum to first and second graders in the public primary schools of Isla Mujeres. They are required to break down monthly lesson blocks as a team and are also required to do individual lesson plans and material creation for their classes. Additionally, they are required to participate in community outreach events hosted by VolunQuest, federal, state and municipal governments including the monthly artist fair, educational programs after pet sterilization and vaccination campaigns hosted by Isla Animals, donation distribution, library reading hours, holiday parties, teacher appreciation dinners, graduations etc.

VolunQuest hosts a variety of volunteer travelers throughout the school year and summer. Interns will be trained to and then later required to train, supervise, support and offer feedback to current volunteers. Some of the volunteer groups that we host include groups of 12-15 University Early Childhood Education students from the U.S. which require more time and coordination than individual volunteers.

Each intern will be required to write at least two 300 word blog posts a month about their experience working for VQ, living in Isla Mujeres, a special student, teacher, or volunteer, one of the current events or campaigns hosted by VQ, etc. This means that writing skills are a requirement for the position.

The typical hours for an intern are:

Class: 8:00 AM-12 PM with a 30 minute break that about 15 minutes of is used for biking to your next school and a 30 minute volunteer library reader from the community that the intern will have to supervise during recess about 2-3 times a week.

Required daily office hours in VQ offices: 12:00 PM-1:20 PM (this time is meant to be used to discuss with other VQ employees and interns how classes went, how lesson plans are working, planning for the next day, prepping materials, and meeting with the director about any special events, etc.)

EVERY OTHER DAY the intern will have an additional class from 1:30 PM-2:20 PM

Additional hours are expected about twice a week for special events, cleaning and organizing the office, library and materials and for writing blog entries.

TOTAL HOURS: Class time: 3-4 hours daily, Lesson Prep: 1-2 hours daily, Additional Hours: 3 Hours weekly average

Benefits:

VolunQuest and the local government provide a house for the interns. The intern will have their own private bedroom in the house with furniture and bed linens. They will share a bathroom with one other intern and will be required to bring their own bath and beach towels. Interns are also recommended to bring about $100 USD to purchase a bike upon arrival or to bring their own bike from home. The house is equip with WiFi, hot water, a full kitchen, dining room, living room, back patio area for socializing, a printer, plates and cooking utensils, etc.

VolunQuest also offers interns a 500 peso a week food allowance, and VQ uniform shirts.

Interns have a key and unlimited access to VQ offices, library and materials. The offices have ample work space for staff, interns and volunteers, 2500 early learner English books, school supplies, a printer/copy machine, computer, printer paper, laminating machines, teaching materials, ESL teaching guides and references, prizes for the students, etc. etc. Sometimes materials run low or out, because we depend on the kindness of donations from the foreign resident community and visitors, but they are usually always replenished in a reasonable amount of time. In comparison to other free and public ESL programs in Mexico and Central America, the offices and supplies would be considered ample and luxurious.

Interns will also be offered many private tutoring classes after school and office hours where they can make an additional 1000 pesos a week as a private contractor/tutor.

Upon completion of the internship, interns will be given a certificate from the Ministry of Education of Mexico for the amount of hours that they have worked teaching the national curriculum in the public schools. Additionally, they will have unlimited letters of recommendation from VQ for two years after completion and one letter a year for life.

Requirements:

A bachelor's degree in an applicable field, a TESOL or equivalent (this can be replaced with at least 2 years teaching experience), and experience working with children.

We are looking for self starters, confident teachers, people that can adapt to conditions abroad. Living on an island in Mexico does not always have the same pace, conveniences or comforts as home. Although VolunQuest staff will do everything possible to make you as comfortable as possible, we are looking for interns that do not experience extreme culture shock when things are not exactly what they are used to back home. Some of these things might be WiFi going out or running slow, hot water breaking and not getting replaced for a couple of weeks, teachers in the school not always being as warm and welcoming as you might hope, poor dental hygiene of our students and poor nutrition (we offer two dental campaigns and nutrition campaigns each year to help these issues), hot temperatures when riding your bike from one class to another, etc.

That being said, Isla Mujeres is a magical place to live with incredible culture, history and people. The students literally flock to the English teachers as soon as they walk in the schools and shower you with notes, and stickers and cards that they make for us. The student's parents are overjoyed and more welcoming than you can imagine. Teachers are greeted in the streets with joy and appreciation, and even become sort of local celebrities. Most of the teachers in the schools love to work with us, ask us questions about teaching methodologies and are willing to do language exchange with interns (Spanish for English). The food is amazing, incredibly inexpensive, and the beaches are among the top 10 in the world. Most people that come here and/or live here consider it paradise. However, the pace of life here is much slower. People do not have the same sense of urgency to get things done, and this can sometimes become frustrating in a professional environment. If that is something that you do not think that you can mentally deal with, find solutions to and be proactive about PLEASE DO NOT APPLY.

Strong writing skills are a must.

Additional things that we would find appealing in applicants would be any experience working with children in summer camps, after school activities, swimming lessons, etc. CPR or lifeguard certifications. Dental, nutrition, helmet safety knowledge. Event planning experience. Social media marketing experience. Volunteer recruitment experience.

Please send resume, photo, and cover letter to ktywan@volunquest.com