The Immigration Thing

For three weeks last month, I had the enormous pleasure of substitute teaching English at CETYS, which is a prestigious prep school/university here in Baja CA. I taught three classes of teenagers, about 75 students in all and it was not only challenging but fun and energizing.

I was amazed at the these young minds and how they probe into issues that concern them, and how aware they are of their own feelings. These kids tend to come from Ensenada's wealthiest families, and they understand the importance of education.

Now, a word about education in Mexico...it is EXPENSIVE. Unlike the U.S. and other countries, in Mexico parents have to pay a tuition for their kids to go to school, plus they have to buy uniforms and books. Given that most people in Mexico are only able to provide the basics for their families, most are not educated past the 8th grade, according to statistics. Here, education is a privilege, not a right or a requirement. The schools are also strict. There is no "No Child Left Behind" or Gifted Programs or accommodation for ADD/ADHD. Either you make the grade or you don't, period.

The schools don't have frills, either. No overseas trips, no special school lunch programs, nothing. This is bare/bones education. Many schools are underfunded and unkempt buildings that don't even have chalkboards or supplies for the younger children to use such as crayons, glue sticks and other supplies for creative expression. The pay for teachers averages $40/day or less.

Keeping that in mind, visualize a beautiful albeit small campus high on a hill above the city with an ocean view. A fresh breeze is always present, and the air smells of the fragrant flowers in the beautifully landscaped parking lot and campus grounds. This is CETYS. This is where I have been offered a permanent job teaching English, and I'm grabbing it. Certainly not for the money; the pay at CETYS won't support me, but the thrill of being a part of a better tomorrow for Mexico is enthralling. I am needed here. The rewards are many.

Getting to the point of this post's title, one day one of my classes was doing an exercise in interviewing. I told them they could interview me. First question was: "What do you think of the immigration issue in the U.S.?" I nearly dropped my teeth, thinking they would ask me something like, "Are you married? Do you have any kids?" Something simple. But no. You could have heard a pin drop in the room. I begged the higher powers for a good way to handle this question, finally winding up asking a question back: "I am going to ask you the same question...what do YOU think about it?" A lively discussion followed, along with debates that were very impressive.

The kids have the idea that Mexican immigrants to the U.S. is a good thing because Americans don't want to work in the fields and Mexicans are used to doing that. Americans don't want to do lowly production work. Basically, we are seen through the eyes of Mexico's young as a people who have no interest in getting our hands dirty. So they will. I am simply reporting what I experienced as food for thought, sans a personal opinion. I was blown away.

I look forward to teaching at CETYS and discovering more about how the young are thinking about the future of their country, their families, their unborn children. Teaching there is a privilege for me, a gift.

You can see the CETYS campus through a link I've provided in the right hand sidebar.