Student Teaching - Torreon, Mexico      (Nov-Dec 2005)    

During one of my classes at SDSU during my first semester of the teacher credential program another teacher (Dr Donna Ross) presented an opportunity for us to complete our second semester of student teaching in Mexico.  "Im in" was the first thing that I thought.  I do not think that I could turn down this opportunity to live and work for a short time in another country.  Sounded like an adventure that I would not regret.  My wife gave me 100% support and I left on for the 6 week trip Nov 9th for Torreon, Mexico and would return just before Christmas.  It is a city of about a million people smack dab in the center of Mexico.  We were the first group of student teachers to try this new international teaching program so we had no real idea what to expect.  I knew that I would be teaching high school US history and living with a family that would meet me at the airport.  I got the chance to become immersed in Mexican culture and learned so much from the experience in and out of the classroom.

The school that I taught at was called Americano de Torreon.  It is the only high school in Torreon where the students receive American diplomas.  Teaching 11th grade US history was quite a different experience.  My first semester of student teaching I taught 7th grade at an inner city school in San Diego.  Now I was teaching at a private school, high school, and in Mexico.  The small class sizes and the enthusiasm of the students (well most) made it a fantastic place to teach.

 All the student teachers and our supervisor seen here in the Tijuana airport leaving for Torreon.

My new family greeted me at the airport, Laura, Enrique and Paloma. I will never forget getting off the plane and meeting my family.  I grabbed my bags, they rushed me outside and I was now packed into a cab with my new family.  They took me to dinner that night to a place that reminded me of Dennys.  I had no idea what I was getting into.  Just going with the flow.  The picture shows my new home and the mini van that they let me use whenever needed.

If only all classes in the US could be like this, small class sizes and the students seemed to have very positive attitudes towards learning.  They all spoke nearly perfect English and most would be going to college in the US.  It was a private school and cost them 5000 dollars US to go here. It is also the only school in Torreon where the students get an American diploma.  So it basically had the kids from some of the most affluent families in Torreon.

On our first weekend we had a downtown scavenger hunt and we split up into 2 groups.  We ended up in this huge market.  The sights, sounds, and especially smells were abundant around each turn.  The day reminded me of the amazing race TV show. 

  My family provided me with a mini-van to use during my stay with them.  The school was about a 20 min drive on the other side of town so I did quite a bit of driving each day.  The people drive like maniacs and people suddenly dash across the street all the time.  At one of the stop lights on the way home this man blows fire in the intersection. I happily gave him a 10 pesos for the entertainment.

 On another weekend trip we joined another student field trip out to these mines outside of town.  We hiked about a mile before reaching the entrance.  Inside we had 2 guides.  There were sections where the students strolled past pits 100 meters deep..... not the least bit dangerous.  With all the shafts together you could go all the way from here to Texas.  We all came out covered in dust from head to toe.

Geoff, one of my guide teachers, showed me some true Mexican culture when he took me to Liche Libre wrestling in the city next door to Torreon.  It was the ultimate Mexican entertainment.  People shouting, the wrestlers flying out of the ring, fighting in the seats, it was a time to sit back and think- I will probably never see anything like this again. 

We had a four day weekend during Thanksgiving (Mexicans do not celebrate but the school gives the time off anyway) and 3 of us decided to take a overnight bus to Mazatlan.  We dropped quite a bit of cash for the all inclusive package at the resort.  But it was worth it.  All the food, drinks, entertainment for free.  We kayaked out to the island and spent the day enjoying the food, beach, and the time off school.

That next weekend, we rented a van and went north. We traveled approximately 3 hours to a small town called Cuatro Cienegas. We had two guides.. An adult who spoke English and has introduced an environmental education program in the town and in informal guide who was 12 years old who showed us around town. We went to a couple of museums, the aquarium/herpetarium, a winery, and a candy store. We traveled just out of the small town also saw the natural pools, rivers, and dunes.  We went swimming in these hotspings and the water was crystal clear with lots of fish. I dove to the bottom and could see where the spring was bubbling up into the pool.  It was so nice to get out of Torreon and breath some fresh air.  The area is also famous with biologists because their are a bunch of endemic species, fish, plants and insects that are found no where else in the world. 

My two favorite things to photograph in Mexico were the people and the doors.  Each had so much character and always had my camera ready when wandering the streets.  So much character and color.

 On another field trip we went to the oldest winery in the Americas.  It dated back to the early 1500's.  The area and winery was beautiful with its green plants and trees.  Another fine day spent out of the city.

Near the end of our stay we took a trip to a local public school in a neighborhood stricken by poverty.  The government recently built some new classes for the school, the old ones were in buildings made of wood, cardboard, and corrugated tin.  A few of us spent the morning popping pop corn for the kids. The fourth graders from CAT took gifts, snacks, and blankets to the host students.  We handed out all the snacks and started taking pictures with our digital cameras.  Once you took a picture you they would all run over to see themselves on the screen. They loved it.

 I met some of the teachers from the elementary school.  Paul was from Pindicton, Canada which is only a few miles from Sam's parents.  He invited me to go rock climbing with them and I jumped at the chance.  Sam and I had been to the climbing gym in San Diego a few times but I had never been on real rock. 

 We had time to do 2 different one pitch routes.  There was one or two spots where I did not think I might make it past with little to no real holds, but I eventually made it to the top of both.

We all finished up our student teaching and would spend our last weekend together as a group in a Zacategas. It was a 6 hours hour bus ride south to this colonial town. It was great to have a chance to relax for 2 days. We split up and went to museums, rode the tram over the city, did some shopping, went on a tour of a mine, and listened to music on the streets. We met together for dinner each night.

In Zacatecas, we had our final dinner together and said goodbye as half the group returned to Torreon and the other half headed out for a couple weeks of traveling independently. Those of us who returned to Torreon will be headed home on Tuesday.  All the pictures below were taken while exploring the town.

Donna, Mary lou, Sasha and me all piled into a cab to get a ride back to the bus station. The next day we would be returning to the States.  It was a rewarding and extremely busy 6 weeks of teaching during the week and traveling on the weekends.  It felt great to be done with my credential and be back.  It was a long journey to go back to college, but this trip is an example of the path it took me down.  I would have told you were crazy if you said that I would be teaching high school in Mexico 2 years ago.  I hope next semester student teachers will be given this unique opportunity to teach and live with these families.  The people I met were so welcoming, genuine, and intelligent.

Back to Homepage