Angry teachers in Mexico go on a riot

 Teachers in Mexico went on a riot on Wednesday. They are angry at changes to their jobs made by the government. Hundreds of angry teachers attacked the offices of political parties in Mexico's south-western Guerrero state. They broke windows, set fire to offices and sprayed graffiti on the walls. Thousands more rioters who are angry with the government joined the teachers in the streets. The state governor sent hundreds of police officers to guard the local government building. The police could not stop the violence, so mayor Mario Moreno asked for government support to control the situation. He told a local TV news station: "We do not have the ability to face a mob of 4,000 or 5,000 people."

The teachers are angry at changes that would take power away from their unions. Mexico's government wants more control over the quality of teachers and who becomes a teacher. Teaching unions currently assess the quality of education in schools. The government wants to do this instead, to make sure all schools have similar standards. They want teachers to pass tests to get jobs or get promoted. The government also wants to end the policy of buying and selling teaching jobs. Some teachers in Mexico give their position to a relative when they retire or quit. The biggest teaching unions are worried that many teachers will lose their jobs. They also fear that the government wants to control every school. 

1. TEACHING: What are the good and bad things? Complete this table.

 

Good

Bad

Salary

 

 

Being with kids

 

 

Working hours

 

 

Holidays

 

 

Teaching

 

 

Status

 

 

2. PAY: Students A strongly believe teachers should be paid more than bankers; Students B strongly believe not.   

3. SUBJECTS: Rank these and share your rankings with your partner. Put the subject you would most like to teach at the top.

  • English
  • Information Technology
  • a sport
  • music
  • religion
  • your language
  • a science
  • maths

4. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

1.

riot

a.

help

2.

guard

b.

rampage

3.

violence

c.

worry about

4.

support

d.

protect

5.

mob

e.

almost the same

6.

control

f.

crowd

7.

assess

g.

stop working

8.

similar

h.

judge

9.

retire

i.

rioting

10.

fear

j.

power

5.ROLE PLAY

Role  A – Teacher

You think your job is one of the most important in the world. Tell the others three reasons why. You think the government should double your pay. You take home too much homework, so the government should also double the number of teachers. You don't think you should have to take tests every year.

Role  B – School boss

You think teaching is one of the most important in the world. Tell the others three reasons why. You think teachers' pay is OK but they have to work long hours. You want the government to double the number of teachers so they can plan better lessons and take less homework home.

Role  C – Education minister

You think teaching is important, but so is nursing, policing, etc. Teachers should not get paid more than nurses or police officers. Tell the others three reasons why. The government does not have enough money to pay teachers more or find more teachers. Taking work home is a teachers' job.

Role  D – Office worker

You are tired of teachers complaining about their salary and working hours. Tell the others three reasons why. Teachers aren't in the classroom all day. They get very long holidays. Their salary is also pretty good. Working conditions are better than most jobs.

6: DISCUSSSION

STUDENT A's QUESTION

a)

What did you think when you read the headline?

b)

What springs to mind when you hear the word 'teacher'?

c)

Do you think teachers do a difficult job?

d)

Would you like to be a teacher?

e)

What do you think of teachers rioting in the streets?

f)

Should the teachers talk instead of riot?

g)

Who is/was your favourite teacher and why?

h)

Why do people become teachers?

i)

How important are teachers?

j)

What is a good teacher?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

STUDENT B's QUESTIONS 

a)

Did you like reading this article? Why/not?

b)

Should the government control the quality of teachers?

c)

Should teachers have to take a teaching test every year?

d)

What are the good and bad things about being a teacher?

e)

What do you think of teachers giving their jobs to their relatives?

f)

If you were a teacher, what would you teach, and why?

g)

Do you think teachers get paid enough money?

h)

Is teaching dangerous?

i)

What should happen to bad teachers?

j)

What questions would you like to ask one of the rioting teachers?

 

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