Queen's Fair - ASF, Mexico City (The Infantes)

[Michael-Infante]

Hi Everyone!

My name is Michael Infante and perhaps you have read about our problems with the American School Foundation in Mexico City. In brief, my wife was harassed, I was threatened with dismissal if my wife didn’t “quietly� resign, we were locked out of school and lastly, I was prevented from going to check on my four and five year old daughters in their classrooms.

Unfortunately, the treatment we have suffered is not an isolated instance at the American School. Currently there are 15 suits against the school for illegal labor practices, as well as three criminal cases. Nine cases have previously been settled

I am speaking out because I believe no one should have to suffer what we have gone through and so that potential teaching candidates have all the information they need to make an objective decision.

Last weekend, I attended the UNI overseas job fair in Iowa. I was able to meet with many people and I believe in the interest of public discourse, things went well. I offered to meet with representatives from the school and the fair to talk honestly about the issues but unfortunately no meeting was arranged.

This weekend, I am heading to Kingston, Canada for the Queen’s University Fair. I will be the guy in the yellow parka. I hope it is not as cold as it was in Iowa last week. I froze. So come say hi and if you know of anyone that is considering a job offer from the American School tell them to come and talk to me. I’d be happy to talk to them.

Take care,

Michael

P.S. You can read our whole story at a web-site I have created. You can get there from the section on ASF on ISR or from this link www.bellagrace.org/index.html

[Scott]

Thanks, Michael, for taking the time to tell us your story. For far too many years, some international schools have been given free passes while numerous educators have suffered. With this site, we now have an opportunity to expose the good situations and the bad situations.

In the interest of balance, I would welcome and would love to see someone from the American School Foundation in Mexico City give their side of the story here. I won't hold my breath, though.

[specialed]

I was just wondering. Are you traveling around to the fairs looking for a job, or are you going around to tell your story? It sounds like you had an awful time and that you were treated very badly. But, I looked at your website and you seem like someone who is locked on like a pitbull and you are not letting this situation settle itself. I would even venture an opinion that you all seem to be sort of confrontational. Now If something like that had happened to me, I would also be mad and would maybe want revenge too. Have you thought that maybe the guy, Cortes I think his name is, would back down/change his mind a little if you all backed down a little. Also at this point, what do you hope to gain? If the guy is a jerk, is this going to make him act differently? I doubt it, but maybe you think differently. I don't see how your "healing" is going to progress by going around to the fairs/ISR/websites and rehashing what went on. It seems kind of confrontational to me. I can tell you at some point, people are going to wonder what went on and ask if you are somewhat culpable if you keep on hounding the school and this Cortes guy. It's almost like you are stalking this place or something. You have told your story and informed people of this guy, who sounds like a poster child for what a bad director is, now move on.

For your sake, you've told your story, hopefully you've learned something, now move on. Is this what you want your life goal to be - chasing after this school? If they were truly that bad, move on, don't keep going back!!

I hope this helps because sometimes we get focused and miss the big picture. The big picture is your family, future, and career. It's not focusing your life on bringing down a director/school, or is it? His actions have made him look like a jerk, if you get in a pissing match with him, what does that make you look like? If you get into the mud and wrestle with pigs, what does that make you?

I wish you the best and hope you can move on and heal!

[Traveller1]

specialed, while you obviously intend well, and its true that the best way to get over the anger and frustration of being burned by a school is to move on, somehow you manage to sound glib and patronising when you do it. Your little 'move on' posts seem to indicate that you've never been burned by a school, in which case you really aren't the right person to be giving this advice. Stick to what you do best - ie giving advice based on your experience.

[specialed]

Actually you are wrong Traveller1. I have been raked over the coals and left to dry by a supervisor before. I once had a principal, in front of a parent, accuse me of "terrorizing" my students. I was put on "leave" for a week until it was all sorted out. He didn't even ask for my side of the story, or anyone else's for that matter. Later the parent and assistant principal apologized, but he never did. It didn't feel good at all. I spent 2 years focusing on how I was treated before I finally said, "Enough is enough!" So I am speaking from experience. What's that saying, "When you assume?"

I know it's not easy and it doesn't make a person feel good when they are treated that way, but I guess I should be online writing about it and attending job fairs to talk about what happened to me. I wish someone would have politely told me to move on after I had my run in with a principal. I could have saved myself a lot of time and pain. I still get mad when I think about how I was treated. Should I still be thinking about it before I go to teach everyday? Again, I'm not belittling or minimizing what happened. I'm positive it was a painful experience for the Infantes, but going around to job fairs is not the way to move forwards. Do you think it is Traveller1?

[Nexttrip]

While I'm certain you mean well, Specialed, I disagree. The easy way out is to 'get over it' and move on, and this is why schools like this continue their ways- they have NOBODY to answer to. I don't see anything wrong at all with what the Infantes are doing and they are taking advantage of the tools they have available to them.

The fact is that the vast majority of international educators have not heard of Infante situation in Mexico or 99.9 percent of the other bad situations international educators are routinely subjected to by meglomaniac administrations and Boards. I look at what the Infantes are doing as an exchange of information. If it makes the American School Foundation or another school think twice the next time they consider blatantly mistreating two professional educators and their two small children, then the Infantes are doing us all a great service.

Different people require different things to 'heal'. It seems to me that the Infantes want to help other people avoid this dreadful situation and hopefully, this will aid them in their quest for healing.

[specialed]

Nexttrip while I know that you mean well, I think there is a point at which going out and talking about the situation becomes counterproductive. I am not saying they are at this point now, but I am saying it is not too far off. They have done a great service by alerting people of the situation and what a jerk this director is, I really think they may be beating a dead horse soon. I know that everyone at my school is aware of ISR (both good and bad) so I'm not sure what other audience hasn't been reached. Also, are they going to be allowed to go to job fairs if it is known that they will be there to talk to others about ASF? If I were new to teaching, and I heard about the whole situation, I would be very scared about working at any international school. That situation is not normal and I know it, but someone new to the scene, are they going to know it? Are the agencies going to allow this to happen?. There are hundreds of schools out there. Counting ASF, Sudan, and the Kuwait school (that's 3) that is around less than 3% and probably lower. Again, I know you mean well, but at some point this is going to hurt the Infantes more than their message going out is going to stop someone. If this guy in Mexico doesn't feel the scorn of educators by now, do you think he will all of a sudden change his mind. I doubt it very much. Other schools do "act out" sometimes, it's happened before they went public (the Infantes), and I think it will continue. I wish that this were all simple and that the Infantes going around would make everything a lot better. I guarantee that something awful will happen again somewhere at a school, this year or next, no matter how much people go around and bring up ASF in Mexico.

This is a good dialogue and I appreciate hearing other opinions. It makes me think, and after report cards, that is good!

[Traveller1]

Specialed, if it took you 2 years to realise you needed to move on then that's the time it took you to get over it. I don't think Michael is ready to move on. I hope that by the end of next year I'll be able to view the use of the terms 'collaborative', 'team' and 'essential agreements' without feeling intensly cynical.

I didn't stick around and fight because there was no point and it would have been detrimental to the school, certainly not because I was ready to move on. However it seems that six months after leaving the school it's imploded, so I'm happy I made the move.

I agree with Nexttrip and have no problem with what Michael Infante is doing. In fact I admire him for taking this course of action. As Nexttrip says - schools like this aren't accountable to anyone. The fact that they foul the waters of international education concerns me, as a professional. The fact that recruitment agencies like the COIS, SEARCH, ISS and TIE recruit for these schools concerns me even more.

However, what is going to become a problem for Michael, and I guess you're right to point this out to him, if he intends to stay teaching in the international circuit he's rocking the boat and administrators don't like 'boat rockers'. Its a cosy little club and everyone knows everyone else.

[specialed]

Amen. I just hope it all works out for the family.

[Nexttrip]

Thanks for acknowledging that you know I mean well, Specialed. :)

I agree that the Infantes might be making it more difficult for themselves in terms of future job prospects, but I have hope that there are reasonable, professional Administrators at solid international schools who will give the Infantes a fair chance, considering how they received such a raw deal from the American School Foundation.

[specialed]

Interesting. I just read the latest review of ASF in Mexico. For the record, I don't speak Spanish and I am half way around the world from Mexico - although I did wish I spoke Spanish as Central/South America seems so fascinating, especially Costa Rico, Chile, Peru, and Ecuador. I got a "D" in French in college and am scared to take any more language classes. I was wondering if there was more to this story and now it seems as if there is. However, I love the fact that Nextrip and Travelor1 are so positive. Seriously, people like you all make this a better place, but alas, we have people out there who are mean spirited who are in positions of authority. I am so glad we are having a discussion and learning more about this situation. I don't think we know the full story, but there are always two sides of the story (unless I tell it in which case there is my side of the story!! Just ask my parents. No on second thought, don't ask them they would side with my brother).

What do you all think now? I am even more confused by this situation.

[Michael-Infante]

Hi,

I truly appreciate all of your advice and feed-back. Many friends have told us to "move on" and it definitely would have been the easy thing to do but it did not seem like the right thing to do.

I am afraid our chances of teaching overseas as you can imagine are extremely small. We realized this when we decided to speak out. Also in no way are we perfect but we have tried to be completely honest from the beginning. Unfortunately, this does not seem to be the way the school is choosing to handle the situation. In regard to the latest post in the review section it is full of innacuracies, misrepresentations and flat out lies. It unfortunately does not adress the issues but instead defames. I hope you reserve judgement until you read my response.

There are different perspectives on a situation but there are also facts.
- my wife was offered a promotion and given a 6% raise
- she was viciously berated by the director
- she was locked out after filing a complaint against the director
- I was threatened with termination if my wife didn't resign quietly
- our children were draged into the situation on three seperate occassions
- the school has resorted to distorations and misrepresentations to attack our characters

Thank you once again,

Michael