"None of their protests ever had anything to do with improving the quality of education for their students".

Rob, you shouldn't be surprised. This would apply to teachers in the US as well. Heck, even our universities are using the promise of "less time teaching classes" as a carrot to retain or lure professors. As Mr. Wonderful on Shark Tank says, "at the end of day, it's all about the MONEY". It's a big reason why in the US , the best educations still come out of parochial schools where dedicated teachers are there to teach. Certainly not for the pay which is so much lower than public schools. And you never hear of private school teachers going on strike.

Now I know that some teacher or ex teacher here is going to go all nuts and argue that they aren't paid enough for working 9 months a year and all, but remember, you weren't sentenced to a teaching profession, it was your choice. Problem is that most teachers, like politicians, start out with good intentions, thinking they can made a difference, until reality sets in and human nature takes over.

I fail to see any connection to the USA. I am damn grateful for the high quality of the elementary and jr. high public schools I attended in Kentucky and Massachusetts before moving to the U.S. Virgin Islands where a private school was indeed pretty much mandatory.

But your lack of compassion and empathy for public school teachers in the USA (or pretty much anyone besides yourself) is duly noted.

I don't recall U.S. teachers ever going on strike for the right to collect a paycheck without having to work, or passing on their teacher position via inheritance or sale to someone with no teaching experience. As a matter of fact, teachers here from around 1989 until the recent reform didn't even have to have the equivalent of a high school education or any experience at all. As the reform gets implemented state by state teachers are now being tested. After the first test here in Guerrero over 80% of the teachers flunked (which explains a lot about Guerrero right there). If they don't pass their competency exam they are offered free training until they are brought up to speed.

It took a lot of political prowess for our presidente to pass this reform that addresses a problem crucial to Mexico's immediate and long-term future. The fallout of going against such a powerful union will be felt for years to come. But the benefits will be worth it a hundredfold once the dust settles.

Now if only I could convince foreigners to quit adding to our local problems by allowing themselves to be manipulated to support all the unnecessary and counterproductive tiny schools within Zihuatanejo proper that only serve to help thieves steal our lands and dilute scarce resources from the public education system.

Rob, you shouldn't be surprised. This would apply to teachers in the US as well. Heck, even our universities are using the promise of "less time teaching classes" as a carrot to retain or lure professors. As Mr. Wonderful on Shark Tank says, "at the end of day, it's all about the MONEY". It's a big reason why in the US , the best educations still come out of parochial schools where dedicated teachers are there to teach. Certainly not for the pay which is so much lower than public schools. And you never hear of private school teachers going on strike.

Now I know that some teacher or ex teacher here is going to go all nuts and argue that they aren't paid enough for working 9 months a year and all, but remember, you weren't sentenced to a teaching profession, it was your choice. Problem is that most teachers, like politicians, start out with good intentions, thinking they can made a difference, until reality sets in and human nature takes over.

I can remember the teachers of Oaxaca protesting about 10 years ago, so it seems this is nothing new.

Actually the problem with the teachers in Oaxaca began in earnest 9 years ago and has led to the interruption or cancellation of the Guelaguetza twice now if I recall correctly. None of their protests ever had anything to do with improving the quality of education for their students. Then, after one of the people responsible for the violence got arrested, they protested again for several more months. The students bedamned. The teachers here in Guerrero have been increasingly following their lead, though the quality of education has suffered most seriously here since Elba Esther Gordillo came to power as the head of the largest teacher's union back the same year I moved here in 1989.

It was during the so-called teachers' protests (it's an insult to the profession to call them teachers) of 2006 that the US photographer Brad Will was murdered.

Spent three weeks in Oaxaca last year. It is a great place but had continual teacher protests. I believe this is the worst place for education in Mexico based on the teachers. Understand there are few qualifications and the positions are passed down, not earned. A big problem in Oaxaca but still a lovely part of Mexico.
Walt

The Reforma Educativa that was passed by el Congreso in 2012-2013 as part of Presidente Enrique Peña Nieto's "Pacto por México" addresses the issue of teacher competency and eliminates the inheritance or sale of teaching positions. That's what's extraordinary about the news Mexalberta posted. Though it isn't a done deal, if the Oaxaca teachers and their union get their way it would be a huge blow to the intent of the Reforma Educativa. Teachers have been protesting this since long before it was a reform. For years and years teachers of Oaxaca as well as to a lesser degree the rest of the country have been wild-eyed about even discussing this reform, much less implementing it or the part of the reform that deals with teacher competency.

The plot thickens!