When John Dunbar got offered a job in Mexico City, he didn't have to think twice before accepting. It was the late 1970s and the Dubliner, who had just left the priesthood, didn't feel Ireland had much to offer him. In 1996, he opened Campo Escuela San Jose, a private college in Cancun where he works as a teacher. He is also active in the scout movement.
Tell us a bit about your background?
I’m from the Kilmacud Dundrum area of Dublin, which in those days was more the country than the city. A close-knit group moved into the area and it kept that way for years. I was born in 1956 just in time to grow up in the mad 1960s. In 1972 I joined the priesthood but left that in 1978. After that I did some work as cashier at the then Burlington Hotel, but I decided that being stuck in a windowless office wasn’t for me and returned on a one-way ticket to Mexico where I had done some missionary work with a wonderful bunch of Irish missionaries.
Why did you decide to leave Ireland?
Leaving Ireland was not a choice, it was the end of the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s – it was the only option really. Things were rough in Ireland at the time and having left the priesthood . . . well, it was like getting derailed and sent into the unknown.
Why did you choose Mexico?
I had got a job offer through a fellow I had studied with and, being young and carefree, I bought a one-way ticket and ended up in Mexico City teaching English and social sciences. Then when I was on a wood badge course for scouts in Merida, Yucatan, I met Armando Castillo, who is now a close friend and also my business partner. He invited me to teach at the newly-opened De La Salle School.
Cancun was a new town on the Mexican Caribbean with sandy beaches and a tropical climate so I didn’t think twice and moved here in 1979. I did a few diploma courses at the La Salle University in Mexico City and passed the National Department of Education examination for English teachers and was able to legally teach here.
What do you do now?
After working at La Salle, we formed a civil association and opened a free school for the poorer members of the local community. That’s been going now for more than 22 years. Then we opened Campo Escuela San Jose, a private collage, in 1996.
I teach English and social sciences at secondary and preparatory level. Classes are all taught through Spanish. The school day starts bright and early at 7am and ends at 3pm. It’s a long day but there are two study periods at the end of the school day when students do their “homework” which is programmed with no more than three to four exercises per day. The advantage is that the students know that there is a staff member available to answer any questions and they are free to go ask them.
After school, there is the option of taking extracurricular activities from 3pm to 5pm, these range from cultural activities such as music, art, chess, drama, choir to physical ones which include swimming, basketball, football, canoeing. So students go home happy. Homework is done and activities over with. And families have quality time together in the evenings.
Do you think you would have had the same opportunities if you had stayed in Ireland?
No, I doubt it. Owning a private college in Ireland? Having more than 600 students from playschool to high school, having taught many generations of wonderful Mexican students? No, that wouldn’t have happened.
How does teaching in Mexico compare to Ireland, or other locations?
One of the greatest things about teaching here is the close relationship that forms between students and you as a teacher. My brother Niall is always amazed that I keep close contact with my ex-students, getting together with them, going out for a meal and a drink, being there whenever they need me, being their confidant. I have over the years helped to baptize and marry many and, unfortunately, buried a few too.
A working day is 7am to 3pm, generally you do five or six 50-minute periods in a day. Other staff duties include greeting and saying goodbye at the gate, keeping an eye on the recreational period and covering now and again for a member who is sick or unwell.
The pay is a lot less than it would be in Ireland, but there again one lives very well on the salary. I have a better lifestyle here on what I earn than if I lived in Ireland on the same pay equivalent. Teachers are respected and their opinions are valued. In smaller communities they are an important figure. To a point that they have a national holiday; May 15th is Teachers’ Day (Dia del Maestro).
How does the education system compare to Ireland?
We have public and private education. Government-run schools have short days, generally five hours of basic studies. A lot of public schools operate on a double shift: some students go from 7am to midday and others from 1pm to 6pm in the evening. The staff are generally over-worked. Standards in some areas are a bit low.
It’s not easy to grade education in Mexico, a country of 122 million. There are more than 65 ethnic groups with their languages and cultures. There are floating populations in the large tourist areas and urban centres such as Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey. There are communities isolated in the mountains of Chiapas or the vast regions of Chihuahua and Sonora. In some parts education is not a priority, feeding a family and getting by day to day is.
Private education is in high demand. Every city and town has many “private” colleges, which are generally considered to provide a better education. They vary in cost. Private universities such as La Salle, Tec de Monterrey and Universidad Anahuac compete with state and national universities such as UNAM, which has a student population of more than 350,000, and Politecnico Nacional.
What is life like in Mexico for you?
Life outside school? It’s wonderful. Scouting takes up a large part of it. I’m a member of our National Council and review team for training adults in scouting at the world office. Helping to organise national and international events are all part of the fun of making this world a better place. Taking a group of my students to Ireland every year is a highlight. It’s great to see them enjoy Ireland so much. I’m a fanatic when it comes to Mexican cuisine and culture. I enjoy studying the local Mayan culture and language. I love travelling.
What are your future plans?
When you get to my age plans are not important, I don’t plan I just go along for the ride or for what’s left of it. Making people happy, bringing a smile to my students’ faces, passing on life’s experiences to my fellow scouts, getting home to see family every year, tossing a fly on a beautiful Irish lake, a pint or a sip of whiskey in a pub, those are the plans. Life has been good.
Any advice to share?
The “job” is not important; it’s the attitude that you have towards it that is. Do something that you enjoy, work at something you have a passion for. If selling oranges on the corner is what makes you happy, well sell oranges! Think positive. Find something good in every morning and say thanks to whoever you believe in at the end of the day. Be kind to others. Treat them as you would like to be treated and go around with a grin and not a frown on your face – people will wonder what the hell you’ve been up to.
