| Q |
It’s been a few months
since our last hot seat, but I was contacted by Barrie Spark, a teacher who
has been here for three years and done ‘a ‘little bit of everything’ from
schools to private freelance work. Let’s get the story from a few different
angles. Barrie, you originally came here for a six-month holiday before
going back home to start university. So what things kept you here and do any
of them begin with ‘W’? |
| A |
To start with it was the scenery, the islands and the
beaches - they just rocked me, I was in paradise and I knew I wasn’t going
back. But yeah, a woman did get me after only 3 months of having a great
time here and I was in love - and I guess the downward descent began. |
| Q |
In the three years
you’ve been here, what kind of teaching work have you enjoyed the most? |
| A |
The English camps! I’ve worked for schools and agencies
but it’s all pretty much the same gig. The camps are SO cool, the moneys not
too great but I’ve seen so much of the country and had such a good time
doing it - getting paid to swim and play volleyball is the lick! |
| Q |
Is the lick? Oh how it must feel to be
young! Tell us about the government school gigs. Fifty kids in a classroom
has never appealed to me. Is it really that bad? |
| A |
The school I’m in now, I’ve had a result because my
classes are limited to 30, so I’m on to quite a good un, except for the
sitting around after classes waiting for “home time”. But I did do the 55
kids bit for almost an entire semester. I found that you're really not
making any difference unless its entertaining, and even then its only
entertainment not education but with classes that size and the heat and lack
of organization/communication, you do what you can…….you entertain
basically. |
| Q |
You’ve also gone down the freelance
teaching route, but in your email to me it sounded as though it wasn’t that
successful? |
| A |
It’s another one of my ventures that hasn’t got off the
ground yet. I have a number of business ideas and hopefully in time I’ll be
able to accomplish them, but right now I’m concentrating on my house and
garden. All work and no play…… but with that in mind, if anyone’s been
trying to get hold of catnip…… |
| Q |
What are the tips you would give to
anyone, wanting to try their hand at freelance work? |
| A |
1. Don’t tell anyone who you work with your ideas.
2. Don’t rely on anyone to help you advertise or promote yourself.
3. If you are planning to teach privately, at least try and do it well.
4. Volunteering is an excellent way of gaining new contacts.
5. Try try try, and bite your lip. You’re a guest here, and I’ll bet you
weren’t invited. Don’t expect people to bow down to your western greatness.
|
| Q |
Come
on then. Let’s get down to it. Firstly, the worst teaching colleague you’ve
ever had? |
| A |
Ok, I've had a few crappy colleagues, mostly drinkers
and/or deviants. I try to not associate with other teachers because I feel
that we are tarred with the same brush enough as it is. The teacher that
sticks in my mind was at a very upper class school and made a point of going
for massages in the hours between classes, 2-3 a day. He’d come back walking
on air, explaining to everyone in the office where, why and how good etc |
| Q |
What about the worst class you’ve ever
taught? Can you actually narrow things down to the worst student? |
| A |
The school that I was teaching 55 kids had the worst
class, they were 2nd years and full of attitude and sugar. It was a complete
waste of all our time, but I did what I could to keep them listening. Role
plays and dialogues…..
But… my worst student is in the school i'm teaching at now, she's a mathiom
1 with a M3 ‘boyfriend’ so she spends every minute of every lesson of every
week etc, playing with her hair, rechecking her face in her mirror, ignoring
everything I say and disrupting everyone around her - mostly as they’re
mocking her pathetic behaviour. |
| Q |
Where’s the best place for a visa run?
Have you done that many? |
| A |
Oh man, I've been doing them for almost 2 years solid -
Cambodia mainly and only really becaues it's 48 baht on the train. That is
one of the worst things that I have to take care of, and i'm on my 5th
passport now since I arrived.
Not only did I get robbed, twice, I was also lucky enough to get a fake
stamp in my 3rd passport when the ’crackdown’ occurred last year, so on
trying to leave the land of a million ……… the immigration people hi-fived
each other and escorted me to the office amongst the other criminals. Along
with another traveler we decided to pick our passports off the desk and just
walk out, which we did. It wasn’t until I was on the back of the m/bike that
I heard “You!, You!’ but I didn’t look back. That was my 3rd, so I went and
checked back in at wireless rd. After considerable deliberation offered me a
12 month passport (number4). |
| Q |
You've got balls man. It’s an old
chestnut but I still like it – do you see things getting worse or better for
qualified English teachers in Thailand? |
| A |
Better in terms of opportunities available. With so
many language centres, agents and what not, it is definitely easier to find
work now, but as far as quality and reasonable conditions I think its
getting steadily worse. I blame the greedy people who offer but don’t
deliver and the unqualified, getting by with their skin tone ‘teachers’ who
put in a days work here and there and then disappear leaving the students to
struggle with 12 tutors in a 8 week course. |
| Q |
What about for those
who are winging it with little experience, little ability and perhaps a
degree of dubious origin? |
| A |
Go away, don’t waste our time or the kids’ time, just
keep on going. Can’t stand ya!! |
| Q |
Righto! I’m getting a
lot of hate mail from Filipinos because they think I don’t rate them as
worthy of the title native-speaker standard. Can I count on your support
here |
| A |
Sorry mate, cant back you up there, my colleague here
is a Filipino, and I must say, before I worked with him I wouldn’t have had
a clue, but he is a good teacher, good accent, right attitude, and the kids
like him. |
| Q |
Where’s home in
Thailand Barrie? I forgot to ask. |
| A |
I recently moved into a house in Onnut (Sukhumwit)
It’s a nice change from the condo lifestyle but its also got its downsides -
junkie neighbours, mechanics, other neighbours, and a hefty rent. But I've
got myself a big garden, so I'm happy for now. |
| Q |
Three things that most
piss you off about living here? |
| A |
Lack of sincerity, lack of honesty, shit food,
xenophobia, nasty ex-pats, spoilt kids, shit traffic, shittier pathways, mai
pen rai, oh 3. Sorry. |
| Q |
Get it
out of your system mate. Have you ever gone to work with a terrible hangover
and thrown up in the corridor, worse still – over the academic director? |
| A |
Never, but I'm not a big drinker at
all. That said, I’ve turned up hours late and not at all on a few occasion.
I did tell the director of a school once that he wouldn’t look at me while
he was talking to me.....so I wouldn’t listen to him. I think I lasted about
2 weeks there. |
| Q |
What’s your attitude
towards teacher meetings – complete waste of time or a great chance to learn
from others even if it means giving up a Friday afternoon? |
| A |
Waste of time, but mine's Wednesday
not Friday. I wouldn’t mind if the meetings were held in English, especially
as they are English programme meetings (which I don’t get paid for) but as
it's all in Thai and most of the ‘teachers’ just kiss the directors arse, I
find the entire 2 hours a complete insult.
PS. I don’t appreciate making lesson plans that other ‘teachers’ can just
rip off as they see fit. |
| |
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