| Q |
Anthony, welcome to the ajarn hot seat.
You're in your mid-40s and hail from Manchester in the sunny North of
England. What else do you have on your resume in the personal information
section? |
| A |
Well as far as teaching
goes, very little. I had been in retail management for the majority of my
working life prior to coming here after serving in the RAF for several years
and studying History at Manchester University. My last few years before
moving out here were spent managing shops, and any experience at passing on
any knowledge I had was mostly in staff training (one of the reasons I take
with a fistful of salt any remark akin to “I used to train crane drivers
back home.”, in answer to “What experience do you have in teaching?”). |
| Q |
What
originally brought you to Thailand in the late 90's then? |
| A |
My
step-parents were living here at the time. I hadn’t seen them for many years
and in fact hadn’t had a holiday for 10 years myself. Circumstances found me
in a position whereby I was alone, so I decided to take a break and visit
them. Being a naïve type, I did the usual tourist things and had such a
great time (yes, I met someone), that I decided I’d come back and give
living here a go. Of course my step-father was appalled and was utterly
against the idea, but stupidity overcame common sense and I returned a short
time after returning to UK. |
| Q |
You said
that you were initially 'thrown in a classroom with a group of expectant
adults'. Tell us a little more about how that came about? |
| A |
Well, upon
my return, I began scouring the local press for suitable job
opportunities. Of course there were none (or none in which I might
be able to apply my experience), but what did become immediately
apparent was the prevalence of opportunities to teach English.
Native speakers, no experience necessary, full training given etc,
etc… Thus, choosing an ad (at random), a phone call found me talking
with a straight-talking Yorkshireman, who invited me along for an
“interview”. I turned up in the expensive suit I’d purchased
immediately prior to leaving UK, with which the DOS was suitably
impressed, and the “interview” went very well. Well enough in fact,
that I was offered a part-time position and an adult class for the
following Monday.
“Damn, I’m
good.”, I thought to myself as I left, some 3 minutes after
arriving. (Little did I know at the time of course that nothing
short of turning up in a pink tutu and whistling Dixie would have
gotten me the job.) The following Monday, and turning up in plenty
of time to receive my full training, I was promptly handed a marker
and pointed towards the classroom with the DOS’s words ringing in my
ears… “Go get ‘em tiger.”
Striding through the door with a confident air, I found myself
confronted by about 10 adults sitting in lecture chairs, who,
although being thoroughly impressed with my appearance, looked at me
quite expectantly; and so, drawing upon all my training, I began my
lesson with the words “Now what do I do?”
Luckily,
there was an experienced student in the class (you know, one of
those students who’s been studying for years and really knows how
she should be taught level 1 conversation), who chipped in with a
quick “Why not start with the alphabet?”, “Yes of course!” was my
answer and things kind of degraded from there. Quite possibly the
longest 2 hours of my entire life. I could go on, but to cut this
long story short, things continued in much the same vein for around
6 months before I finally figured out exactly what was required of
me and how I should be going about it.
|
| Q |
You've
been a DOS for eight years. Without naming the school (because we shouldn't
really do that) how would the organisation be summarized in a glossy
brochure? |
| A |
Difficult one. If I was
brutally frank, I’d say something along the lines of “If you want to study
English, you might as well do it with us. It’s not that we’re better than
anyone else, but we might be nearer. ”Ok maybe that’s a little unfair,
perhaps something akin to “We try our best.” Might be more appropriate. |
| Q |
And how would you summarize the
organisation if you were talking to a bunch of mates in the pub? |
| A |
I’m not sure if you could
print what I’d say. However, I’d probably tell them that this company
(though not the teaching part of it), is the worst company I’ve ever had the
misfortune to work for. To which they’d undoubtedly reply, “Tell us
something we don’t already know.”
I could go into much further detail here, but I’m having a beer with my
mates. |
| Q |
I was a
DOS myself once upon a time for about six months and hated every minute of
it. I took care of about 20 teachers in two branches. What were your numbers
like? |
| A |
I’ve had a maximum of
around 25 teachers in one branch, including 3 Thai Grammar teachers.
Managing people from many varied backgrounds can be challenging to say the
least, but it needn’t be a chore, in fact, I enjoy it immensely. That was a
few years ago now.
Student numbers the last couple of years have been
down (due in the main to the economy - or at least I like to think so) and
consequently the number of teachers. There are currently 16 or so at my
branch including Thais. |
| Q |
The main
reason I hated the job was because you became a combination of immigration
advisor, accommodation agent, and general shoulder to cry on, especially for
new teachers. has your experience been the same? |
| A |
Yes, but perhaps more a
few years ago than now. Thanks to sites such as this one, information
regarding the things you mention is more readily available. In fact
ajarn.com is widely regarded as one of the best places to get the latest
info.
Of course I am (rightly or wrongly) expected to and have provided
information about places to live, additional work, visas and such and an to
be ear when it’s needed, but I consider it part of my job. It’s not a
problem for me. The dealing with people part of the job is where my
experience comes in. Everyone is an individual and needs to be treated
differently and respectfully, that’s what I try to do and I think I do it
well. |
| Q |
I really
do think that if you operate a 'my door is always open' policy, you're
opening yourself up to a whole heap of trouble. You certainly won't get any
academic work done. Agreed? |
| A |
All my
teachers know that they can contact me anytime for any reason if
necessary. I might well moan if they do in the middle of the night,
but I’d rather they did than didn’t. If something is within my power
to do, I’ll try to do it, not only with regards to work related
issues.
In all
honesty though, if you take the DOS job on, you also accept all the
extras that it entails. In many instances, you are not merely the
head teacher or manager or boss (a word I don’t use), but you are
the main focus for everything for all the teachers. You find
yourself the link through which they all communicate information,
ask for guidance and in fact pretty much anything. Much of this can
be allayed of course by employing people who are capable of doing
things for themselves. That way having been shown a couple of times
they shouldn’t be constantly nagging you for stuff (theoretically).
|
| Q |
I love
hearing stories about teachers you've fired. Let's call him John Smith.
Who's the worst teacher you've ever fired and why? |
| A |
I know John Smith very
well. It’s amazing just how many John Smiths you come across here. The main
reason one meets so many John Smiths, is that John Smith happens to be a
native speaker who wants to stay here so what else can he do? (Yes, I’m
aware of the irony.)
I should explain that I started managing this branch after my ex-assistant
DOS had passed on and there had been a period of some months before I
arrived. The teaching staff (the bulk of whom were and still are part-time),
were to say the least leaving a bit to be desired. Always the diplomat
however, I didn’t go in with all guns blazing, but gently and supportively,
offering all the opportunity to show me they were deserving of more work and
allowing all to come to me for guidance if it was needed. Rumours of me
going into classes and observing lessons abounded and I certainly rattled a
few with my “ I’m actually here to do something” approach.
Oh yes, John. He was employed at the branch I moved to (before I arrived
there), his lesson plans consisted of full length movies for all levels
(write down any words you catch but don’t know – I’ll explain them
afterwards), and concealing cans of Leo under the desk during morning
classes. |
| Q |
In all
your years as a DOS, what's been your proudest achievement? |
| A |
That’s a difficult
question to answer, mostly because pride is not something I would usually
associate myself with. Satisfaction however, I would, and what perhaps
satisfies me the most is that I helped a lot of people achieve something;
teachers and students alike. Oh yes, and lasting as long as I have. |
| Q |
So you
once had an assistant DOS who became so stressed out that he keeled over
with a heart attack right? Blimey. |
| A |
That’s right. The story is
a long one, and some details I can’t mention, but he took on the job of DOS
at another branch when he really didn’t need to. He had high blood pressure
to start with, some other issues at the time too, and he wasn’t the sort to
keep his head in a crises. The oft said jibe “You’ll give yourself a heart
attack if you carry on like this!”, unfortunately came true. |
| Q |
It can be
an extremely stressful job though? |
| A |
It can easily become a
very stressful job if you allow it to.
However, I’ve had a lot of experience on the man management side, and I’ve
learned over the years to employ people who have a degree of common sense
and can do as much for themselves as I can for them. It’s easy for people in
a management situation to consider themselves the only person capable of
doing something, when in fact it isn’t. The trick is to employ people who
are as capable as you are. The dealing with teachers and their issues does
not cause me any pressure. Luckily you didn’t ask me about my boss. |
| Q |
I felt
that I never had what it took to be a DOS. You obviously did. What are the
qualities one needs? |
| A |
The most important quality
is patience. If you aren’t patient then forget it. Understanding, genuine
interest empathy and experience are all in there too. Life tools more than
anything particularly academic. |
| Q |
If you got
the chance to open your very own language school, how would you go about
making a success of it? |
| A |
I think that most people
who teach here, at some point, think to themselves “I could open a school of
my own.”, and probably do it better. I’ve thought that too and I know a few
who have also tried, and failed. I think the most important points are to
maintain quality over quantity (unfortunately not that easy when you’re
being pressured to open classes using teachers who I wouldn’t, given the
choice), and to promote an environment conducive to learning and teaching.
I wouldn’t be pressured into opening classes using teachers not of the
standard I expect, as I have been forced to, but then, money is not my
motivation. |
| Q |
Complete
the sentence 'Teaching in Thailand can...................'? |
| A |
…be, at one and the same
time, the most difficult, frustrating, challenging, pleasing, satisfying and
rewarding things one can do. |
