The very long list of jobs is an indication that, by in large, Thai government schools are NOT interested in the welfare of their students.  If the group of people who run the system did it properly there would not be so many openings listed.  The very long list is an indication that farangs can not stay at a school because the adminstration treats them so poorly.  Certainly there are exceptions to this, but what I have written is generally true.  Farangs are present in Thai schools for for the same reason people paint their houses - for show.  Any farang who is seriously interested in helping in the schools is considered a threat to those corrupt teachers and administrators who gain much financially and seeming think about little else.  The betterment of students is certainly on the bottom of their list.  So much for education which could help Thailand in the future. Sad

Ajarn.com replies - I think you’re losing sight of the status quo. The long list of job ads on ajarn.com - which happens every May and June - is because it’s the start of the new school term and schools of all kinds, not just government schools, need teachers. And there aren’t enough decent teachers to go round. OK, there will always be a percentage of schools who are changing teachers for the sheer sake of it, but in many cases, there are teachers - particularly the younger generation - who never intended to work here beyond a year or maybe two and they are returning home or possibly moving on to another country. Then there are the teachers leaving because they fancy a change of scenery and those teachers who are simply calling it a day and retiring or doing something else. There are lots of different folks out there.

Doug

Well, I was happily getting my connecting bus to the North when I realized that my wallet had gone - pick-pocketed. Now here’s where real humanity kicks in. Without a penny in my pocket, a random Thai woman noticing my distress, gives me her phone to call home for over an hour. My credit card company said they would send a new card (up to 5 days) and initiate the emergency cash option (48 hours) I thanked the woman for he amazing kindness. Still clearly hating the world and in desperate need of a wifi connection, I asked a street vendor if I could use their wifi and explain the circumstances.

She says ‘of course’ and in the meantime comes back to me 15 minutes later with a bag full of food, water, coke and an international dialling card. She gives me a hug and wishes me well reminding me that random kindness to those in need will always pass itself on. As I walk away I realize she’s put 1000 baht in my pocket. Shit happens when you travel, you lose cards etc. but what I never ever believed would be that there were so many generous, good-spirited people in the world who would help a traveller and stranger without expecting anything in return. I had a really crap 24 hours but it has reminded me that there some gems of people in this world.

Damien

I worked at a small government school in Bangphli with one other English guy and of course the Thai teachers. I have nothing but praise for all the teachers and staff at that school it was a great experience for me. Last September when I left, the kids and teachers were genuinely upset that I was leaving, and I was quite sad myself but I had made my decision. In fact I flew home after my last day. The kids made me cards, bought me presents and we had a fantastic last day - one I will always remember.

My job there was to teach English, maths and health which I enjoyed tremendously. A minority of the kids were hardworking and as we all know the rest were lazy and sometimes disruptive. It was an intensive programme so I had the kids all day. I just had the two classes which meant I had to do something to encourage the kids to work and a full day of English and maths needs breaking up. In England I was a fully qualified rugby league coach plus I had served with the Royal Marines in England. Now all of you teachers who need a helping hand to get your kids motivated read on.
 
The thought of using another book for health would tip most people over the edge so I told the kids that if they all gave maximum effort in English and maths I would take them outside and do some real exercise. Well the kids jumped at this idea. Here we are, books away, going down to the covered area used for assembly for our first session. The excitement was bubbling over and the kids were too. After a while they calmed down. I had already planned their exercise routine for that morning so I put them into four teams sat them down and explained what we were going to do, so far so good. About fifteen minutes into our exercises they started messing about so I took them back upstairs and got their books out. Lots of complaining and whingeing followed. I then explained that behaving during the exercise period was also a requirement not just for me but for their enjoyment. The next day down again and low and behold the smart kids got them in teams, sat down and we never looked back.

My classes were mixed boys and girls and the girls were just as keen as the boys. we would do a set routine running, different exercises for one hour. Thai kids don’t do any real keep fit stuff and this new thing that they had been introduced to was not only tiring but they were getting fit and having fun.  After a few days they would walk down in a line get into teams sit down and give maximum effort without any messing about. In the end we even had a big audience of parents and passers by each time we went out.

Every day after that the smart kids helped the other kids with their maths, everybody got involved in English and the class was fantastic. Never had I seen such a transformation in kids in a Thai school. As soon as I walked into the class it was what time is health? Same answer - once maths and English were finished.

These kids passed every test I set them after our keep fit regime started. Carrot and stick works every time if used properly, but I suppose it helps if you know what you are doing. I know all teachers don’t have the freedom I had but do try it if you can. Thai kids are very competitive once you get them playing against each other and they really do respond to teamwork. Hope this helps some of you folks out there. Try and enjoy.

I have been back home in England for seven months now and have never looked back. I got a job just after getting back and everything is looking up here now. I took my my Thai girl back with me and she loves it here. Thailand will always have a special space in my heart and so will all my ex-students who turned into real stars.

Stephen Salter

In response to Mr. Gravoso’s letter “Can’t Speak English?” (Postbox 23rd April) I have one request to ask of you - please don’t use our country, the Philippines, as an example of how great English flourished compared to what is happening in Thailand and Cambodia today. Let me explain why. We Filipinos were already familiar with the use of Latin writing symbols from the Spanish colonization of around 300 years. That made it easier for Filipinos in the past to learn English. If we had kept and used our own writing system the “Baybayin” today, then maybe things would be different. So in a way, we were “lucky” to have the Spanish and Americans colonize our country, so we could discard our original writing system.

As for teaching English here in Thailand or Cambodia, no matter how competent teachers are, English cannot be learned in school alone. Even if you’re the most effective English teacher in the whole world, a student will only learn English to full extent if he/she uses it outside of the classroom. There should be a lot of exposure to the use of English. So to learn English much more quickly, they usually go abroad in exchange programs, or find a way to interact with foreigners here all the time, or strictly read and watch English books and movies.

The difference will be on how the governments of each country adopts the use of the English language. Take for example Singapore, a country whose natives use at least 3 different languages, Chinese, Malay and Tamil. But they have higher English literacy because their government pushes the use of English not only in schools but in other forms such as signs, billboards, newspapers, government forms and many others. Maybe in bigger cities here such as Bangkok it is somewhat being implemented, but how about in the provinces? Maybe that explains why students in bigger cities tend to have higher literacy in English?

I am happy for you though Mr. Gravoso, and I hope you do well and have a great time in Cambodia. Of course I agree with you that we need competent teachers with qualifications, but in a country where there is less supply of it, they will still put people to fill those empty slots no matter how dumb they are. I just want to point out that all these problems of English literacy is not to blame on us teachers alone but to the environment our students live and breathe during their daily lives out of the classroom as well.

Juan de la Cruz

Hello, I’m writing this whilst sitting in a suburb of London, I have just left Thailand after 10 years of teaching, my wife and two children are in the process of getting their passports and visas to follow me here in the next couple of months. Why? Enough is enough, I really do love Thailand, my life has been there, my kids were born there, but no more teaching for me.

To be honest I could of carried on, but teaching is not a realistic career if you have children in Thailand. Firstly there is no guarantee for the future, be it one year or five years. Secondly, Thai schools and teachers have an amazing ability to lie. I recently signed a contract with my school, where I had been teaching for the last few years, only to be told that I wasn’t being paid for April and for the first half of May because the school was shut. I protested that I had already signed the contract, and that the contract was from April until April, one year, only to be told that this was only so the school could renew our work permits.

I was furious, I have two young mouths to feed, I wasn’t going to get paid for six weeks, I had never had any previous problems with the school, in fact I was the only falang teacher at the school amongst 10 foreign teachers, I speak Thai fluently and had always got on with the Thai teachers and all my teachers assessments had been positive, but the school would not budge, I spoke to them nicely, I tried to appeal. The school then decided to pay all of the foreign teachers for May. This was good news, however they stuck by their decision not to pay us for April. Finally, with a heavy heart I decided that I just couldn’t live like this any longer, my children are now the most important thing in my life and , without sounding corny, I just want what’s best for them, and sadly Thailand isn’t that.

Annoyed