While I think that Thailand's move toward teacher licensing is a positive thing for students, it seems to me that the TCT's implementation of the new 'provisional permit' (to replace the old 'waiver' letter for not having a teaching license) will have disastrous effects on the availability of foreign teachers, especially NES, in Thailand, with only 2½ years before AEC 2015 begins. In my opinion, this implementation is ill-timed.

If I'm correct in my assumption, when a foreign teacher's current 'waiver' letter expires, then that teacher must meet the requirements for the new 'provisional permit' if the teacher doesn't possess a teaching license. This conversion process will probably take another year or so, given that some 2-year 'waiver' letters have probably been issued earlier this year. The 'provisional permit' states that all foreign teachers must have a degree. Consequently, non-degreed foreign teachers cannot be hired at primary and secondary government schools, except for the 10K program (I think).

Many non-degreed teachers will soon leave for China, Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam. My school is losing a competent non-degreed NES (whose 'waiver' letter expires the end of August) before Term 1 ends. An agency has supplied my school with 5 different foreign teachers for M2's two MEP classes, and Term 1 hasn't finished yet. Where is the continuity in learning? How does this help the students prepare for AEC 2015?

There are some competent non-degreed NES teachers in Thailand, and their exclusion from being job applicants increases the current serious depletion of available NES in Thailand. Teacher agencies are having a difficult time finding NES for EP and MEP programs because of the implementation of the 'provisional permit', so this situation will only be compounded in 2013 when more 'waiver' letters expire for non-degreed NES.

If Thailand wants its students to learn English by 2015, then Thailand must increase the supply of NES, not decrease it.

Ajarn Jim

Please remember that Thailand is still a developing country. Give the Thais time to develop their own social conscience instead of trying to impose your own values on them. The all-inclusive society which you may or may not enjoy in your home country took hundreds of years to develop, and in many cases (although underpinned by law) still doesn't function properly. Please also remember that you are a guest in a foreign counrty, and you have been granted permission to work - how easy was that? I'm sure a Thai person would face many more hurdles to become legally employed in your home country.

I'm actually just a realist, and I also belong to at least three groups which are regularly discriminated against in job ads here (race, age and gender). Am I bitter? No, I only apply for the jobs that suit me, and where I suit the employer. So please stop moaning about how badly foreigners are treated here. It's not that long ago that South Africans weren't allowed to use the same bathroom as a white person in your own country. Give Thailand a chance to catch up. A still developing economy will not withstand the restrictions placed upon it by a Western mindset - or do you want Thailand to go backwards, but with a clear social conscience?

Ajarn.com - these are all great comments, but if we have a situation where one poster is having an on-line conversation / argument / disagreement, etc, etc with another poster, then it becomes a discussion forum and not a letters section. Thank you for your understanding.

Del

As a ‘non white’ American (Hispanic), I was a little discontent about Del’s views on employment here in Thailand (Racism? Ajarn Postbox 31st July 2012) Since living here in the country since 2009, I’ve seen first-hand the ill treatment of foreigners (specifically when it comes to race). For me, gaining employment here was not an easy path and at first, it was very difficult for me to get a job most pointedly because I was not Caucasian (not because of a lack of qualifications).

I eventually landed a job and finally got my foot in the door with the profession I wanted to do, but in the end, the school and agency were just not optimal. Three years later, after some trials and tribulations I’m now happily wired into a great school in Bangkok. The company treats their foreign employees well, holds no reservations about having a diverse group of teaching professionals, instructors enjoy a nice salary, good co-workers to work with, and I would not trade any of this for another job. I’m very happy where I am now but will never forget the road I had to take to get here.

However, when I read comments like Del’s and see ads like the one that accidentally made its way onto the site, it only opens some of the old wounds and scars I’ve had to experience in the past.
I have worked alongside people who have sounded very similar to him who openly critiqued foreign teachers of other ethnicities I worked with, and questioning his or her relevant candidacy to a particular position. By the way, as a minority I speak with a crystal clear accent being brought up on the east coast of the U.S, have multiple credentials, (including a teachers’ license), and a lot of experience in the classroom.

I would love for Del to be in my shoes when I was looking for employment and then trying to spout these same views. Equality is something that he’s apparently not in favor of by his voiced opinion of so called “pampering”. How do you know pampering exists? Are you an employment expert? To quote, “Why do people feel so aggrieved so easily?” Why? Well simply because it’s unfair and unequal treatment.

When you have foreigners who are only cherishing a Thai kind of mentality and using veiled racism to get his or her point across, they’re only trying to say one thing without actually saying it.
To take another quote, “Every employer has an idea of how their ideal candidate should be, and if this includes race, gender, age etc, why not include it in the ad?” Essentially, the only sound byte that’s said here is, “Embrace discrimination in 2012”.

I would like to personally commend Bangkok Phil’s efforts to work on behalf of all foreigners here in Thailand in regards to employment. Thank you also to your action to the most recent problem with that one employer conspicuously posting the rather disconcerting ad a few days ago. Your service is of great appreciation and much respect to you sir.

Jeff

Regarding the letter on 'blatant racism' (Ajarn Postbox 31st July 2012) In the past I have been judged so much not by what I can bring to the teaching and the students but by the color of my skin - which I am proud to say is brown. I am an Indian.

There was an instance several years back when I was asked to teach at a private language school in addition to my regular job. I loved the high school students and loved the teaching. The students were doing well.But after a week the owner came up to me very apologetically and said I might have to stop. I was baffled and asked him if there was something wrong in the way I taught. He said the students were happy but their parents wanted a 'farang' teacher to teach them. I was upset since I really liked the students- they were a wonderful bunch.

So now, who's to blame? My two 'takas' worth of advice. Let us keep the focus on educational credentials , pronunciation, sincerity and work ethics when hiring English teachers. The world is going global and so must we!

Sudharani Subramanian

I would like to add to the discrimination argument concerning ads asking for ‘white teachers only’ by asking why there are quite a number of schools asking for female teachers only? I am looking for a decent gig up in Chiang Mai and was put off recently by a few ads asking for females only. If these are genuine female-only schools with strictly female staff (or convents) then I can accept this but I read somewhere else on this website that recruiters are wary of single farang males looking to settle in Thailand. The given reason for being suspicious is that there is a universally held view that male teachers are in the Land of Smiles for the boozing and whoring. I know many guys are here for exactly these reasons – but not everyone. Is it lawful for recruiters to discriminate in this way and does this breach the same act that prevents recruiters asking for whites only? The ads I’m referring to don’t go into any reasonable detail as to why the fairer sex is sought but I feel like calling a few and asking why!

Ajarn.com - Paul, I think you'll find many kindergarten schools or those involved in the teaching of young children would rather employ a female teacher than a male teacher nowadays. I don't think we need to go into detail - we all know why. It has nothing to do with 'boozing and whoring'. There are some fine male childrens teachers around but females just present far less of a risk. End of story.

Paul Watson

In response to the "Blatant Racism" letter (Ajarn Postbox 31st July 2012), I feel this is more a selection process than racism. Every employer has an idea of how their ideal candidate should be, and if this includes race, gender, age etc, why not include it in the ad? In so-called developed countries, the pampering of every little minority group has gone too far, forcing employers to accept applications and interview people who are not their ideal candidates. This wastes a lot of time and resources on both sides. Personally, I prefer job ads to be as specific as possible. I don't want to waste my time applying for jobs when I have no chance of getting the job because I'm the wrong sex, too old, too young or of the wrong nationality.

It's the employer who pays the salary at the end of the month, so shouldn't they be allowed to specify who they want? Even agencies have to supply employees according to the schools' needs. Why do people feel so aggrieved so easily? Women are upset if a man is specified and vice-versa. Elder people are annoyed if an age limit is set. Just accept it is in your own best interests and save your time and energy by not applying for jobs if you are not what the employer wants!

Del

Dear Phil
It appears that racial discrimination in advertising is alive and well in Thailand.I was appalled to see an advertisement on Ajarn.com which unashamedly advertised for Canadian, U.S.A, Nz, Australian, British, Irish and WHITE south African teachers. the requirement for all advertised positions was native speaker + Caucasian (spelt 'corcasion' in the Ad.) I am quite certain that such advertising is in breach of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights of which Thailand is a signatory. I am considering making a formal complaint in this regard.

Article 2.
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Requiring Native Speakers is one thing however stipulating "whites only" is another thing altogether. It is reminiscent of apartheid in South Africa.

This is not mant as a criticism of Ajarn.com, however I do believe that the site has an obligation not to accept advertising that is racially biased. As an aside, apart from the racist overtones, the grammar and spelling in the ad is absolutely appalling. Sadly, while teacher recruitment agencies are allowed to continue in this vein, Thai education will continue to fall apart at the seams.

Yours faithfully

Robert J Holmes
BA Dip Ed LLb LLM

Phil from ajarn.com replies
Hi Robert. Many thanks for bringing the job ad to my attention. Yes, it is racist. Yes, I am every bit as appalled as you are. And yes, job ads like this have no place on the ajarn website. The simple fact is that I missed it. I quickly check the content of every job ad before I post them but obviously I skimmed through this particular job ad a little too quickly this time around.

Thankfully, there are only a handful - literally a handful of job advertisers who I have to pull up for posting job ads stating that they are looking to recruit 'white teachers only'. But of course it's still a handful too many. My normal modus operandi is to then actually call the advertiser on the phone and try to shame them in some way. What's unbelievable in most cases is that although the advertiser is genuinely ashamed and promises it won't happen again, there are still those who think to put 'white teachers only' in a job ad is still perfectably acceptable in this day and age. What's even more unbelievable is that these people are involved in education. One of the most common 'excuses' I hear from teacher placement agencies is "but the school has insisted that I supply them with a white teacher" I then have to explain to the advertiser that we are living in 2012, etc.

Anyway, the main point I wanted to make is that I do check job ads for this kind of blatant racism. But I missed this one unfortunately. Bad spelling and grammar in job ads? That's something completely different. Even though I think it reflects badly on the advertiser and their institute, few non-native English speaking advertisers really seem to care. I've suggested to many non-native English speaking advertisers that they should get a native English speaker to compile and proofread their ads but nothing changes in most cases. You can lead a horse to water.............

Robert

Dear Prospective Bangkok Employer:

I'm a 53-year old American expat with a BA in journalism, a 120-hour TESOL certificate, a 40-hour TEFL certificate, and a 30-hour IELTS training certificate, a weekend short course of IELTS speaking examiner training with the British Council, and 10 years of teaching experience in four countries – South Korea, China, Vietnam, and Thailand. In short, I’m a garden-variety, good-for-nothing, dime-a-dozen underachieving drifter seeking a cushy college gig teaching 16 45-minute classes a week with no office hours and a rent-free 90 sq.m apartment for around $900US a month after taxes.

In my last two positions, I wasted my time and my life of quiet TEFL desperation at an all-girl’s government school off the Hua Lamphong BTS station sweating direly in dreary and dilapidated non-air-conditioned classrooms beneath depressing rows of old, broken-down fans babysitting on average forty bored, clueless, and mediocre mathayom students who neither understood nor cared about the value of learning English as a foreign language.

My starting and ending salary, which amounted to and equaled one month of employment before I quit post haste, was 36,000 baht. For this salary I was required to pay a 20 baht round-trip to ride a motorcycle five minutes to an MRT station and a 74 baht round-trip to ride the train 40 minutes, then walk 20 minutes to school and teach 19 classes a week plus one English Club a month.

The textbooks and curriculum, designed by a big Bangkok teacher-placement agency, were absurd at worst and mediocre at best, and getting students to follow the lessons and write in their workbooks, much less to understand the inconsistently graded and poorly conceived material, was like trying to get a romper room of cheeky monkeys to focus on drying whiteboard ink.

My three foreign colleagues were equally dispensable flunkies with varying levels of experience in the TEFL trenches, but all were seemingly stuck in the rut of going through the motions of pretending to be teachers for the sake of a paycheck. Despite their outward ability to show up and punch in they were, like so many other government school babysitters in the Land of Smiles, secretly trudging and frowning upon their lowly positions with dislike and disappointment while riding it out for the semester break.

My other job was at a training institute in Bangkok, where I was paid 500 baht an hour to teach teens and kids an extra 8 hours per week. The students were fine, and the school was adequately run and the work fairly enjoyable, but the commute, which included more MRT and BTS fares and considerable traveling and walking time between schools and stations, was too burdensome and unproductive in my book.

So, I’m heading back to China and that job I was seeking. I may be a slacker but it sure beats banging my head against the wall in Bangkok, any day of the week.

Mel

Regarding two recent posts in the Ajarn Postbox, 'Thailand So Far Behind' (by Mr. Russell, 29th June 2012) and 'Keeping Foreign Teachers' (by Paul, 3rd July 2012), I concur that Thais are very rude to us for saying 'farang' and 'Hey you!'. After 10 years teaching here, it gets under my skin, too, and makes me question why the rich Thai culture hasn't really learned to treat non-Thais with respect and politeness. The two aforementioned articles talk about some situations that occur due to the MoE's inability to implement a practical English program and to treat foreigner teachers properly.

It's my opinion that the MoE must move away from the policy of 'English for everyone.' Of course, this idea conflicts with Thai culture in which everyone must do, wear, and say exactly the same things. With all the seminars that Thai administrators and teachers attend, it's beyond me why they still don't understand language acquisition. Receiving one or two periods of English per week doesn't amount to much with regards to mastering vocabulary and language structures. Very little information will be transferred from short-term to long-term memory. The best classes (every school has them) with the hardest working and most appreciative students should receive multiple periods per week to have successful language acquisition.

Outside of MEP and EP programs, why are government schools fixated on NES teachers doing so much conversation? From what I understand, the English section of the university exams covers reading, comprehension, vocabulary, and grammar. No speaking, no writing, no listening, all multiple choice. The first rule of testing is 'test what you teach.' I'm not saying that conversation isn't important or that conversation should be eliminated. I'm saying the focus should be on making Thai students better readers if you're going to test them in M6 on reading, comprehension, and vocabulary. But also include conversation and grammar. Good teachers know how to integrate these skill areas.

In a nutshell, the ineffectiveness of the Thai education system is rooted in an archaic (but proud) system of (a) image over substance, (b) top-down management, (c) 'mai pen rai', (d) xenophobia, and (e) 'losing face', and (f) the lack of any accountability, reliability, and dependability. The MoE keeps putting plasters/bandages, like naming 500 World Class Schools (Was there any improvement? Again, image over substance.), on a huge open wound that needs immediate surgery or the possible amputation of a limb.

Ajarn Jim

How will Thailand prevent their slide towards last place in the ASEAN economic community when they can't keep foreign teachers? The Government in Bangkok make the request, but many educators can't seem to accept the help that they are given. My recent experience in government schools demonstrates that old-fashion ideas are more important to the older generation than in teaching the children.

I was an English teacher at an elementary school in isaan until the school decided that my supervisor's image was more important than the education of the children at the school. Instead of teaching the children full-time as informed, I was taken around as the token white teacher to seminars to teach English to Thai teachers, but really as an object to improve my supervisor's image. I was told that I would get a certain amount of money for these events, though I received less.

I was always told about these seminars at the last minute and never told what would be discussed. I was offen abused verbally by my supervisor, her calling me "YOU! Do this!", even though she knows my name. While reading something to the group of teachers, my supervisor would suddenly pull away the material if I was not speaking English to her liking. It must have been silly of me to think that my being born, raised and educated in the USA to the point of earning a Bachelor's degree was enough to say that I know something of English. The end came when the director of the school said that it was better I go rather than a polite resolution between my supervisor and I be attempted. So much for an interest in the wellfare of the students.

If this Thai educator (and many others exist) knows so much about English, why is the government in Bangkok spending millions of Baht for foreign teachers? I guess that supporting older people's egos is more important than children learning English and improving their lives. We can't have that happen in Thailand!

Paul