An unwanted duty
Is this Thai tradition pain or pleasure?
In many schools in Thailand, Thai teachers, as well as foreign teachers, take turns in standing at the school gate to greet parents and students. Two or more teachers are assigned, depending on the size of the school, to do this each day.
I've given up looking too
Postbox letter from Sir Heath
I made the mistake of bringing some first year students' problems to the attention of the head of the section last year. By September, after four and half year at this university, despite 'an excellent record of work' the university decided to let me go.
Why I decided to give up before I even started
Postbox letter from George
I was thinking of finding myself a teaching job in Thailand. However, after a lot of searching, interviews and demo lessons, I gave up.
We all have choices
Postbox letter from Jack
Yes, ESL job wages are pretty crappy and the salaries are lower here (considering inflation) than they were 10 to 15 years ago. So what?
Absolute pile of sh*te
Are the job ads really that bad?
A disgruntled ajarn.com reader wrote in to say that he had never seen such low quality job ads on the Thailand TEFL websites. Is he right in his assumption? And if so, what are the reasons?
This is an English-speaking only zone
Reflections from teaching in an English-only international school
Six weeks ago I started a new teaching job in Myanmar at an international school. The job and the school have surpassed my expectations and one of the most impressive things is that I can use complete sentences in the classroom and give directions in English and the students not only understand, but they respond with great English.
So many hurdles
Postbox letter from Fozzie
I am a non-native English speaker from Europe but I've been teaching here in Thailand for five years now and never had a problem with documents and being employed as a legal teacher. But now my school have told me that according to The Ministry of Education website (which I cannot check because the info in question is only available in Thai apparently) - I need to satisfy all of the following requirements.
Race and non-degree jobs
Postbox letter from Xandra Martin
I am a female teacher from South Africa. I am a person of colour (or coloured) in my country. I do not have a degree in any field - only a diploma. When doing my TEFL course and doing research on the internet, people painted a picture of how easy it would be to find a teaching job in Thailand. This however does not appear to be the case.
Dancing with coordinators
Sometimes it's better to keep teaching colleagues at arm's length
The next term is fast approaching and many schools have job openings. Have you decided to apply to another school and look for a new teaching job because you have some conflict with your coordinator? If you don't plan to leave then how do you handle the conflict?
Culture of insouciance
The Cambodian rubbish dump, and my not so final, final exam
Many of the students in my class with their fancy clothes, laptops, I-phones, and I-pads, rarely experience an atmosphere where true learning takes place. Outside of the odd serious teacher they may have encountered along the way, they also live and learn in a rubbish dump, an educational one.
