The flipside of teacher agencies
Reasons that a teacher agency could be good for some teachers
Teacher agencies are just like people. Some are fun to be with and some you just wanna kick to the curb. Shop around, ask around. Check to see if the agency you are thinking of working with actually possesses a valid license from The Ministry of Education, many do not. Remember to keep an open mind and not to be too quick to judge though.
Quotes from the discussion board
These are the hilights
Here are some of the top quotes from members of various teacher discussion boards taken from over the past twelve months or so. Let's call it the best of the teacher's room
Low teacher salaries
Is ajarn.com partly to blame?
No, ajarn.com isn't responsible for low teacher salaries - at least not according to Louis Minson. Louis says that not presenting a realistic picture of the overall job situation would be sweeping things under the carpet.
The lowdown on teacher agencies
Why do teacher agencies have such a negative image?
Most agencies just drop foreign teachers off at a school and leave them to fend for themselves. They give teachers no curriculum, lesson plans, grading rubrics, textbooks, workbooks, realia or anything else to help them. The foreign teacher is left to deal with all of the linguistic and cultural misunderstandings that will inevitably arise, on their own.
The anatomy of a teachers room
What goes on in that cramped, airless little room?
For all those who have ever taught in Asia - laugh along at 'the anatomy of a teacher's room' from the water-kettle that's never full to the pot-plant that always needs watering.
Thai teaching assistants
Angels from the planet Xerox or Satan's snitch?
They are as much a part of a teaching package as subsidized health insurance, the occasional sports day and possible unpaid test-marking. We want to hear about yours. When asked to make photocopies does she say "coming right up oh great white-skinned one" or does she beat a path to the dean's door to remind him that slavery has been abolished?
The Thai culture course
How to scam, exploit and demoralise foreign teachers
Day one of the course began with the typical smiles and greetings. The venue laid on a nice little breakfast pack for each of us and well wishers waited at the doors to greet us with: "Hello, thank you for coming!". (Like we had a f***ing choice!)
More time studying please
Postbox letter from Brian
The number of people who claim to be English teachers that cannot write so much as one short paragraph without making spelling and/or grammar mistakes.
Beware the ajarn forum cynics
Postbox letter from T.Knott
My biggest problem now has become the foreign teachers on the ajarn forum. I am an educated man and I am also a student learning daily lessons of life. I expected that people here would be professional as they claim to be.
Notes on a semester
What can you do when teaching starts to get you down?
How can I or any teacher that feels he's underachieving turn things around? I doubt there is any magic formula, but I've come up with a few ideas. Many of them are blindingly obvious but it's often the easy points we miss during difficult classes.
