China here I come
Postbox letter from Kelvin
I have no choice but to jump for China and hope I can land a job with accommodation provided. I will also lose 9500 baht deposit because the condo owner won't acknowledge the flood as a legitimate reason to vacate.
Make them pay!
Postbox letter from Mr Grumpy
I am close to boiling point after reading Mike Walker's letter and the fact that a school has not paid a contracted teacher for two months
No pay Jose
Postbox letter from Mike Walker
I returned to my school in Bangkok today after almost two months waiting for the floods to subside. When I enquired about being paid for the last eight weeks, the staff just laughed at me.
The chalkies need a real change
Postbox letter from Mr Grumpy
Nothing can prepare the foreign teacher for the employee-to-management-to-admin staff life. Dealing with these matters can drive the most experienced teachers up the wall and can turn a normally friendly teacher into a paranoid wreck!
Why there is a shortage of qualified teachers in Thailand
Postbox letter from Bob the black poet
I think we are elevating English language teaching above its station. It is not a profession, it is a job requiring some skills, like a cooper or blacksmith, but dont equate it to a profession.
How low can we go?
Postbox letter from Martin Chilvers
There seemed to be a time when 30-40,000 baht a month salaries were the norm, and I suppose like many teachers I felt that things were only going to get better. But what's going on in Thailand?
Who's insulting who?
Postbox letter from Lucie
We are all free to choose what jobs we apply for, and those of us lucky / well-organised enough to have a teaching degree or plenty of experience can choose to apply only for the better-paid jobs, confident that we'll get offered at least one of them.
Working for the man
Are teaching agents spelling disaster for hard-working chalkies?
The main problem that teachers seem to have with agencies is the salaries on offer. Teacher agents and 30,000 baht a month salaries have suddenly become the Siamese twins of the Thailand TEFL game. They're joined at the hip.
Not over at 60
Postbox letter from Rob
I'm 60 and have never been in so much demand. Am I that special? Not at all. I'm just proactive and do a good job.
Low wages
Postbox letter from Marcus
A three to six month training course is not closely equivalant to the years of sacrifice and study it takes to receive a degree in education. Although it may be enough to find work in a developing country, it is not recognised, and I believe one would be far pressed to find employment, in a native English speaking country.
