Ways to improve Thai education
This should be the first government priority
So how can Thailand improve its education? In a nutshell: train the trainers, put fewer students together, motivate them better, hire the right foreign educators to help this bring about, and involve parents more.
Not all about the money
Postbox letter from Ralph
As the old saying goes - money isn't everything
You lucky so and so
Postbox letter from
Here in Chiang Mai things are a bit different: we have to manage on B25, 000. Sounds like a lot, but it soon gets swallowed up, especially when you have a family.
Full-time teacher, part-time thief
Light-fingered shenanigans in the teachers' room
Don’t start thinking that these highly skilled education professionals resort to stealing luxury cars or become successful pickpockets in busy Bangkok. It’s much simpler and a lot less lucrative than that: some ‘teachers’ seem to think there’s nothing wrong with nicking books and teaching materials from the schools they work at. In a few cases teachers have even run off with computers, but let’s focus on the issue of disappearing books because that’s my main reason for writing this article.
You are the solution
what foreign teachers don't want to hear
Many foreign teachers forget that they're not in Kansas anymore, and demand that their hosts adapt to them rather than trying to find a middle-ground where a reasonable compromise can be reached. If many foreign teachers are the problem, (and they are), then they are also the solution.
Why complain about salaries?
Postbox letter from Don
A breakdown of where my monthly salary goes.
To Mr Crazy
Postbox letter from Long term ajarn expat
You like the word naïve and use it freely…be sure you use it well and understand who is really naive. Just knowing the facts does not, a wise man make.
Wake up and smell the coffee
Postbox letter from Mr Crazy in Chiang Mai
Come on schools, think about it. You’ve had your time of getting native speakers for pennies. That time is coming to an end.
Nothing but disrespect
Postbox letter from
For those foreigners willing to devote their time and energies to quality teaching, it can be a bitterly disillusioning experience. With the salaries going lower and the benefits (medical and other insurance, housing, etc.) fewer, and the cost of living increasing, teachers who have been here for years are now leaving the country.
Bangkok vs Chiang Mai
How do the two biggest cities in Thailand measure up?
Read a terrific account from a teacher who gave up the Chiang Mai lifestyle to go and work in the capital Bangkok. It's very much a tale of two cities - and how one dedicated teacher fared in both.
