WonnabeBiker

What's up with this?

It would be nice if every job ad would include the name of the employer and the paid months of a contract. Similar to banks posting the APR or APY.

Seems this is now becoming more and more common. Instead of their corporate name, they advertise as "XXXXXXX School in YYY". Or theyy bait and switch. Those who respond to an ad for the city of XXX may get some other offers.

During a job interview, I heard that there would be a "deposit" needed which would be refunded on the first day. Seems many teachers won't show up. And a B-Visa is valuable

The times, they are changing!

500 baht an hour is what an inexperienced English teacher charges for 1 to 1 lessons.

I used to do seminars about 8-10years ago and charged 1000 baht an hour.

With inflation, I suggest you do it for nothing less than 1000 baht an hour.

1900 baht for a whole day is an insult.

That's what the government through the educational area xxxx office pays for in a small town. 600 baht an hour.

That on the other hand also depends on how many trainees you've got.But I'm okay, if the pay 600 baht/hour for a seminar for 40, or less.

And considering that I a;so receive my teaching salary at the same time, ( if it's a school day, or not) a fair deal.

Another English Camp organized by my school for the town hall (Amper?) and was compulsory @ 800 Baht. Then that amount was reduced because admin had one more mouth to feed. No, they wouldn't pay the extra teacher out of their own cut! Had to cancel 6 classes at a center and that cost me 1,000 B as I was paid 300 B/hr at a center.

OP, will you be looking for another job? Knowing these directors might be useful...

Consider yourself lucky. Last time such an event was planned, our director blindsided the 4 new teachers within minutes of the first meeting he had. Every body being eager to please and all that... Will you hold a seminar... during the holidays. He failed to find paying Thai teachers, so we had to teach some M4 and M5 classes (in a meeting hall). Payment? What payment?!? At that time, most Thai teachers were on Fall holidays...

The financial deals which are going down in even some small English department in some rural government school are something else!

My wake-up call was when there was some "English Tour" for 250 students. Foreign teachers were asked to pay the full retail price. Q: You think Thai teachers paid a single Baht?!?

When a teacher returned to California due to an illness of a parent, the school never told the paymaster that they had one teacher less to pay. Instead, they passed on the work load and then scheduled the meeting about how to pay us for the extra work so that another payday was missed. And then, the last payday, the agreement wasn't honored at all. Yours truly got 4 k a month for several classes plus all the test taking and related work including entering many scores into a computer).

English Camps are another money maker. Usually, one gets 0 Baht although it will be on a weekend. When our HoD demanded about 280 for some darn shirt, that was another reminder what this is all about. Departments usually have surplus funds. Trips to Hot Pot or purchase of a high end Sony TV costing more than what I'm making in 2 months? You bet. (Now there is constant Thai content making work a little bit harder for those who want to work in a huge office).

Money. Due to nonpayment of TOT's leased server and related (ISP) fees, my school was cut off alltogether. Why worry? Let the school be internet free for weeks! How come the school ran out of funds - or were funds deviated to some "Mercedes Savings Plan"?

Good luck OP, and may you get some money! (Foreign teachers were "contracted out" to hold English Camps at nearby village schools. I'd like to know how much profit the director made. We were handed 500 Baht for 8 hours on a Saturday.

Make sure to contact the Labour Inspections Office.

Dishonesty prevails in the TEFL industry. Can't comment on China, Japan and Korea. But each and every school has pulled a fast one.

Contracts. Bet she made you work first and sign it then later (if ever)!

• Length of contract
• Terms like paid holidays
• even the salary itself. (Chinese teachers flew over, trusting e-mails. But then the fun and games started and they got the sucker treatment)
• a school might decide to send all foreign teachers home in February / not to advertise until late May. Anything to boost the director's "Mercedes Fund"?
• has anyone been tricked by getting some "contract" which was all in Thai? The foreigner might not even know that he signed a contract!
• some schools simply don't do any of these things: B-Visa, WP, ...
• one advertiser confronts NES with the minimum TOEIC score of "550". There you have it, another HR person who doesn't know what she is doing.
• many Thais are scared of foreigners.

Some language centers don't have the hours for a full-time teacher. But they talk the talk. One such center never pays their foreign teachers. Those *get it* and they leave. Then the center will send them a text or a Facebook message which states <since you have left, we won't pay you...>

Others make a long contract and if they want something, they are softening up the teacher. Non-payment is a good way. After a week, the teacher will be desperate for s o m e money. Time to pounce. Pay less (something beats nothing) and then force to sign another contract. Which may or may not be honored.

We would need to check out employers. Many are dodgy. Teachers who will start on a B-Visa are both, lucky and a minority.

• Who pays for the WP?
• What if a school messes up the process and yet another B-Visa will be needed?
• Who pays for the B-Visa and the travel?
• Social Security?

Why do they do it? Because they can! They can predict that they will be getting away with it. The foreigner might swear or complain but that's like dogs bark, while the caravan moves on

The OP is a trail blazer if he fought back successfully.

Miss Wurst might apply - she knows how to look pretty (errm, when she isn't sporting a full beard). Moreover, she can sing quite well https://www.google.co.th/search?q=Austrian+Wurst&espv=2&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=xhQVVZs0i5e4BOSwgcgO&ved=0CBwQsAQ&biw=1366&bih=643

super idea and so easy to implement. It basically means that the existing 50 minute periods are slashed in 40 minute periods. If not, schools would need 20% more classrooms and 20% more highly qualified teachers. Thumbs up, schools can start planning today.

You've nailed it. All these announcements. and then there is the sad reality.

Some schools don't even have a chair and a table for each student. But hey, let's plan a modern classroom with interactive I-Pads etc. (In the mean time, check out the director's oppulent quarters)

...

Classroom size isn't everything!! We had to teach combined M4-6 classes and it worked. No one came who didn't want to be there. The noise level was low, they were motivated. One could generate more time that way.

They won't be building more classrooms or hire more teachers, that much goes without saying.

When a boy in M2 lost it, turning over tables, then walking out of the class, he and some other boys had to kneel and bow to the floor.

It was awkward... There are alternative methods so each and every disgression. None involving a teacher's shoes and the students' heads.

They need to manage with the resources they got. No one asks my opinion, but I would like to try a few things:

* larger classes where motivated students of different grades are grouped together and thus can hace more than one conversation class a week.

* reading classes - many Mathayom students can't read English! We let them down and no, many of those students were keen to learn and well behaved, even in M2! Alas, the school in rural Isaan wouldn't give me an assistant to help with some voluntary work during the lunch break.

* More fun & extra curricular activities. And let each and every students speak for say hald an hour with their foreign teachers! Many never had a conversation... And they are tongue-tied. A litle push might help them overcome their fear...

* TBH, I taught in a classroom where many tables were unusable (one couldn't write on them) and there were not enough chairs.

* They need to focus on the basics and apply reflective paint on the roofs. Classroom temperatures of a few degrees less will make a difference and won't cost a single kw/h electricity.

* Make learning English optional. Some students don't care to learn. Let those do something else...

The once-a-week system is simply not working, IMHO. Do you think that 2 hours a week in 1 term would beat the usual once-a-week practice all year long?

How many wives - and is poligamy legal here?

Wow, a life's worth so little? Killing a monk => the assassin doesn't believe in Karma!

What a sad concept: building temples. No better ways to use donations?!?

No checks should be for "cash". Instead, "for deposit only" when they take AML laws seriously.

Today, I asked a Thai speaker to call the school regarding my contract. The answer? I was blamed for somehow losing (embezzling? stealing?) it. Get real! That contract had been part of the paperwork for i. the B-Visa, ii. the TCT's waiver and iii. the WP. iv. if hR really "lost" that contract, they should print it once again and ask every one to sign it.

My university degree cost thousands of Baht including DHL overnight service. and it hasn't been returned either.

Seems we need to ask for signed receipts bearing the school's seal before we can hand over original documents?!

If you know how to look pretty (as required in this ad here http://www.ajarn.com/recruitment/browse_jobs/Thailand/111950.html?popup=1 ) getting 21,000 Baht as a Filipina will be easy

I've seen ads limiting the applicant's age to 30. Maybe they will ad six-pack abs a bonus?

Horny in Nakhon Sawan?

Seems we can hardly overestimate the importance of a photo!

What's the consent among female teachers regarding Wonderbra. Is it worth the investment?

What next? Female NES with a degree, up to 26 years old, likes to <put out>?!?

Is Thailand really this far behind? The is NOT a new teaching style! Involving students in the learning process has been around since at least the 70's-80's. Also, Thai teacher trainees do actually know these methods. Bloom's taxonomy and all that. So, why don't they use it in the classroom?

Class size is the 500 lb gorilla in the room that no-one will discuss. I once taught at a government school that had up to 58 students per class. Try teaching an interactive lesson with that many students! Until class sizes in Thailand are reduced to a maximum of 25 students all of this discussion of teaching methods is a waste of time.

I had such large classes and share your view. But there is more. Take those long-winded morning speeches. We had an ethics & morality teacher who was the resident guru. She would ignore the bell. voila, 15, 20 minutes of the first class would be toast. And all the other b.s. activities. Preparing something for a teacher's farewell party or whatever. It shows how low a regard schools have for our English classes!

Just got a bill from Phaya 2 for 2 days and it's about 150,000 THB. Please check prices, the 120 k sounds a great alternative money wise.

You could call or visit them if you are that keen?

I buy Magnesium chloride flakes from iherb. 2.75 lbs, $12.41 including shipping. will last several years. Only problem I cant apply it when I drink or I don't get drunk.

15-20k for Filipinos

20-25k for Africans

27k for European

30k for native speakers of English

Dude, even when I like to read each and every post of yours, I have to disagree on that one.

Just from my experience given an estimate offer to applicants when seeking "teachers, coming from my former director.

15 to 18 K for Africans.

17 to 25 K for Filipinos.

16 to 28 K for "European white faced :teachers".

25 to 37 K for NES teachers.

In my ten years working at Thai schools, I guess I've interviewed at least 1000 "applicants." Not something you'd really want to do.

I wasted my time and money to make phone calls after phone calls, just to receive a cry for help to send an unknown American 20 K, as he " a sort of ran out of money in Pattaya". But he did promise me to pay it back, once he received his first salary. I just deleted his e-mail and phone number and blocked both.

Some African "Super teachers" got really loud and jelled at me on the phone, because I said we'd call them back.

: " Whai ya no coul bakk?" I wok goot. I a teecha, etc...

It's time to "create a Foreign Teacher Association". Please laugh about me, but that's in my opinion the only way to solve certain problems.

When you read the shit that happens to so many people on daily basis, it's time for a change.

The school directors I know don't want anymore Filipinos, nor their darker counterparts. Really?!?

And the rules and regulations we all have to go through should also apply for all the backpacking agency folks, including the bunch of criminals they've employed.

No racism, please. And the victims of all that bs are- as usual- the kids.

"The school directors I know don't want anymore Filipinos, nor their darker counterparts." I would respectfully disagree, blaming recent trends on directors' greed or cost driven considerations.

Q: government schools don't get equal funding?

* Some charge parents nothing. Others charge 300 B or 700 B per year "for the foreign teachers".

Q: what lets directors want to save on foreign teachers' salaries? A: i. because the Mercedes Fund needs contributions. ii. There are other things seen as more important than a teacher who can speak English like a NES iii. (your answer here)

Am dreaming of a hard-hitting team. Throw the suspects in jail, do the raids at dawn and don't schedule an interrogating "Thursday next week".

Look at root causes. How could this happen? How could this Coop fail to audit itself? Why is an officer allowed to sign checks without a second signature and some oversight?!?

It might be unfair as I have no idea what difficulties an investigation faces. But one reads in the papers about stuff and months later, the begin their work?!?

Thailand needs a tough law banning the pocketing of funds and punishing violations with the loss of the job and pension entitlement!

Why's that? I found many such agents peddling wildly overpriced offers.

Are you afraid of doing it yourself? Browsing websites like TV here, Bahtsold etc.? Have you walked around, talked to people in a neighborhood you like?

bump

Had some bad experiences. Sometimes, they just polish the case and don't remove the old oil etc.

Is there a skilled independent watchmaker in town?

Thanks!

Excuse me?! Quote: "Supachai Srisuppa-aksorn, the former chairman, wrote an estimated 878 checks in total between 2008 and 2011. Checks made to companies and individuals equated to 11 billion baht in total. Checks written to himself accounted for just 21 of the 878 checks he wrote out. Dhammakaya Temple was the recipient of 15 checks totaling 714 million baht."

Were the CU's accounts not audited?!? No 2-signatures system on bank checks?!?

We had serial embezzlements of utility payments by "managers" at the condo.

While there will always be greedy crooks in high positions, not noticing the racket for years when it involves billions of Baht is the icing on the cake. These CCUs should be closed down right away. But then I read somewhere that they want the government to help them with the PR desaster.

No annual audits, no balancing of the books, no one missing a few billion Baht over the years?!?

Thanks for this thread. This is a big issue, IMHO. Last time I asked, someone gave me a thick blue book and there was content the government wanted students to be familiar with.

Q: got any textbooks? That has been a sore point as well.

Schools need libraries with English-English dictionaries and "Easy Reader" books. The usual once-a-week lesson doesn't cut it!