chonabot

]You cant be a Streetcowboy, only Americans can be cowboys.

Similar to us saying - you can't speak English only English can speak English

Don't quote me on this but someone told me it may have something to do with the fertilizer used on crops - affecting the xy chromosone in the Thai genetics.

and this wasn't someone in a bar it was a chap ( Thai) who teaches at KKU.

I take it you've never been to a country and western pub in Fife, then?

I think this is the link you wanted

SC

ok i watched it and it appears that the Brits have their own version of country music. Willie Nelson it's not...instead of laughng i almost cried.

As a tribute to the British I am going to have fish and chips for lunch made by a mexican in Los Angeles.

G'day chaps !

Amazingly enough we also have British Blues bands - some of them quite successful...and don't even mention British Jazz....

I was called Farang Kee Nok in a local Dor Lung ( Walking st market) in Kalasin last night.

My wife also heard the words and had a right go at the lady who uttered them.

She was all smiles as it transpired I teach her brother at the local school.

She apologised but no doubt will continue to use that term when she feels like it.

I felt zero anger and a little amusement at the whole incident.

I feel more anger when my own son is called a f*cking paki back in my home town of Wallingford Oxfordshire - on a daily basis - and when he

had 2 bags of flour thrown over him by 'schoolmates' I felt the need to educate their parents.

So when I am called a farang ( bird shit or not) I smile and feel happy that my son is popular and happier over here ( ieven it it's not always genuine )

ps he was 13 when this pic was taken last Xmas and sadly he and the young lady have gone their separate ways

Damn fine idea there Towzak - thanks !

Have you tried this before?

Classroom management = team games with points.

Done that already - and it works to a degree but need some new ways to bring them into line for next semester

Ah that rarely heard sound of silence

Nice sidewinder punch - bloke deserved it probably but fairly gutless.

He could have easily got some brain damage - not that he would know - but surely if the other guys had made it known they

were available for an ass kicking the drunk guy would have left - if not then he deserves to get a spanking.

I'm not missing the point here - it's obvious enough for an ignorant farang like me to make the connection

However a very common event in Thailand is this kind of idiot being kicked to pieces by some cowardly bastards -deservedly or not - and no doubt an

unassuming ignorant would be Western businessman will meet a similar end.

ps how do we know the Thai he is talking to is the manager? ( Just curious )

Hmmm am I on the wrong forum again?

I'm nearing the end of my first Semester here as a newbie Teacher in Thailand.

I teach M3 and M4 at a huge Government school in Isaan.

Despite a few teething problems, it has been good, not great but I enjoyed it far more than any other job ( I previous worked as a Sys Admin (UNIX) in IT for 25 years )

I spend a lot of time planning the lessons and using the course book, changing bits and pieces and finding ways to keep the students interested.

I have about 60 per class and the levels range for clever to..less than clever.

I had a few Thai teachers and a long term Western teacher observe a few lessons recently. I got a good review and would like to keep this going and hopefully improve.

My only slight concern is the control of the class.

I am not very strict, but occasionally need to keep the kids in line. M3 is apparently the hardest Mathayom to control ( puberty etc ).

My own son is 14 so I have an insight on this

Does anyone have any advice on how to improve this aspect without turning the classroom into a military zone?

I feel I have bonded with the classes and nearly all of the students - you can't win them all - but would like to find a way to step up the discipline - just a notch.

I usually have no problem keeping them interested and even entertained - but the first 5 minutes are usually a bit chaotic - especially the Period 1 and Period 5 lessons.

Please feel free to give any advice and ask if any more info is needed.

The students also were asked to fill in report cards on all of the teachers and I got a very high score ( strange concept but TIT)

I asked a similar question on another teaching forum and was told to just smile and take the pay check.....

Thanks

Chon

Right before you all start flaming me I really don't have a clue if this idea would work, but seeing how you guys are all wanting to torture, dismember, and grind the last bastid into pieces I was thinking of a more peaceful solution..........

Eh.......why don't you get a couple of monks to come to the school and talk to him about his behaviour?

Is that the most ludicrous idea you have ever heard? Use your head and not your fists, I would love to see the look on his face when two monks walk in the class and call him out for counselling.

I'm going to get my coat.......I just know I'm gonna suffer the same fate as you have planned for the wee guy for saying that , be gentle on me, you know by now I'm a bit of an idiot

In all honesty that is a very good idea.

Unfortunately too late now - but I'm sure it would have been very effective.

He did not get a kick in the balls, his advisor kind of grabbed him by the shirt and that was the only physical contact.

I will be teaching him today and will do my best not to pay too much attention to him, hopefully I shouldn't need to.

Not only canning, but also self abuse.

Canned self abuse? ...nasty ......

you are the teacher... they are the students

This is an undeniable fact

Unfortunately there were a few more variables involved - life is never simple.

Thanks all - Phuturatica ; I hope it doesn't happen to you or any other teacher - this kind of behaviour is probably commonplace back in the UK.

If it happens again hopefully I will see the warning signs, the rest of his class were definitely less than pleased with him.

I am more than able to look after myself in the real world but I had to use a lot of restraint on Thursday afternoon - that pleased me more than the outcome even.

I never had a run in with this lad in class, he sits with a bunch who do not cause trouble but there is not much of a connection betwenn me and them.

For example a few weeks ago I decided to get all of my M3 students into an inter class team competition.

This was to run to the end of the semester and comprised of several activities based on English comprehension, role play and reading.

I donated 5000 baht of my own cash to the winning teams. As you could expect almost all of the students were keen to take part.

I asked them to choose a name and design a logo and pick up to 4 members.

There are nearly 1000 students do about 250 teams with logos - I collected these and made up a huge league table with scanning the logos down etc - took many hours.

A lot of work but worthwhile in my opinion

This lad and his mates were the only students who were not interested in the competition - no big deal as there were more than enough to make it a success.

But when I asked the lads about their lack of interest they just replied that these games were for kids and they were not kids.

I left it at that and gave them some for the rest of the lesson- they would not take part whatever I tried

So hopefully that may answer anyone's questions about my history with the lad. Of course I left out a few details in the original post but I wrote it an hour after the event with a less than level head.

If any teachers out there have a heavy load of students - this team activity is a very good way to keep them interested - of course the prize money can be reduced

One last word - I would have thought it was fairly obvious that the bike was theirs - why would they complain and curse me for moving

the bike myself if it was not their property?

"But today was a bit nasty. I was on my way to my scooter and noticed another bike was parked directly behind." ( Whose bike??) - His bike

"I saw a few M3 students of mine sitting and to be honest they were not my favourite bunch." ( The students sitting there didn't like you at all) - Have you met them?

"I asked if the bike was theirs and they just smiled, I asked them to move it and still no response." ( They didn't understand you and maybe it wasn't one of their bikes. Why would they remove a bike for you, if they don't like you?) a. -it was theiir/his bike b. It should be ingrained in a students ethos to always help a teacher when requested- even a farang teacher

Have you ever asked students to help you in school - ie to move something or carry loads fo books, when there are too many for one person? Would they refuse if the books were not theirs?

" I'd had a fairly busy day and didn't really need a showdown with these young chaps." ( You were exhausted, maybe because you couldn't handle some of them?) - Tired as I taught 4 hours straight - over 60 kids per class in a hot room - all good classes and handled well - Thanks !

"So I started moving the scooter gently and one of them said ' Bok Farang Bok hah ! ' ( Not yet really escalated) - Is it ok for a student to say this to a teacher..in any culture?

I looked at him and said fairly forcefully - 'Is this your bike? If so move it please' ( Would you move a bike for somebody else, especially if you don't like him/her?) - see above

He didn't shift so I moved it a bit more and got on my scooter. ( If it wasn't his, why should he?) - err....r see above

Unfotunately there still wasn't enough space - I looked at the kid again and said ' Move your bike !'" ( Whose bike? Did he understand you? You thought it was his bike!) - it was his bike and I speak Thai....I

"He sauntered over and was staring daggers at me and I asked - Mee ben hah mai ? ( You were asking him ,if he wanted to fight in front of his friends!)

Is it possible that you already had many problems with some of them before? Could it be that they just hate you?

Of course, he shouldn't have said this about your mother, but is it possible that you'd started all this BS?

They were not your favorite bunch only means that they didn't like you, or? There're always two sides of a coin---------

-

It's funny that you responded to the same post in 2 very different ways - you seem to have decided on a lot of grey areas here - care to share your theory?

If you teach in Thailand I'm surprised at some of your idealogies regarding why a Thai student has the right to act in such a way.

The guys were sitting on the wall. So, why did you talk to them? Why didn't you simply just move the bike yourself and ride home? How did you know it was his bike? Maybe it wasn't. Maybe you set the whole thing up for yourself. He was speaking Lao to you. At first it was not too bad. When you make a bid deal out of it maybe you brought the whole thing on yourself. Which area is your school?

I talked to them because they were my students - and his bike had blocked mine - I had seen him on this bike - it's quite distinctive.

It's Thai culture for teachers and students to converse.

It's also Thai culture for the students to show some courtesy to their teachers.

I understand Lao/Isaan as I have been in and around this area for 17 years.

My school is in Kalasin - should I have accepted his bad manners and simply brushed it off?

He admitted today to the Director that he swore at me and apologised.

I find your post interesting - were you a social worker in the west?

Thank you for answering a few of my questions. Maybe you could have put your additional information in your original post. Was I social worker in the west? No I was not, but maybe I could make some more money counselling a few frustrated Scottish educationalists in Thailand. You are taking things far too seriously there in Kalasin. Use your imagination.

Sorry for the omissions, 'It's not serious' is a phrase I hear too often here - but it becomes serious when an incident can spiral into the scenarios described by a few posters here - ie total lack of respect from your students.

Plus it's also a case of learning from these things - as the student hopefully will have learnt - so have I

"But today was a bit nasty. I was on my way to my scooter and noticed another bike was parked directly behind." ( Whose bike??)

"I saw a few M3 students of mine sitting and to be honest they were not my favourite bunch." ( The students sitting there didn't like you at all)

"I asked if the bike was theirs and they just smiled, I asked them to move it and still no response." ( They didn't understand you and maybe it wasn't one of their bikes. Why would they remove a bike for you, if they don't like you?)

" I'd had a fairly busy day and didn't really need a showdown with these young chaps." ( You were exhausted, maybe because you couldn't handle some of them?)

"So I started moving the scooter gently and one of them said ' Bok Farang Bok hah ! ' ( Not yet really escalated)

I looked at him and said fairly forcefully - 'Is this your bike? If so move it please' ( Would you move a bike for somebody else, especially if you don't like him/her?)

He didn't shift so I moved it a bit more and got on my scooter. ( If it wasn't his, why should he?)

Unfotunately there still wasn't enough space - I looked at the kid again and said ' Move your bike !'" ( Whose bike? Did he understand you? You thought it was his bike!)

"He sauntered over and was staring daggers at me and I asked - Mee ben hah mai ? ( You were asking him ,if he wanted to fight in front of his friends!)

Is it possible that you already had many problems with some of them before? Could it be that they just hate you?

Of course, he shouldn't have said this about your mother, but is it possible that you'd started all this BS?

They were not your favorite bunch only means that they didn't like you, or? There're always two sides of a coin---------

-

I preferred your first reply

How many times when you were a student in the west did you hear a students say they disliked a teacher, and for no other reason than something petty?

I teach 1000 kids per week and try my best to be civil to them - this kid apparently has a ahistory of being rude to western teachers.

I wish the Thai staff had told me this sooner - but that's life.

I asked him if he had a problem after he was trying to intimidate me - a natural male response.

Thanks all the same

So to conclude and answer a few questions - I am a fairly popular teacher - no one hates me (AFAIK)and I have never had to call on a Thai teacher up until now.

He was ridiculed by his classmates today and I had a lot of support from the Thai teachers.

There is no bad history - I have been there one semester - I think the hormones got the better of a 15 year old lad who was trying to show off to his peers.

No rocket science but Thanks for all of your replies - especially the well thought out ones.

You Sir, are completely in the wrong.

How dare you try to reprimand any thai peson. who the hell do you think you are ?

You are foreigner, you shouldnt be here, you are window dressing for the school, nothing more.

This student will still be in school next week and the week after that and the week......................

you however have brought attention to yourself............... why couldnt you just be white,handsome, make students laugh, come to school early/leave late, go to all staff parties and wai everyone all the while swallowing your pride and sense of right and wrong.

Did you not attend your thai culture course ?

your days in this school are numbered. you have made a nuisance of yourself.

this student will get spoken to and thats that. My God, do you seriously think they will take your side over his ? How can any thai student respect you when the thai teachers dont. you think he just picked this up on his own ? why would he feel it was ok to disrespect you ?

I hope something significant will happen but I doubt it.

They have never been invaded, dont you know !

The guys were sitting on the wall. So, why did you talk to them? Why didn't you simply just move the bike yourself and ride home? How did you know it was his bike? Maybe it wasn't. Maybe you set the whole thing up for yourself. He was speaking Lao to you. At first it was not too bad. When you make a bid deal out of it maybe you brought the whole thing on yourself. Which area is your school?

I talked to them because they were my students - and his bike had blocked mine - I had seen him on this bike - it's quite distinctive.

It's Thai culture for teachers and students to converse.

It's also Thai culture for the students to show some courtesy to their teachers.

I understand Lao/Isaan as I have been in and around this area for 17 years.

My school is in Kalasin - should I have accepted his bad manners and simply brushed it off?

He admitted today to the Director that he swore at me and apologised.

I find your post interesting - were you a social worker in the west?

Thanks chaps - I have already phoned the head of my department, the lad will have a nice surprise after the flag ceremony tomorrow !

I'm not sure exactly how far he will be punished but the M1 route sounds nice siampreggers

Point taken - just noticed loads of typos but unable to edit them...oh well

Of course we all get this on occasion when teaching, especially M3 kids

But today was a bit nasty. I was on my way to my scooter and noticed another bike was parked directly behind.

On the left of the parking area is a low level wall that school kids tend to sit on.

I saw a few M3 students of mine sitting and to be honest they were not my favourite bunch.

( I teach 14 x 60 M3 students classes plus a few M4 classes )

I asked if the bike was theirs and they just smiled, I asked them to move it and still no response.

I'd had a fairly busy day and didn't really need a showdown with these young chaps.

So I started moving the scooter gently and one of them said ' Bok Farang Bok hah ! '

I looked at him and said fairly forcefully - 'Is this your bike? If so move it please'

He didn't shift so I moved it a bit more and got on my scooter.

Unfotunately there still wasn't enough space - I looked at the kid again and said ' Move your bike !'

He sauntered over and was staring daggers at me and I asked - Mee ben hah mai ? '

He replied ' Ah bai loi bok ceedar bok heeah' ( sorry for bad translation but you get the jist ) - Just get lost white flesh fruited educator

I took off my helmet and said - I am your Teacher - you are in 3/5 - tomorrow you will have a problem with Kru yai'.

He replied again - ' Bok hah Yed mae '

Bearing in mind I was probably twice the size of this little buggerand really would have liked to give him a Glasgow Kiss I held my temper and rode off.

Funnily enough some students on a bike then nearly took me out as I turned onto the main school driveway - they were doing about 50 mph.

That would have made a few scoted chuckle no doubt.

So Tomorrow I will find him and bring him to the Director who is usually pretty severe with students who disrespect farang...yep theres a few here.

Is this a waste of time - should I just forget it until the next 3/5 lesson and then ask him to write ' I must not call my farang teacher a giant Lizard and make sexual remarks about his poor old mother - 1000000 times?