aussiestyle1983

But nobody should get a degree in the West so that they can teach EFL in Thailand, IMHO.

That is something that constantly echos through my mind and gives me scond thoughts. Anyway, I do enjoy the mix of sociology, education, philosophy, and political classes that I do most of the time. At least when I finish, should I end up back in LOS for some unforseen reason, I'll have a degree and hopefully it will help me get better paying work that I previously had there (althought I did like the school and would return there for the same salary). Like UAL's old motto, you never know where life will take you. I hope my degree and the 20,000AUD invested in it do bring some sort of benefit one day............................

There is a big difference between teaching chemistry and physics and teaching conversation English to youngsters.

You need to remember that teaching is just a job. It's an occupation associated with earning an income to support your lifestyle. People claim that they teach for the right reasons, but lets cut to the chase, apart from those who currently volunteer and the few that are well of and teach out of love or just as a hobby, if teachers earned less than they do or if teaching became the lowest paid profession in the world (to me it allready is the most underpaid), do you think many of the people teaching now would stick around? I think not. As much as people claim to teach for the right reasons, they do it to earn money. End of story. If you take away the pay, the teacher will leave. The same for most jobs. Claims that teachers make indicating that they teach because they want to make a difference might be true, but they don't tell the whole story.

IJWT,

Unlike yourself, I don't care what others think of me. I never have, and I believe that is one of the reasons I am happy. Just because some low life forum user might think I lack communication skills does not mean much to me at the end of the day. I did 5 years of retail vocational education after leaving high school, before getting my trade certificate which allows me to drive trains. Overall, in the ten years I have been out of school (year 12), I have spent about 8 of them in further education. However, when I come to Asia and learn that I am un-educated just because I don't hold a degree I get puzzled (especially when those statements are made by people with degrees who are usually poor, un-happy, and have no life). After just finish my 1st years at uni, what I have learned is all uni is about is teaching communication skills; skills that can be acquired in more relevant ways such as from experience. If it takes someone 4 years of university study just to develop their communication skills, I think that is a waste, especially when they enter the workforce and find that they don't have the experience or commonsense that a high school drop out who has been in the industry for a few years has. You have a go at my writing on this forum, concluding that I need to develop my communication skills? You must be a complete nut case.................. Last time I checked, this was a public forum connected with a seedy country in Asia, not an academic forum associated with a university course. You are wasting you time picking on my communicational errors. I don't spend all day editing public forum posts. I don't spend time reviewing my public forum posts like I do before I submit a research report. However, if you have the time, you can go ahead and cxontinue acting like allmighty powerful academic that you claim to be. BTW, how many times did you smoke a joint with the sigma alpha frat boys when you were in uni?

One last thing, in reply to this comment:

'' The main thing I pick up from this paragraph is that you like lording your money over other persons you perceive to be 'lower' than you and use it to cover your own personal insecurities (of whatever sort)- never a very attractive behaviour. ''

By suggesting that my behaviour is not attractive by perceiving others to be lower than me because I have something that they don't, you are also suggesting the same about those who think the are better than people because they have a degree whilst the other might not. So, when Flips (and pot smioking farang academics) act like they are better because they have a degree while a farang might not, and a farang acts like they are better because they are hapier and have more wealth than a Flip, to me, its the same. You are suggesting that all the Flips and Thais I have ever worked with also have personal insecurities? Or, are you a hipocrite? Are you going to say that its okay to brag about being better than someone based on academic qualifications (supposedly being an academic yourself) but its not okay to do the same when happiness and money is the independent variable? Don't worry. You don't have to answer that question, because if you do, it will illustrate one of only several things:

1- That your claim also extends to those who think they are better because they have a degree (perhaps such as Flips, Thai's and farangs - not I said farangs, not all westerners or foreigners because outside of Thailand the degree - non-degree debate does not exist);

2- That it only applies to certain factors meaning that it is a claim of a hipocrite;

or

3- That you made a typing error and need to improve your communication skills just as I do

BTW, the reason why I wil finish uni is beacue I paid all of my fees in advance and got a good deal, and, because I never start something I can't finish. I also enjoy the fact that despite lacking in communicational skills, I am able to get grades of Distinction and above all the time

I made a rather bland statement asserting that degrees are not without value and those who are putting them down as worthless are not necessarily without bias due to personal circumstances. I never dreamed it would result in such ranting! Clearly there's a lot of sensitivity out there!

It's hard for me to credit those who don't have them making such confident statements about their relative worthlessness.

"S"

Obviously you have been in Thailand for too long, or, let me correct myslef and say, obviosuly you have been away from developed, first world, Western nations for too long (excluding the USA where the minimun wage is a few dollars, the economy is in the toilet, and you need a degree to flip hamburgers). My apologies to hear that your time in Thailand has blinded you and curtailed the commonsense you might of once had. I don't know much about you, but your line of argument would make me believe that you are an American? I know degrees are almost worth as much in America as the are in Manilla.

You apparently believe that I believe that degrees are important primarily because of employment. True, they are one way to secure employment, but primarily I am interested in academic study because I am interested in ideas and thinking. My definitions of worth may therefore differ from yours. If it seems like I am speaking Greek or Chinese when I say this, you may simply wish to acknowledge that my beliefs seem insane or incomprehensible, and there is no point in continuing discussion (this seems likely).

I still don't know why I'm bothering at university. I will most likely never be returning to Thailand to teach after returning to the West. Having experienced what both cultures have to offer, I feel that time spent in Thailand is time that could be better spent elsewhere. I earn over 100K to drive commuter trains. I get 10 weeks a year paid annual leave. Really, I get paid a lot to sit on my ass and have a lot of fun, whic hincluded being responsible for sometimes up to 2400 lives. The benefits to stay here and work without a degree by far outweight any benefits of working in Thailand. In fact, not even the management where I work hold degrees; what they do hold is something more valuable, that being years of experience and commonsense.

I'm happy that you experience employment satisfaction, but once again: my academic study (of various types) did not take place with the idea of teaching in Thailand (the thought of it!) and I couldn't see myself studying solely with the goal of staying in or working in Thailand. I enjoy my job, too, and I feel that as a result of at least some of the academic work I have done that my job performance is better in various respects- not always the respects that my employers might choose- and that's another benefit.

When I study the reason is clear: I'm interested in what I'm studying and I want to do it. If you're not sure why you're bothering, you should probably stop.

The only peole where I work that hold degrees are the Indians, Chinese, and other immigrants that work as cleaners or ticket sellers. In fact, One cleaner who holds a Phd from some Indian university earns about 35k per year. Apart from my trade qualifications, I am less academically qualified than these people who earn less than 4 times my salary once benfits are included. How can that be?

Probably market forces. It's only recently that people (rightly or wrongly) have associated having a degree with employment and financial success. Through most of the history of academic qualifications, the people who had them didn't need to do much gainful work and employment wasn't their point.

One could also argue that in skills-related labour, the skills are worth more than any theoretical academic knowledge and therefore the salaries are as you say (one could also question the quality of certain foreign universities, but that is really off-topic). It doesn't really matter to me; if salary or earning money were my first consideration, I'd have certainly done things completely differently since way back.

Degrees may be the be all and end all of life in Thailand, and in Asia, but Thailand and Asia is not the be all and end all as far as places to live are concerned.

I'm still not sure how it is I (or anyone else) have aligned ourselves with this statement in any way.

Sure, the women are cheaper in Asia and they look better, but it seems that the only thing Asians are proud of is their education; education which does not curtail their stupidity or better their lifestlye. The Filippinos I used to work with used to brag about their degrees, thinking they were better. My bank statement, assets, lifestyle, and happiness proved who was really better. But, on payday, when it took me 10 times as long to count the 1000 THB banknotes in the envelope containing my salary, I think that feeling of betterness they had was gone; its easy to tell a fake smile from a genuine smile.

I've known a lot of Asians, and I doubt very much that your rather bizarre stereotyping of them (female or otherwise) really covers the mark. For example, I've known Asians proud of their looks, proud of their money, proud of their families, proud of their skills, proud of their accomplishments, proud of their actions, proud of their character, and proud of many other things not limited to their education. On the other hand, you are hardly unique in Asia in being proud of your money, and there are plenty of Asians whose bank accounts would dwarf yours (and mine) easily. The main thing I pick up from this paragraph is that you like lording your money over other persons you perceive to be 'lower' than you and use it to cover your own personal insecurities (of whatever sort)- never a very attractive behaviour.

They could obviously not use their degrees to get work in their home country so came to a similar place to work. They claimed to be in Thailand for the right reasons to teach, to make a difference, and that farangs came here to earn easy money to pay for pussy. However, I do recall that on every payday, the first things the Filippions did was run to Western Union to send money back home. I once asked, if we come here to earn easy money and you said you come here to make a difference, how come you send half your salary back home? Does that not seem to indicate that you are also here to earn money?

I'm really not sure how my comments about degrees devolved into a discussion of your various grudges against Filipino teachers in Thailand. Yes, many of them are hypocritical (after all, many of them are Catholic... )- but so are many teachers of other nationalities. If you are trying to argue that Filipino teachers and the possibly low value of many of their degrees (which is a topic on which I have some first-hand experience backing up this theory) are somehow an argument against degrees having value, then I must conclude you missed some of the value of a college education in learning how to construct a strong argument.

If farangs who pay for pussy are bad, what about Filippino girls who sell their pussy? If Thai bar girls are so bad, what about Filippinos who sell their pussy? Is there a difference? I never got a truthful answer, just a bitter grin. All I could see was that they were proud of the fact that they had a degree, but seemed to deny the fact that they were not happy. At the end of the day, all a degree means is that you supposedly attened so many years of university. That's all it means. You can buy an education, but you can't buy intelligence. When Asia realises that, that will be the day Asia wakes up. Will that day ever come in Thailand? I doubt it. Not in my lifetime.

I'm afraid the whole 'pussy' argument has lost me here, and it really shouldn't be the level of discourse here on the teaching forum, so let's (and that means everyone on this thread) drop it.

I agree there are problems with many Filipino degrees and some aspects of education in various Asian countries. Does that mean all degrees everywhere are without value of any kind? Nope. Does it mean all degrees in Asia are worthless? Nope. I still don't see how much of what you said applies to my statements or my beliefs at all.

To those who decide to stay in Thailand, either because they like the Thai culture or because they can't get a root back home, Chok Dee!

May the piece of paper you hold bring you wealth and happiness!

I think you're projecting a little here... and I don't think anything you said has demonstrated that higher education has no value. In fact, others reading this thread might decide that you could use a little more of it yourself to good effect, in respect to constructing strong, logical arguments, addressing the topic in question and not some other topic, and in terms of making a good presentation of your opinions. Good luck either way.

"S"

Unlike yourself, I don't care what others think of me. I never have, and I believe that is one of the reasons I am happy. Just because some low life forum user might think I lack communication skills does not mean much to me at the end of the day. I did 5 years of retail vocational education after leaving high school, before getting my trade certificate which allows me to drive trains. Overall, in the ten years I have been out of school (year 12), I have spent about 8 of them in further education. However, when I come to Asia and learn that I am un-educated just because I don't hold a degree I get puzzled (especially when those statements are made by people with degrees who are usually poor, un-happy, and have no life). After just finish my 1st years at uni, what I have learned is all uni is about is teaching communication skills; skills that can be acquired in more relevant ways such as from experience. If it takes someone 4 years of university study just to develop their communication skills, I think that is a waste, especially when they enter the workforce and find that they don't have the experience or commonsense that a high school drop out who has been in the industry for a few years has. You have a go at my writing on this forum, concluding that I need to develop my communication skills? You must be a complete nut case.................. Last time I checked, this was a public forum connected with a seedy country in Asia, not an academic forum associated with a university course. You are wasting you time picking on my communicational errors. I don't spend all day editing public forum posts. I don't spend time reviewing my public forum posts like I do before I submit a research report. However, if you have the time, you can go ahead and cxontinue acting like allmighty powerful academic that you claim to be. BTW, how many times did you smoke a joint with the sigma alpha frat boys when you were in uni?

aussiestyle, thanks for confirming that you were only ranting. My review was partly tongue in cheek, obviously. I did a much better review of a master's thesis, last night, for free, for a lady who ranks well into the top ten percent of Thai ajarns, and is about to receive a 12,000 baht per month increase, which will help her state pension when she joins her retired Thai banker husband in retirement. Very smart folks.

The real statistics of the monetary value of a formal education, over a working career, are well documented. They consistently show that most brain surgeons earn more than most street sweepers. However, my Thai neurology professor cannot drive your train, and you probably could not audit a set of accounting records using GAAP. Shall we stop discussing vaginal odours, and your mother?

You wrote, "I can not give credit to the claims made by anyone residing in Thailand." Shall we then delete or disregard the first thousand posts you made here, whilst residing in Thailand? Some of our posters lecture at universities more renowned than the University of Nullarbor. We have posters here who teach AP physics, and molecular biology, by Western standards, in Thailand. Posters with western Ph.D.'s in subjects you and I would have trouble following, and could never teach. Yes, Thailand is not Canberra, so what?

Back on topic: are there real universities offering bachelor degrees based primarily on simple life experience such as driving trains and washing dishes (I washed dishes whilst working days as a tax auditor)? Should such experience count for more than a single course toward an academic degree? I think not. When I re-enrolled at uni as a veteran, they waived the PE requirements and maybe gave me 3 credits toward my degree. But I still had to take all those courses in English, history, religion, science, math, statistics, tax accounting - even an intro course in the philosophy of teaching PE! I had to study and learn, had to write papers on Plato and Marx, answer questions about economics.

Got to go now. Have to meet my buddy (Master Sergeant, USAF, retired; Associate of Arts degree; CELTA certified) who is recently back from a tour of America where he only found a job like my dropout son has - a short order cook. He's a native speaker, without the gift of teaching, so at age 45, he may never earn a train driver's salary, even though he is a licensed heavy equipment operator. Those who cannot teach, sometimes drive vehicles.

My quote: "I can not give credit to the claims made by anyone residing in Thailand." was a direct response to IJWT's quote "It's hard for me to credit those who don't have them making such confident statements about their relative worthlessness." He feels that the claims of people without degrees do not have credible claims about their usefullness, well, just because one doesn't have a degree doesn't mean that one doesn't know a lot about them and their usefulness or lack of.

BTW, I never suggested degrees should be awarded for work or life experience. I was suggesting that there are many people earning good money who don't have degrees because they don't need them. Does this mean that they are not credible or not intelligent? I think not.

Back to driving. Break over,

My appoligies PB. I thought I was posting a rant in a public forum in response to an invalid and bogus comment made by a person with authority that should have known better; a mod. What I wrote was not an essay (believe me, I have enough essays due at uni I would not even bother wasting my time following the structure of an argumentative essay when making a rant post).

I must say, similar to the comment IJWT made that I was ranting about, that I can not give credit to the clamis made by anyone residing in Thailand. People go to Thailand for many reasons, and end up staying there for quite a few reasons. Nonetheless, there are a lot of undesirables in Thailand, and because this is a public forum and anyone could be sitting at a computer hiding behind a username, I can not give credit to comments made by anyone, just like how some people might find my claims to be ludacris.

Overall, you seemed to spend a lot more time giving me useless feedback about a quick rant than most tutors given me on a critical review. I appreciate that. However, I just wanted to draw your attention to the folowing comment: "Some pussies are better than other pussies, maybe." I strongly disagree with that. Out of all the pussy I have sampled, no two have tasted the same or felt the same. Some pussies are better that others, no exceptions. If you can find two cloned pussies, please send me a PM so I can see for myself

BTW, until proved wrong, I stand by my comment that all a degree means is that you supposedly attened a few years of university. Can you tell me with certanty of anything else that it means? Okay, okay, I forgot.......... It also means that you should have extended knowledge and skills in whatever area you studdied, but it doesn't mean that you do. At the end of the day, all that anyone holding a real degree can claim is that they attened university and should know more in the area of subject that they studdied.

Why do I think university is worthless? Simple, because of what I can achieve without it. If anything, going to uni whilst working in only curtailing my chances to earn overtime and pay back the mortgage quicker. My brother supposedly spent 5 years in a Dallas Uni earning a bachelor of accounting. He now works for the state government and earns a measly 35K. I do realize that the USD is slightly highers that the AUD, but I still make 3 times what he makes; what it took him 5 years of studying to make. Are degrees worthless? My answer is yes

It's hard for me to credit those who don't have them making such confident statements about their relative worthlessness.

"S"

Obviously you have been in Thailand for too long, or, let me correct myslef and say, obviosuly you have been away from developed, first world, Western nations for too long (excluding the USA where the minimun wage is a few dollars, the economy is in the toilet, and you need a degree to flip hamburgers). My apologies to hear that your time in Thailand has blinded you and curtailed the commonsense you might of once had. I don't know much about you, but your line of argument would make me believe that you are an American? I know degrees are almost worth as much in America as the are in Manilla.

I still don't know why I'm bothering at university. I will most likely never be returning to Thailand to teach after returning to the West. Having experienced what both cultures have to offer, I feel that time spent in Thailand is time that could be better spent elsewhere. I earn over 100K to drive commuter trains. I get 10 weeks a year paid annual leave. Really, I get paid a lot to sit on my ass and have a lot of fun, whic hincluded being responsible for sometimes up to 2400 lives. The benefits to stay here and work without a degree by far outweight any benefits of working in Thailand. In fact, not even the management where I work hold degrees; what they do hold is something more valuable, that being years of experience and commonsense. The only peole where I work that hold degrees are the Indians, Chinese, and other immigrants that work as cleaners or ticket sellers. In fact, One cleaner who holds a Phd from some Indian university earns about 35k per year. Apart from my trade qualifications, I am less academically qualified than these people who earn less than 4 times my salary once benfits are included. How can that be?

Degrees may be the be all and end all of life in Thailand, and in Asia, but Thailand and Asia is not the be all and end all as far as places to live are concerned. Sure, the women are cheaper in Asia and they look better, but it seems that the only thing Asians are proud of is their education; education which does not curtail their stupidity or better their lifestlye. The Filippinos I used to work with used to brag about their degrees, thinking they were better. My bank statement, assets, lifestyle, and happiness proved who was really better. But, on payday, when it took me 10 times as long to count the 1000 THB banknotes in the envelope containing my salary, I think that feeling of betterness they had was gone; its easy to tell a fake smile from a genuine smile. They could obviously not use their degrees to get work in their home country so came to a similar place to work. They claimed to be in Thailand for the right reasons to teach, to make a difference, and that farangs came here to earn easy money to pay for pussy. However, I do recall that on every payday, the first things the Filippions did was run to Western Union to send money back home. I once asked, if we come here to earn easy money and you said you come here to make a difference, how come you send half your salary back home? Does that not seem to indicate that you are also here to earn money? If farangs who pay for pussy are bad, what about Filippino girls who sell their pussy? If Thai bar girls are so bad, what about Filippinos who sell their pussy? Is there a difference? I never got a truthful answer, just a bitter grin. All I could see was that they were proud of the fact that they had a degree, but seemed to deny the fact that they were not happy. At the end of the day, all a degree means is that you supposedly attened so many years of university. That's all it means. You can buy an education, but you can't buy intelligence. When Asia realises that, that will be the day Asia wakes up. Will that day ever come in Thailand? I doubt it. Not in my lifetime.

To those who decide to stay in Thailand, either because they like the Thai culture or because they can't get a root back home, Chok Dee!

May the piece of paper you hold bring you wealth and happiness!

BUT a German who leaves school after grade 9 (the norm) knows more that most Thais with a master's degree, i dare say.

I couldn't argue with that. hel_l, a newborn knows more than a Phd holding Thai

The way Thai's think and the way things are done in Thailand and Asia in general, I think you are spot on. More paper = more chances of getting what you want and more $$$$

If your friend is white then that would be the highest degree he could ever achieve.

He does not need any other degree.

I agree, it seems that White people seem to get along just fine without degrees. I thank the good Lord everyday that I am white and was able to come to Thailand, get legal work, and basically do whatever I wanted without a degree

Having said that, legitimate degrees from Western or 'White' universities cannot be bought in ways that they can in Asia. So, a degree from an Asian university (not so much in Japan) does not count for much at the end of the day considering the well known practices of bribery and corruption present in all Aspects of Asian life, and the education system.

One thing that I used to love hearing in the staffroom was comments from the Flips that suggestsed that their education system was better than all education systems in the West because their pass / fail mark is 75%. At the end of the day, what exactally does that mean? Obviously, they haven't heard of or ever looked at university ranking systems. I'm sure it was a long time since a Flip university made the top 100, let alone the top 500 list

University of Wollongong in Australia. It used to be ranked as the best university in Australia for the faculty of education. You need to do a total of 8 courses, or units, whatever you want to call them. 4 units will give you a grad cert. An additional 2, so 6 in total will give you a grad diploma. And, a total of 8 will give you a masters. The degree will be called a Masters degree in Education, MEd. You can select from a few majors, but they do offer TESOL. I think it can be done entirely online, I think................... At worst, I read somewhere, but it may be for a programme offered by a different uni, that you will need to attend for 1 week. I can't remember. Anyway, the total cost in AUD is not much. I worked it out to be 6,000 AUD total. A international MEd from a dodgy Thai uni might even cost more than that. If you can't finish, you can also graduate with a grad cert or a grad diploma in education. After I finish my BA, that is what MEd I will be doing.

Just out of curiosity, if you only got divorced in the ampur you got married in and not in farangland, would the divorce still be recognised in farangland? Or, do you have to get divorced in both coutries all the time, after only getting married in Thailand?

Despite being illegaly, it was a good try.

How did you get caught? surley you weren't stupid enough to remove the sticker in from of an official? I am interested to know how they knew you removed it, was there left over lable on your passport?

so I ended up paying 300 baht and he used white-out and overstamped with the correct date .

The moral of the saga ,Check every stamp the put in your passport.

The other moral is to always carry white-out, a date stamp and ink pad with you next time

Make sure you make the changes in front of the officer and then tell him to shuv the 300 THB up his mo-ha-ha!

Thanks for the prompt advice. Yes, it is a real ticket, I would never try anything else

I don't mean to but in, but rather than starting my own thread for one silly question, can I still get the free 30 stamp thingy if I come to Thailand with a Kangaroo passport or will I need a tourist visa? I have not been there for a year and have not been keeping up to date with any visa stuff. Also, I have an e-ticket, would the reciept I can print out from my printer be enough to show as proof of onward journey out/ Thanks in advance.

Loaded, I searched the T&T website in search for their comments in regards to teaching in Thailand and whiteness, etc. In horror, I found something quite more disturbing. I will admit that I was disapointed to not find the info on whitness and teaching, but I will also admit, when I saw something of greater horror I stoped searching. It seems T&T promotes life experience degrees. Are they just trying to provide misleading info for people who would consider not doing a TEFL course because of not having a real degree? or, are they just out of their minds? I could not believe the links to the diploma mills were even provided, and it was suggested that the MOE desires such doccuments that could be obtained from these palces. I did learn one thing however. If I ever come back to LOS to teach, the TEFL course I plan to do before I start as a refresher will not be with T&T.

Maybe we should direct all the degree related enquiries to the websites of diploma mills, or to the T&T website to say the least. $299 USD will make you legal!

I would advise a Degree in Education as this seems to be what is required now for a teacher's license. Failing that a degree in a subject you wish to teach and a postgraduate certificate/diploma in teaching. My best advice would be to become qualified as a teacher in your home country and get a couple of years experience there - when you eventually come to Thailand you will be ahead of the crowd.

Well said.

"those Who Cannot Do Anything Else, Teach..."

False in general, but true for Thailand (which is the only exception!)

From the pot smoking hippie biology teacher I had in year 12 who was also shagging the chinese art teacher in the dark photo room, to the racist old aussie fart who eventually got sacked for coping a students desk to the head after calling the student a <deleted>, I have had many great, and not so great teachers. The greatness of all teachers comes down to their personality, because I feel its their personality that determines what type of teacher they will be. You might be able to copy the techniques of great teachers, but unless you have the personality to go with it, you will just be a fraud. My hats off to all teachers is westerns countries who are way underpaid, over worked, and overexposed to the law.

I don't think loaded has the mental capacity to be allowed to point out someone's spelling mistakes, since he referred to me as an unemployed train driver.

I though I was employed given that I work as a train driver?

Could someone please clarify...................

As I previously reported on a different thread I know of three cases where people have been deported for not having a work permit. One of these cases involved a teacher spending a weekend in prison, but I must admit that particular case was told to me second-hand (but it did occur in my current school and confirmed by the other teachers). The other two cases occurred in Lad Prao while I was working there six years ago. I know that I may risk being called a liar for these comments, but hey-ho.

You're taking a big risk to make such cliams

Well, I'll do the same since I've allready been basically called a bum.

There is at least one school in BKK with a secret, kind of like basement, room, located in close proximity to the staffroom which is hiden and impossible to find (only staff know about it and people who staff mouth off to) where all the illegal teachers are herded into when immigration, plice, etc. come for a crackdown. The school has a good fence line plus full time security guard to give warning so there is plenty of time to get staff down into this room. All the legal teachers (who are the only ones with pictures around the place) are the only ones in the staff room so if a check occurs, everything checks out. I don't know when, or how many times the room has been used; all i know that it exists and has been used on occasion.

I wait to be called a liar!

I doubt you are a genius by the way you carry on, but to assume that just because you did not hear about something it did not happen, is very naieve. Are you saying that you know everything there is to know about and know everything that goes on in the education and immigration system in Thailand about teacher working without work permit crackdowns? If so, it would be safe to say that you will will the lotto if you bought a ticket. How do you know it hasn't happened? Did someone tell you it hasn't happened? Did you read that it hasn't happened? Or, are you just assuming it hasn't happened because the all mighty and powerful you has not heard about it happening? Anyway, just like you asked your good buddy wilko; prove that it hasn't happened. What evidence do you have?

You sound like an unemployed degree-less Australian train driver who had no, if not any, formal education. What's your problem? Did you come to Thailand, teach, and fail miserably?

You sound lucky to be employed to me, given your pathetic understanding of the English language. How can I be unemployed if I am a train driver? Isn't a train driver a job? I guess not.

I apologise to you that I left a third world country where there is no future in English teaching to return to the best country in the world to resume a trade that pays me twice the avergare wage of teachers here, let alone ten or so times what I was earning in Thailand.

You are a liar; if that's the term you like to use. I do have a formal education. I attended a technical college in australia for over 5 years and have various trade certificates. I am about to complete my first year of university. I might not have that worshiped piece of paper to hang on my wall yet, but I am working on it; for what I don't know because the original plan to get it to be able to teach legally in a third world country keeps looking more and more stupid if I was to do that.

So while I might not have a degree YET, at least I am bettering myself. I am not the bum who has ended up living permanently in a place where there is no future in what I am doing, unlike yourself.

Lets face it loaded, it seems like you have a chip on your shoulder. You don't sound happy, are you? Whats wrong?

Once again, I apologise for leaving a shithole and returning to the best country in the world to extend my education, return to a job which I get renumerated well above the average wage, where I earn twice what teachers earn, where I am happy, where the sky is blue, etc.

BTW, I chose to leave Thailand just as I chose to go there. I never intended on teaching, I just gave it a go because I was approached because of my young, white, good looks one day as I was walking down a Soi in BKK. I ended up staying there longer than I had planned, in fact, 12 months longer. You're right, I did fail, I failed in my plans to only travel around LOS for 12 months - I stayed for almost 24. How stupid was I?

I hope you have a better day tomorrow.

Cheers mate!

Many people read this board and believe what they read. It's your right to post whatever you want within the limits of the forum's rules. However, I asked for you to substantiate your post and you have behaved irrationally and avoided my request - no problem. People can read this thread and make their own decision whether your information is valid or not.

As a recruiter and manager of foreign teachers I take these types of post seriously. As Aussiestyle says - it may not of happened but it may happen in the future. However, nobody has shown it has happened up to now.

....as a recruiter of foreign teachers you should ALREADY know about this sort of thing.....get up to speed!

I do. It hasn't happened. You are a liar.

As a recruiter of foreign teachers, you seem to be very unprofessional. To straight out call someone a liar, apart from being arrogant, is just plain stupid. I doubt you are a genius by the way you carry on, but to assume that just because you did not hear about something it did not happen, is very naieve. Are you saying that you know everything there is to know about and know everything that goes on in the education and immigration system in Thailand about teacher working without work permit crackdowns? If so, it would be safe to say that you will will the lotto if you bought a ticket. How do you know it hasn't happened? Did someone tell you it hasn't happened? Did you read that it hasn't happened? Or, are you just assuming it hasn't happened because the all mighty and powerful you has not heard about it happening? Anyway, just like you asked your good buddy wilko; prove that it hasn't happened. What evidence do you have?