Callmeishmael

I spent my first 4 years in Thailand struggling to teach English at a couple of Government Schools. It was really disheartening to try to get through a decent lesson and I really had a hard time at first. After a couple of years though, I learned enough about classroom management to get most of the kids to pay attention and at least go through the motions. Then I got a job in an EP program in one of the "famous" schools in Bangkok. What a difference! I could really communicate with the kids, they really wanted to learn and really tried hard to do the lessons I prepared. A new school director let all of the experienced foreign teachers go at the end of the year, but several of us moved to a decent private EP school and I have been there ever since. (teaching Science, not English, as my degree is in one of the sciences). I realize that this doesn't really answer the OPs question, but really, getting out of an impossible situation is sometimes the only thing to do.

My cat was bilingual. She would ignore me in Thai AND English!

Before giving you any advice, I would like to ask about your long-term plans and your age. If you are under 40, or even better under 30, and are looking for an interesting experience for two to four years, I would say, quit farting about and get on a plane to Thailand. As others have said, getting a job for 30 - 40k should not be difficult if you are a Native English Speaker. If you are tall, blond, blue eyed and reasonably fit you should be able to walk into any Thai school and get hired immediately. If you are not blessed with those attributes, but are reasonably neat and polite you can still get a job. So, once you have your job and your room you have to get your paperwork straightened out. Now, even if they have the best intentions in the word, your new school may struggle to get this done. The Byzantine rules of the Immigration Police, Labor Office and the Teacher's council of Thailand often baffle and appall the hapless office girl who has been given the thankless task of getting you legal. The requirements are both confusing and haphazardly enforced. For example, I have never had to produce a Criminal Background Check, while others have had to get fingerprinted, send those prints to the FBI, have the FBI document certified at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, etc.... Assuming you and the hapless office girl persevere, you should end up with a one year Visa, a matching Work Permit and a two year Teaching License Waiver. Hopefully you are happy at your school and they treat you well, otherwise you will have to repeat the whole process all over again. The TCT will give you up to 3 license waivers, maybe 4 if they lose track of your previous licenses or you ask for another one very nicely. Then your waivers will all be used up and you will have to go home or try to get a real Teacher's License. At this time, the only way to get a Thai Teacher's license is to already have one from your home country. Even a B.Ed. or even a M.Ed. won't help you, although remember what I said earlier about haphazard enforcement of the rules... you just might get lucky! Now, let's assume that you want to teach as a long-term career. Go back to school, get an M.Ed.. Get a job at a public school in the US. Once you have your US teacher's certification and two years experience, you can get a job at an international school where you will earn 4 or 5 times as much as a TEFLer and get generous benefits including a nice long paid summer vacation.

^No, it means that, as licensed teachers in their home countries, they can get Thai licenses easily.

Yes, I was given a pair of those wings after jumping off a 10 meter tower at a Scout/English Camp! I have actually jumped out of an airplane doing a static line jump, but I didn't get any wings for that.

The last time we visited California I took my wife to my favorite taqueria and ordered one super burrito. She was puzzled as to why I had ordered only one, but when it arrived she understood!

A few years ago I realized that I didn't have my passport while we were driving to the airport! I gave them my Thai DL and got on the plane with no problems.

Before the coup I could just show my Thai Drivers License and usually get the Thai price. One of the first acts of the Generals was to put a stop to that!

I'm sure that schools will be among the last places to go maskless. I was thinking that the mask rules would be relaxed for next year, but quite frankly, I don't know when we will ever be unmasked. Even when covid is just a memory, Thailand still has seasonal flu outbreaks, hand-foot-and mouth disease and chronic air pollution. I don't know if teachers and students will ever be free of masks. ????

The dogs were wagging their tails while barking, which usually means that they are excited, but not hostile. However, anytime you have an excited pack of dogs like that you have the potential for trouble. A pack of dogs usually follow the lead of their most aggressive member, so all it would take would be one angry dog to set them off. A pack of dogs is like a mob of humans, but worse, as they cannot speak or try to reason with each other.

The good old Spicy Club... well before 2008 I recall an acquaintance I met there complimenting me for my relatively good morals... I left with the same two girls I arrived with!

Are you talking about a lowered car like a low-rider? In Bangkok the issue isn't hills or even speed bumps, but floods. Bangkok has fairly frequent floods in many areas and a very low car could literally float away in some streets. A lot of people buy SUVs, not for going off-road, but for driving safely in the city after a heavy rain.

I don't know if I can post this link here: https://www.gammaco.com/ This is where we get almost everything for our lab.

Why don't they just design a plane of their own? They did it before!

Not really relevant, but the father is 54 and the daughter is 37? So he became a father at age 17 and is now a multi-millionaire? The inside story would be very interesting to hear.

And all that money spent did not prevent the soi at the end of my street being hubcap deep in water!

I'm no fan of Anutin, but he's 100% correct this time. We don't need more poison spread about!

No mention of the fact that heavy rains last night resulting in some roads being flooded this morning. I can usually get to school in about 20 minutes, but today it took closer to 40. Fortunately I always try to arrive at least half and hour early.

International School teachers also need Thai licenses. However, most of them have licenses from their home counties, which will qualify them for Thai licenses.

^ I'll let you know if I am indeed a grandfather about 11 months from now!

Was the kid thinking about cheating???!!!!

This one's the cheapest and easiest. http://saintrobertsgroup.com/ANNOUNCEMENT/ You get what you pay for, but it is recognized by the TCT. Signing up for this course should get you one more waiver. However, anyone getting a diploma or a PGCEi now will still have to take a TCT test that NO-ONE seems to have passed, in order to get their teacher's license.

9 more days until those annoying signs that make driving in Bangkok eve more dangerous than usual will start to go way!

I'm fairly certain that masks will have to be worn at schools long after they are no longer required elsewhere.

Rats? Sinking ship?