ArtVandelay

That depends on if you are on an extension of stay or still on 90 day entries with a valid visa. Since you are doing 90 day reports I guess you are on an extension of stay.

In that case you have to leave the country the same day your job ends, basically the last day over which you are getting paid. If need be you can get a 7 day extension from immigration for 1,900 baht.

You need to cancel both WP and extension of stay with a letter from the school stating the last day of your employment.

But what if the school doesn't cancel his work permit? Would the OP still need to go through all the paper work to cancel, trip to immigration, etc? Seems to me immigration would just assume he's still working.

troehr -

So you have no problem with a high school instructor teaching outside his or her subject area? Would you send one of your children to a school with a science teacher handling social studies on top of 4 other subjects?

Thanks for the comments.

Some more details that were asked for:

I teach at a private bilingual school in Bangkok. Not sure how much the students pay, but it's not cheap.

As for time management on my part, there's probably always room for improvement. However, I can also count on one hand the number of true "weekends" I have had since January (weekends where I didn't have any grading, lesson planing, test making to do), and that includes Songkran weekend.

I think I got stuck with the social studies class because the usual teacher decided she didn't want to do grades 10-11 anymore (she's better with younger students because they're more afraid of her in my opinion) and she got preferential treatment having been here 6 years longer.

I have also come to the conclusion (as have some of the posters above) that it all seems to boil down to greed and mismanagement (and possibly skimming) by the administration here. I've already started looking for another job.

What's the "average" number of courses to teach?

I was given 5 subjects this semester (19 periods a week total).

That's 5 x 2 lesson plans a week minimum.

5 tests to write every time there's a test (which is often here), 5 mid-terms, 5 final exams, notebooks and workbooks to grade too.

I'm a science teacher, so 4 of the subjects are science (grades 9-11) including biology and general science. The 5th one is not even in my area: social studies. I told them they may as well have me teach how to cook Pad Thai, but they didn't listen to me.

What's so great about being a "developed country" anyway?

Try selling hotdogs out in front of a McDonalds in the USA and see what happens to you.

Step 1) Manager comes out and threatens to call the police

Step 2) Hotdog vendor gives up and ends up living underneath a highway overpass somewhere

Step 3) Two pedestrians walk by pointing at the homeless man under the bridge and remarking that if he wasn't so lazy and had taken a job at McDonalds back when he had the chance, he'd have a place to live.

Corporations rule the west and they won't be satisfied until everyone there is either wearing a Walmart uniform or asking if you want fries to go with that happy meal.

I'm currently teaching in Minburi about 20 km north of the troubled area of BKK. So far, the only thing I've noticed is that the school closed for a week (but teachers still report). The closure is mandatory because of the government, otherwise we'd probably be open.

The only thing that concerns me now is that it seems to be spreading a bit. But overall, I'd still come to Thailand if you have all your plans in place. Just stay away from the troubled areas.

I'm trading in my crystal ball.

I honestly thought this whole thing would blow over a month or so ago when the Red Shirts failed to materialize in Bangkok in huge numbers.

some of the private language schools are not doing so well, bad karma I suspect

not sure what karma has to do with it. truth is, classes are expensive for most thais (in a weak economy) and english is not seen as the prerequisite for success it once was (see china as a/the world power)

re: the job market for teachers; weak to quite weak. if u have a day job in the states, keep it.

Not sure about that. English seems more in demand than it ever was. Just the other day I was standing in line at the Myanmar embassy in BKK behind a Japanese tourist talking to the Burmese official and they were conversing in......English.

Current Temperature in Bangkok.....37 C

Chance of Rain.............................40%

Last Coup Attempt.......................14 days ago

Does anyone know where I can find photo mats? At least a hundred or more, 5x7 or 8x10. Back home I'd go to Walmart or order over the internet. But I can't even find a website in Thailand. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

I'm turning to ThaiVisa again because it's never let me down yet.

Besides Khao San Road, where would you go to buy some English Language documentaries? I've been teaching high school science here and I'm about ready to give up finding any. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

- Current Temperature in Bangkok............30 C

- Chance of Precipitation...........................20%

- Days since last Coup attempt..................92

I was planning on heading to Khao San Road tomorrow.....should I cancel?

Check back in about.....5 hours.

Hopefully...cooler heads will prevail.

I just rode the entire length of the BTS line, taking about an hour to walk around Victory Monument. Everything seemed totally normal, as if nothing at all was happening. Also a great many people have left Bangkok to return to their respective villages. I no longer think anything crazy is going to happen in the next few days. I think it will be Song Kran as normal perhaps with a little less people than normal which is fine with me.

Hope you're right..!

I was planning on heading to Khao San Road tomorrow.....should I cancel?

So what does everyone think is going to happen in the next 24 hrs or so?

Will the protestors call it a day and wait till morning?

Or do Thais tend to carry these things on into the night, too?

I've read several posts on this subject and am still somewhat confused about Thai visas, work permits, and how they fit together.

Do I still need to do visa runs on a non B visa even with a work permit that says I'll be employed for a year?

If so, should I get the multi-entry visa?

Thanks in advance.

If the company can meet the requirements to get an extension of stay called out in 2.1 of the police order and guidlines you would not need to do border runs.

police_order_2008.pdf

guide_lines.pdf

Thanks ubonjoe. You've been most helpful (as always).

Will this mean the end of the infamous Khaosan Road fake teaching credential industry...? Or just wishful thinking.?

..........and George W Bush gets to go to Texas and write his memoirs.......go figure.

I'm one of the 55 out of 100...

Depends on what you mean by Thai schools. If you mean public schools, they don't get much money from the government anyway, so I doubt that there can/will be serious funding cuts in supplies- many foreign salaries are sponsored somehow by the PTA or some other scheme, so loss of income by the parents could affect things. Some of the more hideous private schools may (thankfully) go under as the competition gets worse, but to describe them as employers is being too kind.

But whether or not any individual school or type of school suffers, the need for EFL will be on the rise- people will still need Thailand's main exports- even more if the food supply continues to be problematic- and so Thais will need to be able to speak English to do business with many of them.

"S"

Thanks. I guess I meant any school. Your reasoning is encouraging. Perhaps I'm just afraid my timing might be bad. It wouldn't be too good being 10,000 miles from home and then finding out I can't support myself there...LOL.

Do you think Thai schools will be cutting back on the number of foreign teachers, teaching supplies, etc, if the economy gets worse?

Thanks.

From what I understand so far, bilingual schools in Thailand have a Thai teacher and a farang teacher, and they take turns teaching the same lesson. I would like to teach science and have been offered a possible position at a bilingual school.

Which is better, EP or Bilingual?

Advantages/Disadvantages of each?

Thanks in Advance.

Thanks for all the advice. Best site on the internet for Thai teaching info.

I'd like to teach in Thailand (been there twice, really like it) but am still unclear on how the tax situation works.

1) Do the Thai schools take out taxes from farang teachers paychecks? and

2) What happens when I return home (to US in my case)..? Do I need to tell my embassy I am teaching abroad before I leave? What happens if I wait until I get back? Will I have trouble getting back in my country (with a wp in my passport)? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Art

I flew Biman from Bangkok to Nepal last december and as the plane was making an approach for the airport in Bangladesh one guy stood up to get his luggage out of the overhead compartment, then everyone got up to do the same thing (except me and another farang couple in front, who were just as astonished as I was). The asiles were full of people and we were still a mile off the ground. The flight attendant started yelling in Bangladesh for everyone to sit down. They did, and we landed.

To Dale's family and friends:

I hope you find some peace someday. I didn't know him, but my guess is Dale would have wanted you to..