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On a side issue raised by Mak's contribution.

There are many more qualified and very experienced teachers all over the world than many people realise. They have left the teaching profession because they are underpaid and undervalued with the work becoming increasingly more stressful. They now earn more money and are more appreciated doing other types of work - driving taxis, running businesses etc. Yet in the USA, UK, Many European countries and Australia there is a grave shortage of teachers for schools.

Here in Thailand it seems that the authorities are determined to join the ranks of the other countries who want highly professional and qualified teachers but don't want to pay them their worth or make their working conditions less stressful.

Add another issue to the pot - the minimum taxable salaries of foreigners as published by the immigration authorities. Government schools do not need to pay these minumum wages as teachers are in a special category. They can be paid the 25K - 30K per month, get a visa which requires visa runs, and have the privilege of paying tax as if they were on the minimum stipulated wage levels. What a wonderful scenario to encourage foreigners to teach here in Thailand, whether they be qualified, unqualified, backpackers or others.

I agree with most of the serious comments on this topic. The original questioner condemns himself with his opening comments and questions. Looking for the easy option usually lands people in trouble of one sort or another. Unfortunately the issue of 'teaching' whether it be of English or other subjects is of vital importance to the future of Thailand, and many less than competent 'teachers' are currently in post doing their best which is not good enough. The Thai authorities seem to believe that a degree (or two) will solve the problem. They are mistaken. Just as they are mistaken about the TEFL type qualification as a basis for teaching English. Teacher Training (perhaps before or after a degree course) is the surest way to reduce the risk of poor teaching. At least properly trained teachers (usually a 2 or 3 year course with degree like certification) should have some idea of learning processes and how to facilitate learning in students.

Having said this I know some superb teachers who are highly skilled and in great demand for private tuition, who are not degree holders. I am sure that these 'professionals' would enhance the staff profile of any school. They will never get the chance and the students will never experience this level of excellence whilst attention is concentrated upon the packaging rather than the performance. There is room for both degree qualified teachers and non-degree teachers the criterion should be performance ability. Sorry to be a bit of a bore but this whole discussion area is of huge importance in every country in the world and particularly here in Paradise.

I quite welcome this initiative. If they issue volunteers with uniforms (SS type with special arm bands) I shall definitely sign up. I can just see myself standing on a busy street grassing up all the lunatics as they rush past to the next traffic jam. Now, if they issue us volunteers with guns as well perhaps the traffic problems will be solved as fast as the drug problem was.

Sounds to me like there is plenty of material here for potential "Darwin Awards". On the bright side we can be confident that the gene pool is being strengthened, daily here in Thailand.

[As a kid of foriegn father, your kid is entitled to duo-citizenship until he reach 18 or 20 years old if I am not wrong. That's when he needs to choose whether to keep US citizenship or Thai citizenship. The consulate in LA should be able to explain this to you.

A kid of foriegn mother and Thai father, is allowed under Thai law to hold duo nationalities for the rest of his life. He doesn't have to choose.

In my experience, not true.

I am way over 18 and have applied have applied for/renewed my Thai passport in Canberra 3 times without problem since my 18th birthday. My Dad is Australian and my mother is Thai and I have maintained 2 nationalities all my life.]

I don't understand this. My newborn daughter was born here in Thailand (my wife is Thai). She has a Thai birth certificate and is registered in our Tabien Bann. She has been allocated a Thai ID number. She is clearly a Thai citizen and entitled to a Thai passport. She has also been registered at the British Embassy and I have her UK birth certificate, the original of which is held in the UK central registry - for ever. All she ever needs to do to get a UK passport is produce this certificate and fill in the form. The question of giving up a nationality does not arise. There is no question on the form asking about this so why should it come up? The Australian example above seems to me to ring true.

Don't know about Bangkok but here in Phuket a Thai driving license seems to be as good as a passport. It is also accepted on internal flights as proof of identity. I am sure that the police must understand that passports are too valuable to carry around on a night out. I have heard, though have no personal experience, that here in Phuket they would give you a ticket and you would have to produce the passport to the local police. On a recent trip to Bangkok I must admit that I was surprised at the high police presence almost everywhere. Don't think I would want to live there.

How can this be? I thought that Toxin had declared Thailand free of drugs, dark forces and latterly bird flu. This is surely nothing to be concerned about. Interestingly I heard somewhere that the French Embassy is refusing to issue Thai Chickens with passports or visas.

whilst my wife was pregnant she was ultra scanned and they diagnosed a mass in the developing baby. Subsequent scans were said to show evidence of a terratoma. When the baby was born a further scan showed no tumour but some evidence of ovarian cysts. A later scan confirmed the cysts. I have had advice from the UK that tumours cannot just resolve themselves and turn into cysts. This leads me to question the radiological analysis here in Phuket. I am advised that there are "world class" facilities in Bangkok. As my daughter is now 4 moths old I would like to have this whole issue resolved. Does anyone know of a "world class" hospital in Bangkok which has the facilities to deal with very small babies with the above type problems? Would be grateful for contact phone number and name of recommended clinician.

For a 1 year retirement visa extension all you need are each of the following plus 2 copies of each.

Your bank passbook, a bank statement (costs about 100B), a letter certifying the balance in the bank book and on the bank statement (costs another 200B) (the minimum amount they are looking for is 800,000B), a medical statement (costs 80B in Phuket: the doctor waves a stethoscope over your T shirt as you are paying the cashier), 2 photos.

I have had a number of 1 year extensions both retirement and married to a Thai type, and no-one has ever asked me for a criminal record or anything like that. All you need when you arrive in Thailand is a Non-Immigrant O, A or B type visa. This initial visa is extended here in Thailand for a maximum of 1 year.

I recently registered the birth of my child here in Thailand. I am British my wife is Thai. SAll the at is required (in Phuket) is for the mother to go to the Amphur with the birth certificate probvided by the hospital, her Tabian Ban (or house papers) and her ID card. All finished in 5 minutes. The child is registered on the house documents and that seems to be that.

The hospital should have given you a copy of the birth certificate in English as well. At least mine did. This together with a long list of documents (posted on the UK Govt web site) will be required to register the birth at the UK embassy so the child has British nationality as well as Thai nationality. The UK registration sound likes a bit of a day-out job. By the way for the UK registration you must be legally married and have a translated marriage certificate.

Hope this helps.