Life Degrees

[Loaded]

I'm sure the title of the OP is 'Life Degrees, Do Schools Accept them?'

The answer is that unfortunately quite a few do.

[Martian]

Sigma Alpha What? I'm a member of a Sigma Alpha Something and I was just wondering if it is/was my brethren keeping up the image!

Regards,

Martian

[garro]

Hi Aussiestyle, for somebody who claims to be happy you certainly whinge a lot I thought it was admirable that you went back to education to achieve your goals, but I suppose goals change.

I am amazed at those who claim that degrees are without value. I spent a lot of my life in Ireland and the UK and most of the people I knew did value education. The ones that didn't value education were often those who didn't need a degree or did not have the ability to achieve this standard. I often found that those who were most critical about degrees were the same guys who would beat up those in school who liked to study because liking books meant you were 'puffy'. I suppose we all have to protect our egos so if it helps you feel good about yourself to think that only the poor are happy, and having a degree means your an idiot, then go for it. It just sounds idiotic to here this sentiment coming from people who want to teach.

I think that if you want to be an educator/teacher then you should have an academic degree. How can someone who does not value education promote education? I work in an English program and know that all my students want to go to university. I feel that it is important that for me to have achieved a higher academic standard than those I teach. Of course, if you see yourself as just a children's entertainer then perhaps a degree is not needed.

At the end of the day though what I think does not matter. What does matter is that the Thailand wants people with degrees - at least officially.

Edited September 30, 2008 by garro

[aussiestyle1983]

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.

[Martian]

I never understand why an excellent Philipino teacher with experience earns 15000 Baht and at the same school a white German with no experience and terrible english accent can earn 40000 baht.

I feel sorry for them , they work hard and have to send money back to their poor families back in the Philippines.

This is just discrimination , one of the things I hate about Thailand.

The key word here is "white". Yes, if you use your values and standards to measure Thai society by, you will surely arrive at discrimination, disgust and many other descriptive derogatories (sp?). Thailand is not for you, its their country and they can and will do within what they want. Anyone going to almost any other country and using their own country's values, morals and "norms" for comparison or rationalization is destined to be disappointed and/or dissolutioned.

Whenever I speak to people considering a trip to Thailand I tell them not to go unless they can leave their home country's values, morals and standards at home because they won't fully appreciate the country or society they visit.

This is also true when visiting Mars......I know....lol.

It took me few weeks to come to the realization that I wasn't going to convince all of Thailand to drive like I think they should (and the law says they should) so I adjusted my driving style and expectations accordingly and lowered my blood pressure, adding years to my life.

When in Rome....you know the rest.

Regards,

Martian

Edited September 30, 2008 by Martian

[PeaceBlondie]

Most real degrees earned in most real universities are beneficial, and the first year usually teaches far more than communication skills. Whilst we're giving personal examples of life experience to teach in public schools, who can better teach chemistry and physics:

A. My daughter with a BA in education and science, M.Ed., 20 years of secondary teaching experience, with professional awards, who has probably never smoked a joint

B. My dope-smoking alcoholic high-school dropout son who is well traveled but worked his way up from condom salesman to cook

C. My dope-smoking alcoholic daughter who worked as a waitress after dropping out of 9th grade, and has just finished her first year at Texas Southmost Junior College at age 27, because she really wants to be a history teacher

D. My dope-smoking high school daughter who got pregnant at age 16 from a dope-smoker who is a recovering alcoholic, but they and their three kids are doing well, considering

Heck, let me just buy the dope-smoking alcoholics a life experience degree and a ticket to Thailand and get them started teaching EFL. Only one of my four dropouts can write a good email, when he's sober. I love them all, but only the BA/M.Ed and the BBA/MBA (four degrees with Honors, from real schools) could teach well.

[aussiestyle1983]

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

[PeaceBlondie]

Exactly, which is what most of us have always said. EFL conversational teachers do not need any degree. But the TCT thinks otherwise, and is trying to control licensing of farang teachers. Many Thai schools hire non-degree native speakers, but even the best schools sometimes do not make the teacher legal.

Then you have the question of how competent these non-degreed native speakers are. Only one of my four dropout kids should be teachers, because she has always wanted to. But the ex-condom salesman is a con artist; he could pull it off.

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

[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............................

[Ijustwannateach]

Since this topic has become an off-topic flame war (at least by one party), it is now closed. Aussiestyle, you are straining my patience with your name-calling [see 'nut case,' etc.]. It won't continue (towards me, Filipinos, or anyone else). In terms of the topic, it really doesn't seem worth replying to you further.

Thread closed, as no one has posted on-topic in some time. [and this thread is yet another example of why we don't allow many conversations in the Teacher's Forum about the value of degrees, in teaching or any other way apparently].