Teaching Politics

[paulfr]

I hear a lot about the politics in the teaching industry and I am wondering if the source of the problems are with the relationships between the farang teachers and the Thai supervisors and administrators.

Is there a competitive edge there that causes Thai's to treat Farangs in a manner that is distasteful ? One can easily see how a Thai could be envious and bitter about Farang's good fortune with better education, home country wealth, and higher pay rates here in LOS.

Or is it simply the administrators trying to meet the demands of the parents ?

Does this vary from Govt schools, to Private schools, to Uni's ??

Curious to hear our experienced members comments on this thorny issue.

[PeaceBlondie]

Just a couple of guesses.

a. Some Thai administrators have the old fashioned master/slave model for dealing with their employees. they treat Thai and farang ajarn the same - like dirt.

b. Some Thai administrators are just too busy with other important duties to give proper attention to farang.

c. Some Thai ajarns make more money than the farang - especially, administrators make more than mere English teachers, before considering income from tea money.

d. They're ignorant about foreign countries, foreign people, English language, and they don't want to show their ignorance.

e. Some Thai bosses aren't particularly prejudiced against farang as such; nevertheless, we don't count for much in their life.

f. Perhaps all the above are incorrect guesses.

[paulfr]

PB

Very diplomatic response.

I'll bet you hate/hated the politics, but could be pretty good at it when you wanted to be.

Not too many seem to want to touch this topic it seems.

So thanks for being brave ........ and for the ideas.

Paul

[Thaiboxer]

This is an interesting topic and an issue which has ruffled feathers throughout the EFL industry for a long time. Unless drastic changes are made, this will continue to be the case. There are many factors which cause this conflict between Thai/Farang staff. Many Thai staff will envy/resent foreigners since they (in most cases) work MUCH longer hours and receive MUCH lower wages. On the contrary, many foreigners envy/resent Thai staff since the Thai staff are MUCH better informed as to the daily/weekly/monthly school schedule and have A LOT more say in how things are run.

Speaking of how things are run, here is another HUGE factor: Most (in my opinion) Thai administrators don't really know how to manage foreign teachers. Managing staff isn't just about filling in time schedules and paying wages; it involves a lot of psychology and people skills. To be fair, we foreign teachers shouldn't expect everything to be done the way it is in the West but likewise the Thai administrators shouldn't expect us to do everything the way it's done here. When either party expects everything to be done their way it creates the tension we see time and time again. The tactic I use to defend myself against the office politics at school is to not take the last minute schedule changes too seriously....particularly since most of them involve either class cancellations or some sort of non-teaching activity. I also don't get involved with the workload/wage issues of the Thai staff. This makes the job much easier plus it gives me the extra energy I need to do my job better.

[jomama]

The biggest recent fracas was at a school in Phuket. The Thai owner decided to make "cultural adjustments" to the administration. The policies of the school were based on (indeed a franchise of) a famous school in London. The farang headmaster reported what was going on to the head office in London -- and he was summarily fired by the Thai owner, the locks on his school residence changed, his phone cut off and his children kicked out of school.

As a result, the London school pulled the plug and the Phuket school has since been renamed.

Yes, there are politics at many of the schools, but not all. Remember that a Thai headmaster or administrator is high up on the prestige ladder here and does not like (indeed abhors) criticism, or anything that is perceived as criticism. Given the cultural and language challenges criticism can be perceived when that may not be the case. I have known of many times where people were swimming in murky waters, totally confused about what went wrong.

If the admin has attended university in the West, the chances of this type of thing are much less probable. If they are a product entirely of the Thai system, the chances of "face" and resentment playing a part are much greater.

[cmsally]

I don't have experience working in any of the schools but many close friends do. I have many close friends who are both Thai and Farang teachers and both have much the same grievances except foreigners are more exacerbated by language problems and lack of information..

In general I find there is very little jealousy between the 2 groups of teachers. If a problem comes up with a farang teacher it's normally because someone not suitable to do the job was hired or that teacher has a problem with the administration.

In fact ALL problems I've seen are sourced at administration. They seem to chug along OK when it comes to administrating Thais but do not have the skills to hire the right farangs and create and sustain a good working atmosphere.

Most farangs think that the administrations are too big and have no useful function, a lot of people think most administrators should be teaching part time, so they know what goes on. After all this is what schools are about, education and students NOT petty disputes, rivalries and office politics. As soon as most Thai schools (both Thai and international) wake up to this fact they will have a better education system and happier teachers.

I am sure there are schools out there who do not suffer these problems, but from what I've heard the majority are overshadowed by a group of power zealots who are driven by other motives than giving their students a decent education.

[Bluffer]

Just a couple of guesses.

a. Some Thai administrators have the old fashioned master/slave model for dealing with their employees.  they treat Thai and farang ajarn the same - like dirt.

b. Some Thai administrators are just too busy with other important duties to give proper attention to farang.

c. Some Thai ajarns make more money than the farang - especially, administrators make more than mere English teachers, before considering income from tea money.

d. They're ignorant about foreign countries, foreign people, English language, and they don't want to show their ignorance.

e. Some Thai bosses aren't particularly prejudiced against farang as such; nevertheless, we don't count for much in their life.

f. Perhaps all the above are incorrect guesses.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I think you forgot

f. they know that the thai staff will be there for years but the farangs will disappear in a year ( or less ) so its easier to side with thai staff on any arguments or delay any decision until the farang leaves with his new fangled ideas

g. sometimes all of the above

h. they have to show they werent colonised or invaded by the Uk or any other country ever. ( except burma, khmer etc but they dont count)

Edited August 3, 2005 by Bluffer

[Tyree D.]

at Mae Fah Luang University they also threat the Thai profs like shit, but they will never complain. They do more work and only get paid half. The administration is definetly not jealous; they are multi-millionares with degrees in other countries.

[paulfr]

At a private high school I know about here in Bangkok, Thai teachers are paid about 25% of what the Farang teachers are paid and they have to work more days and longer hours.

Is it any wonder there is envy breeding friction between the two cultures at work ?

[Rumpole]

I believe it was Roosevelt, who when asked why the politics of academia are so vicious, replied "Because the stakes are so small".

[Rumpole]

At a private high school I know about here in Bangkok, Thai teachers are paid about 25% of what the Farang teachers are paid and they have to work more days and longer hours.

Is it any wonder there is envy breeding friction between the two cultures at work ?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

No farang in his or her right mind is going to work for the same salary and under exactly the same conditions as a Thai teacher. Not even some of the flotsam and jetsam which currently call themselves "teachers", simply because it is the only way they can remain in the country. The situation is the same in many other countries. Thailand is hardly unique in this regard.