Do You Have Any Morals?

[Neeranam]

I recently declined the offer to "teach" some kids of the friends of a friend.

They offered my 1300 baht an hour to go to their house on Tuesday and Friday evenings. Asking about what their level was and if they were motivated, the reply was , "mai bpen rai", just play games.

One is 12, one 16 and one 9!

From asking a few other questions I realized that this was an obvious case of baby-sitting and impressing the neighbours.

1300 baht is a lot in Isaan(NE Thailand).

I ain't becoming a babysitter.

I have been before but never again.

What would you do?

I actually said 1500 an hour thinking this would be way too much for them.

Edited September 13, 2005 by Neeranam

[Thetyim]

I do not understand what it has to do with morals.

You are giving the parents exactly what they expect.

And to answer your question. Yes I would do it.

[Tywais]

A baby sitter is one thing, but a baby sitter for Thai kids ....uh uh, no way. Hope I don't get any flack for this statement, but seems most Thai kids are out of control and seriously lacking manners. That last part amazes me since Thais as a whole are pretty well manored.

[Thaipwriter]

A baby sitter is one thing, but a baby sitter for Thai kids ....uh uh, no way.  Hope I don't get any flack for this statement, but seems most Thai kids are out of control and seriously lacking manners.  That last part amazes me since Thais as a whole are pretty well manored.

You must visit the cites of Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow and see how the "children" of equivalent ages behave.

When you have done that please reconsider your post!!!!!

OP, money for nothing, I would go ahead and do it, but try and teach a little English.

Or refer the work to a needy farang?

[The_Moog]

You don't mean 'morals', you mean self-esteem.

[mbkudu]

I recently declined the offer to "teach" some kids of the friends of a friend.

They offered my 1300 baht an hour to go to their house on Tuesday and Friday evenings. Asking about what their level was and if they were motivated, the reply was , "mai bpen rai", just play games.

One is 12, one 16 and one 9!

From asking a few other questions I realized that this was an obvious case of baby-sitting and impressing the neighbours.

1300 baht is a lot in Isaan(NE Thailand).

I ain't becoming a babysitter.

I have been before but never again.

What would you do?

I actually said 1500 an hour thinking this would be way too much for them.

Are you kidding? I did this type of work quite often. One Chinese kid was waiting to get accepted at an international school and his father told me each day I came to just take him to the cinema and talk to him. Unfortunately I wasn't getting 1,300 baht an hour; more like half of that. I would do it in a heart beat if that's what you're asking.

[mijan246]

Neeranam If you decide it's not for you PM me I am in Khon Kaen.

[The_Eye_Of_Sauron]

Do You Have Any Morals? 

Would you be a babysitter?

You shouldn't play things like 'Doctors and Nurses' when you're babysitting. That would kind of be immoral Neenaram.

Or strip poker....same sort of reasoning applies. Also not moral.

[Totster]

Thats 37 bottles of Chang an hour... I'd do it..

totster

Edited September 13, 2005 by Totster

[Neeranam]

You don't mean 'morals', you mean self-esteem.

Quite right, that's what I meant, or 'pride', self-respect.

[taxexile]

if you feel they are using you (albeit with payment) and it compromises your pride , morals or self esteem then you should not do it.

if you think that you might be able to teach them something useful as opposed to just babysitting them and they end up telling their parents that they enjoyed the time and repeat some english words or phrases then the parents might see some value in it and you might be asked if you can do some more hours.

why not have them bring the kids over to your house and try and actually teach them there .

if they are away from their home then they might feel more inclined to behave better and you might be able to actually get them to learn something.

[Spit the Dog]

Why not give it a try. 1300 baht an hour is well above the going rate. If you don't like it you can always quit.

Every Thursday evening, I teach English to a 7 year old kid at his home. I told his mother 3 months ago that he wasn't motivated and that I thought it was a waste of her money and my time. She shrugged her shoulders and said 'Mai pen rai'. So now I just sit with him and play computer games for an hour. It's basically 500 baht for doing nothing.

[Ijustwannateach]

Sometimes the parents just want shopping time or time with their friends, or even nooky time together. It's not always about the kid.

"Steven"

[taxexile]

It's basically 500 baht for doing nothing

it sounds like your ability to motivate a seven year old to learn is less than his ability to be motivated.

the mother doesnt want to "sack " you , she might find it hard to do.

if you are unable to motivate the child , then at least try and find someone who can , rather than "do nothing" and taking money for it.

i am not a teacher , but teachers that i know say that motivating kids can be the hardest part of the job , if your motivational skills are rusty , then perhaps some re-training is in order. ???

then you can do your best and do your job with pride , which is what this topic is concerned with.

[Spit the Dog]

It's basically 500 baht for doing nothing

it sounds like your ability to motivate a seven year old to learn is less than his ability to be motivated.

the mother doesnt want to "sack " you , she might find it hard to do.

if you are unable to motivate the child , then at least try and find someone who can , rather than "do nothing" and taking money for it.

i am not a teacher , but teachers that i know say that motivating kids can be the hardest part of the job , if your motivational skills are rusty , then perhaps some re-training is in order. ???

then you can do your best and do your job with pride , which is what this topic is concerned with.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The kid is being forced to take special lessons every evening after school for English, Thai, swimming and golf. If you have ever taught young learners, you would know that the last thing that they want to do is extra studying when they return home from school.

I teach plenty of young learners and know what they enjoy learning and how to motivate them.

As I said before, I told the parent that it was time for a change but she insisted on me coming back. Surely she would have politely agreed with me if she wanted to 'sack' me.

Basically if the kid was willing to co-operate and learn, I would give it my best shot and teach with 'pride'. He wants to sit and play computer games, his mum doesn't mind so why should I feel guilty about taking the money.

P.s I teach at a school from Mon-Fri and give it my best effort. The kids will always be my priority. It doesn't mean I need retraining just because I take the money for playing computer games with a spoilt brat.

[Neeranam]

QUOTE

It's basically 500 baht for doing nothing

it sounds like your ability to motivate a seven year old to learn is less than his ability to be motivated.

the mother doesnt want to "sack " you , she might find it hard to do.

if you are unable to motivate the child , then at least try and find someone who can , rather than "do nothing" and taking money for it.

i am not a teacher , but teachers that i know say that motivating kids can be the hardest part of the job , if your motivational skills are rusty , then perhaps some re-training is in order. ???

then you can do your best and do your job with pride , which is what this topic is concerned with.

t

I agree with the above. I think you see where I am coming from Taxexile.

I used to have the ability to motivate kids and was a good teacher, but after years of doing it, I can't be arsed.

So now I don't want to teach kids as I don't have the motivation to motivate and would feel bad taking someone's money off them for not doing anything apart from baby-sitting.

I have met so many teachers who say that there students are totally not motivated, lazy, yawning in class etc. This is probably due to the teacher being a bore. It is the teachers job to motivate. I found this a lot easier in my late twenties, new to the "trade" than now, 13 years on.

I found it pretty soul destroying being a baby-sitter then, but at least I gave my best.

A couple of years back, I wsa teaching a rich mate's daughters Year 10, 12 at an international school Maths/English for 1000 baht an hour. He always insisted in paying me for 4 hours on the day I went. On arriving I would get coffee and biscuits from one of the maids and watch telly for at least half an hour before the first one would come home. The girls ended up being on the phone most of the time and asking me advice on boyfriends etc. Then they would always head out way before I was due to finish. How could I keep this easy money? My friend said not to worry as it was nothing for him, and he liked helping me out. I felt like a cheap cheat, or a charity case and refused to carry on after about doing it for a year. So yes, I had some self-esteem and pride. If I can't do a job properly now I don't do it, regardless of the money, well I guess we all have a price.

I know some guys who boast about their students teaching them Thai, taking their money and don't have a problem with it. One can only do that for a short time.

I think teaching in Thailand has a life expectancy of under 10 years, especially doing kids, unless you are a proper, 'real', qualified teacher, which I'm not.

[sanook2me]

neeranam

I think teaching in Thailand has a life expectancy of under 10 years, especially doing kids, unless you are a proper, 'real', qualified teacher, which I'm not.

I concur, but i think about 2 to 5 years..

Private classes I took at the beginning of my teaching career i felt like a nerd as i was learning the thing i was supposed to be teaching at the same time as i was teaching And then once i'd mastered the art of organizing and constructing an interesting lesson I still felt like I was a nerd for portraying myself as teacher but really knowing I wasn't.

Teaching is fun for a while and then you have to decide to make it a career and invest in qualifications or leave. I did the latter

0-----------------------------

forgot to post my opinion about the OP...

Financially its a killing for a top up on a TEFL teachers salary but you've been in Thailand so long that I think you've developed a conscious and are embarrassed to take the money for the fear of further embarrassment.......from the parents...

"khun kru rien sanook mai?!" is that it ! don't these people take me seriously NO.

IMHO

Edited September 14, 2005 by sanook2me

[kayo]

I´d do it. I used to teach for 250 baht an hour... Piss compared to what they are offering you... If the 16 year old is a guy, could be hesitant, cause I´ve always refused to teach kids older than fiften, due to teenagers being, teenager-ly, if she is a girl, she´d probably be more tranquilla with me....

[taxexile]

The kid is being forced to take special lessons every evening after school for English, Thai, swimming and golf. If you have ever taught young learners, you would know that the last thing that they want to do is extra studying when they return home from school.

I teach plenty of young learners and know what they enjoy learning and how to motivate them.

As I said before, I told the parent that it was time for a change but she insisted on me coming back. Surely she would have politely agreed with me if she wanted to 'sack' me.

Basically if the kid was willing to co-operate and learn, I would give it my best shot and teach with 'pride'. He wants to sit and play computer games, his mum doesn't mind so why should I feel guilty about taking the money.

P.s I teach at a school from Mon-Fri and give it my best effort. The kids will always be my priority. It doesn't mean I need retraining just because I take the money for playing computer games with a spoilt brat.

thanks spit the dog for explaining the situation in more detail.

my nephew (aged 14) here had extra tuition after school , a succession of teachers would turn up at the house after school and he would just go into zombie mode and stare at the notebooks as if he was in a trance. the teachers would go into robot mode and just carry on for the hour as if they had an alert and responsive pupil in front of them. nothing seemed to be taught and nothing seemed to be learned.

[Spit the Dog]

I agree with the above. I think you see where I am coming from Taxexile.

I used to have the ability to motivate kids and was a good teacher, but after years of doing it, I can't be arsed.

So now I don't want to teach kids as I don't have the motivation to motivate and would feel bad taking someone's money off them for not doing anything apart from baby-sitting.

I have met so many teachers who say that there students are totally not motivated, lazy, yawning in class etc. This is probably due to the teacher being a bore. It is the teachers job to motivate. I found this a lot easier in my late twenties, new to the "trade" than now, 13 years on.

I found it pretty soul destroying being a baby-sitter then, but at least I gave my best.

A couple of years back, I wsa teaching a rich mate's daughters Year 10, 12 at an international school Maths/English for 1000 baht an hour. He always insisted in paying me for 4 hours on the day I went. On arriving I would get coffee and biscuits from one of the maids and watch telly for at least half an hour before the first one would come home. The girls ended up being on the phone most of the time and asking me advice on boyfriends etc. Then they would always head out way before I was due to finish. How could I keep this easy money? My friend said not to worry as it was nothing for him, and he liked helping me out. I felt like a cheap cheat, or a charity case and refused to carry on after about doing it for a year. So yes, I had some self-esteem and pride. If I can't do a job properly now I don't do it, regardless of the money, well I guess we all have a price.

I know some guys who boast about their students teaching them Thai, taking their money and don't have a problem with it. One can only do that for a short time.

I think teaching in Thailand has a life expectancy of under 10 years, especially doing kids, unless you are a proper, 'real', qualified teacher, which I'm not.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I know what you are saying. I have had many parents asking me to teach their 4 year old daughter or practice speaking English with their their husband etc.

But to be honest with you, I always knock them back as I can't be arsed too. It takes time to build that teacher/student relationship and I feel that I would be doing them an injustice if I took the job.

I do still teach 3 seperate kids in my spare time but I have been doing this for a couple of years now, so it is much easier to acheive results when you are familiar with each other . The parents have always been good to me and as you know in Thailand losing face means so much. If I cancelled the parents would probably be upset and insulted.

The life expectancy of a teacher will vary. I think between 3-5 years is about right unless you are making progress financially or careerwise. In my opinion, unless you are a real qualified teacher it is unlikely that you will make any sufficient progress.

[Rhys]

Sounds like your going to be set up.. If it smells too GOOD.. THEN.. use the correct head to think...it through..

[Ice Maiden]

I´d do it. I used to teach for 250 baht an hour... Piss compared to what they are offering you... If the 16 year old is a guy, could be hesitant, cause I´ve always refused to teach kids older than fiften, due to teenagers being, teenager-ly, if she is a girl, she´d probably be more tranquilla with me....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Teenager-ly? All teenagers are not the same Kayo, remember that

[kayo]

some more same same than differnat others.. Like this song.. oh waith where sth chattting thingy... oops. ignore this like penz,man

[DavieA]

some more same same than differnat others.. Like this song.. oh waith where sth chattting thingy... oops. ignore this like penz,man

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

What are you on dude?

I am very cautious when it comes to any private teaching now. For the very reasons mentioned in this thread. Laziness, forced by the parents, disinterested etc etc.

To the OP, I will always try a new student out for a short period. It soon becomes clear whether they genuinely want to learn or not. Regardless of the money, if they don't want to learn, I don't have a problem in telling them I don't have time anymore. Quite frankly, theres nothing worse than teaching a bored or disinterested student. It's a waste of everyones time. I also don't like the idea of teaching 1 student on there own.

On the other hand, when you have 3 students it can be quite fun. You can introduce all sorts of games and rollplays, and it can encourage the disinterested ones to become interested. The problem I can foresee is that your guys are of very different ages, and also brothers and sisters. I'd have to think about that one.