Smoking Must Be Healthy

[lovelaos]

^^^ either you have a strange sense of humor or ...

I don't have teacher vocation but sure it makes you feel great making something good with your life. There are way too many schools in Thailand which look like barracks and it is a very good thing those kids can have access to a foreign teacher. Although he can not change these kind of habits, he is making a difference by being there and teaching the young kids.

So many foreigners complain about the number of Thais not being able to speak english, but then this school is a 'tinpot' not good enough to have a foreign teacher according to your standards.

Thanks. Not all teachers are here for the same reason. I came to be near my girlfriend, and was approached by the school. I have plenty of funds. I am retired. I have lots of hobbies. I don't need the pittance and usually just invest it back in the kids.

The kids are indeed the only reason I'm there. Especially the younger ones. I have, in the classroom anyway, free reign to teach as I please, so I've committed to 5 years. I want to see how my 1st graders turn out when they're in 6th grade. They are already substantially less rowdy, far more attentive -- as are the 2nd and 3rd graders -- than when I arrived.

On the other hand, if there's another half dozen bonfires next week ...

Very honourable.

If you have free reign to teach as you please, do you teach them to stand up for their principles, especially when there is a high risk of somebody getting injured?

[krisb]

I dont understand sorry.

Why didnt you just sit inside and close the doors and windows?

Well, because, unlike you, we are not in a place with glass windows, door seals, and a/c.

In fact, the school does not have windows that close.

Dont get offensive please.

I asked you a valid question, you didnt say anything about no windows etc in your op....I was just asking.

Sounds like your head is still aching,

Sorry, yes it is, after taking a handful of aspirin and ibuprofen. And my chest is what's burning now.

The school has metal "windows" over the typical metal grid. The "windows" rusted in the open position when I was still poopin' green.

Well hope tomorrows a better day for you!...hang on its Friday....yeeeeessssss!!!

[lovelaos]

You could have told the children to go home so they stayed healthy.

This is one of the issues that I have with government schools in Thailand. They will often have a half day without informing the parents. Children are sent home by the teachers and the teachers have no idea whether the parents are at work, so they do not know if there is anybody at home to take care of the children.

In a situation such as the OP's, It's a rock and a hard place.

The children should not be in the school when the environment is unhealthy, but if he sends the children home he cannot be sure that the parents will be there. What is the responsible teacher supposed to do?

Extinguish the fire???

The ... concrete pad fronting my classroom had five fires, each maybe 5 meters square and the height of a grown man ...

Uh-huh.

But you continued to 'teach' despite this very serious health hazard?

[HeijoshinCool]

^^^ either you have a strange sense of humor or ...

I don't have teacher vocation but sure it makes you feel great making something good with your life. There are way too many schools in Thailand which look like barracks and it is a very good thing those kids can have access to a foreign teacher. Although he can not change these kind of habits, he is making a difference by being there and teaching the young kids.

So many foreigners complain about the number of Thais not being able to speak english, but then this school is a 'tinpot' not good enough to have a foreign teacher according to your standards.

What good is having a 'foreign teacher' if the said 'teacher' is not actually 'teaching' the children right from wrong?

Unless, of course the said 'teacher' isn't a 'teacher' but a white face on the staff list to make the school look good.

Where did I say the school is not good enough to have a foreign 'teacher'?

You are indeed correct in your assumption that I was hired as a "white face" to make the school, and the director, look good. I knew that from the moment I was first approached. It also occurred to me a week later when a billboard size blowup of my passport photo adorned the wall at the school entrance, where it remained --without graffiti! --for two months until I snuck there one night and had my way with it.

But, I have a plan! I'm not just any white face.

And, yes, my primary goal, despite the cultural indoctrination course *gasp* is to teach the kids something useful, other than English, that they would otherwise never have learned. Including right from wrong.

So far we've planted a garden with unusual veggies and flowers and other plants, built furniture, baked pies and cookies to sell, and next month we'll start building a house. All the while only speaking English -- I ignore them when they speak Thai. That's the best way to learn a language, after all.

[HeijoshinCool]

^^^ either you have a strange sense of humor or ...

I don't have teacher vocation but sure it makes you feel great making something good with your life. There are way too many schools in Thailand which look like barracks and it is a very good thing those kids can have access to a foreign teacher. Although he can not change these kind of habits, he is making a difference by being there and teaching the young kids.

So many foreigners complain about the number of Thais not being able to speak english, but then this school is a 'tinpot' not good enough to have a foreign teacher according to your standards.

Thanks. Not all teachers are here for the same reason. I came to be near my girlfriend, and was approached by the school. I have plenty of funds. I am retired. I have lots of hobbies. I don't need the pittance and usually just invest it back in the kids.

The kids are indeed the only reason I'm there. Especially the younger ones. I have, in the classroom anyway, free reign to teach as I please, so I've committed to 5 years. I want to see how my 1st graders turn out when they're in 6th grade. They are already substantially less rowdy, far more attentive -- as are the 2nd and 3rd graders -- than when I arrived.

On the other hand, if there's another half dozen bonfires next week ...

Very honourable.

If you have free reign to teach as you please, do you teach them to stand up for their principles, especially when there is a high risk of somebody getting injured?

Give me an example.

[lovelaos]

Eeeerm.....How about extinguishing the fires that caused you and your students to become ill.

[HeijoshinCool]

But you continued to 'teach' despite this very serious health hazard?

The kids had to stay. My history is both military and police. I stayed with them in the "thick of it," yes, of course.

It gave me the opportunity to discuss with them about how they felt about the smoke. Doing that later, when the smoke had cleared as well as their coughing and grimacing, would have been nowhere near as effective.

[HeijoshinCool]

Eeeerm.....How about extinguishing the fires that caused you and your students to become ill.

Dude, I don't own a fire truck. PM me your number, and the next time they have a fire, I'll call you and you can drive yours here and piss on the fire, not me.

[lovelaos]

^^^ either you have a strange sense of humor or ...

I don't have teacher vocation but sure it makes you feel great making something good with your life. There are way too many schools in Thailand which look like barracks and it is a very good thing those kids can have access to a foreign teacher. Although he can not change these kind of habits, he is making a difference by being there and teaching the young kids.

So many foreigners complain about the number of Thais not being able to speak english, but then this school is a 'tinpot' not good enough to have a foreign teacher according to your standards.

What good is having a 'foreign teacher' if the said 'teacher' is not actually 'teaching' the children right from wrong?

Unless, of course the said 'teacher' isn't a 'teacher' but a white face on the staff list to make the school look good.

Where did I say the school is not good enough to have a foreign 'teacher'?

You are indeed correct in your assumption that I was hired as a "white face" to make the school, and the director, look good. I knew that from the moment I was first approached. It also occurred to me a week later when a billboard size blowup of my passport photo adorned the wall at the school entrance, where it remained --without graffiti! --for two months until I snuck there one night and had my way with it.

But, I have a plan! I'm not just any white face.

And, yes, my primary goal, despite the cultural indoctrination course *gasp* is to teach the kids something useful, other than English, that they would otherwise never have learned. Including right from wrong.

So far we've planted a garden with unusual veggies and flowers and other plants, built furniture, baked pies and cookies to sell, and next month we'll start building a house. All the while only speaking English -- I ignore them when they speak Thai. That's the best way to learn a language, after all.

Excellent job you have there. Put firefighting on the agenda for next term, could save a life. Make sure when you build the house you teach them how and why to earth the electricity.

[FritsSikkink]

^^^ either you have a strange sense of humor or ...

I don't have teacher vocation but sure it makes you feel great making something good with your life. There are way too many schools in Thailand which look like barracks and it is a very good thing those kids can have access to a foreign teacher. Although he can not change these kind of habits, he is making a difference by being there and teaching the young kids.

So many foreigners complain about the number of Thais not being able to speak english, but then this school is a 'tinpot' not good enough to have a foreign teacher according to your standards.

Thanks. Not all teachers are here for the same reason. I came to be near my girlfriend, and was approached by the school. I have plenty of funds. I am retired. I have lots of hobbies. I don't need the pittance and usually just invest it back in the kids.

The kids are indeed the only reason I'm there. Especially the younger ones. I have, in the classroom anyway, free reign to teach as I please, so I've committed to 5 years. I want to see how my 1st graders turn out when they're in 6th grade. They are already substantially less rowdy, far more attentive -- as are the 2nd and 3rd graders -- than when I arrived.

On the other hand, if there's another half dozen bonfires next week ...

Very honourable.

If you have free reign to teach as you please, do you teach them to stand up for their principles, especially when there is a high risk of somebody getting injured?

Give me an example.

Don't let them stay in the classroom if it is unhealthy.

[HeijoshinCool]

Don't let them stay in the classroom if it is unhealthy.

TIT. Unhealthy is everywhere, yes? The water well for the school is just like the one at my house: less than ten meters deep, and maybe 3 meters from the bathroom tanks! They drink it everyday.