I am bored and I want to teach

[overherebc]

This OP is just being sarcastic. Well I hope he is. Teaching, despite how some people regard it in Thailand, is in fact a profession.

You must have at very least a degree and in most countries a qualification in teaching. Such as a diploma of education.

You suggest a reason to do this is that your bored. Better idea would be to undertake charity work or knitting.

Some of the dumbest people I've had the misfortune to meet in this world have degrees.

Degree in how to preserve eggs for future generations

Degree in how to train pets how to sh-t in only one corner of the TV room

Degree in how to --- you fill in the rest

Edited August 17, 2014 by overherebc

[squarethecircle]

"Some of the dumbest people I've had the misfortune to meet in this world have degrees."

Same here but on average people with degrees (if they went to a proper university, not a degree mill) would have deeper understanding of the topics covered so they're a step above the students. So say for ESL teachers they should have a solid understanding of the grammar, structure, a bit of history (mutt language), etc. of the language (plus some psychology and education tactics), not that all of this would be evident in the classroom but it should be underlying the course material.

So it's a reasonable requirement that a HS teacher have a university degree, a university teacher should have a post-grad degree, etc.

[Scott]

I have to disagree. Some of the dumbest people I've seen are on the internet.

[96tehtarp]

This topic has been an interesting read. I can certainly understand why those who have spent a great deal of time and money in acquiring their teaching degrees and qualifications are offended by the prospect of an amateur wanting to teach as a cure for boredom. This is understandable.

I recently had a long conversation with a well educated female manager at our village Amphur. (Population 110k+) Her perspective was that Thai students learn a lot of English in school. They learn grammar, vocabulary, they memorize, they can read and spell words but they cannot speak English. This is because outside of the big centers where there are large numbers of English speakers there is virtually no one to speak English with. I agreed with her and commented, "Who are they supposed to speak English with"?

Last month while on a public transport minivan trip to a neighboring province I was surprised to meet several of the adult passengers who were returning from an "English Language Camp" with native English speakers. These people paid out of their own pockets to go to a retreat in a neighboring province for the privilege of having the opportunity to talk with native English speakers.

If one puts aside the controversy over work permits, TCT waivers, degrees & qualifications and all of that, one can see there is a huge pent of demand in Thailand for exposure to native English speakers. There are not enough English speakers to go around whether they are qualified teachers or not.

There should be some place for a bored NES who wants to get involved without fear of arrest, imprisonment and deportation.

Edited August 17, 2014 by 96tehtarp

[theguyfromanotherforum]

this thread is giving canadians a bad name, should be locked

Why am I giving Canadians a bad name?

Because I have a degree and want to teach?

Did you start teaching for more "honorable" reasons in Thailand? Maybe you are a monk? Maybe you are in Thailand simply because you want to help the poor?

Show us your generosity before opening your phony mouth.

You are a joke.

[theguyfromanotherforum]

This topic has been an interesting read. I can certainly understand why those who have spent a great deal of time and money in acquiring their teaching degrees and qualifications are offended by the prospect of an amateur wanting to teach as a cure for boredom. This is understandable.

Ohhh... the genius.

So, you spent money acquiring a teaching degree (I am not talking to you OP). Well, good on you. There are many opportunities for the fully licensed teachers to make serious money even in Thailand. You can work in international school and make 100k a month (I obviously can not), but instead you choose to whine about other people.... kinda like when people whine about immigrants stealing their jobs. If you can not get a job at international school with your credentials than you are a crap teacher. Or probably there are other things more important to you than "teaching".... after all this is why you came to Thailand.

Of course, with your teaching credentials you should not be even teaching in Thailand as there are many other opportunities for "you".... but you choose to live HERE? What is your real motive Mr. Teacher? Teaching? I doubt it.

[96tehtarp]

This topic has been an interesting read. I can certainly understand why those who have spent a great deal of time and money in acquiring their teaching degrees and qualifications are offended by the prospect of an amateur wanting to teach as a cure for boredom. This is understandable.

Ohhh... the genius.

So, you spent money acquiring a teaching degree (I am not talking to you OP). Well, good on you. There are many opportunities for the fully licensed teachers to make serious money even in Thailand. You can work in international school and make 100k a month (I obviously can not), but instead you choose to whine about other people.... kinda like when people whine about immigrants stealing their jobs. If you can not get a job at international school with your credentials than you are a crap teacher. Or probably there are other things more important to you than "teaching".... after all this is why you came to Thailand.

Of course, with your teaching credentials you should not be even teaching in Thailand as there are many other opportunities for "you".... but you choose to live HERE? What is your real motive Mr. Teacher? Teaching? I doubt it.

Re-read my post. I never said I had a degree or any teaching credentials and I don't believe my post had a whiny ring to it either. Relax.

[theguyfromanotherforum]

This topic has been an interesting read. I can certainly understand why those who have spent a great deal of time and money in acquiring their teaching degrees and qualifications are offended by the prospect of an amateur wanting to teach as a cure for boredom. This is understandable.

Ohhh... the genius.

So, you spent money acquiring a teaching degree (I am not talking to you OP). Well, good on you. There are many opportunities for the fully licensed teachers to make serious money even in Thailand. You can work in international school and make 100k a month (I obviously can not), but instead you choose to whine about other people.... kinda like when people whine about immigrants stealing their jobs. If you can not get a job at international school with your credentials than you are a crap teacher. Or probably there are other things more important to you than "teaching".... after all this is why you came to Thailand.

Of course, with your teaching credentials you should not be even teaching in Thailand as there are many other opportunities for "you".... but you choose to live HERE? What is your real motive Mr. Teacher? Teaching? I doubt it.

Re-read my post. I never said I had a degree or any teaching credentials and I don't believe my post had a whiny ring to it either. Relax.

I wasn't talking to you. Check what's inside the brackets.

[lostinisaan]

this thread is giving canadians a bad name, should be locked

Why am I giving Canadians a bad name?

Because I have a degree and want to teach?

Did you start teaching for more "honorable" reasons in Thailand? Maybe you are a monk? Maybe you are in Thailand simply because you want to help the poor?

Show us your generosity before opening your phony mouth.

You are a joke.

Agreed. But even jokes should have the right to defend themselves.

Please "lust", where did the OP give Canadians a bad name?

[aarontendo]

Didn't we all come for the ladyboys?

[Aree Wongwanlee]

First off, I get the impression that the person who asked the question in the first place is not really looking for an answer. Sounds more like looking for a fight. At least, that's the impression I get after reading through most of the posts here (or as many as I could remember in between dropping off to snooze on my keyboard).

Anyway for anyone who have never taught in Thailand and would like to know what it's like, here's a glimpse at how things look like from the ground.

Someone told me about his colleagues at a very big Thai government school (I am not telling where). There are plenty of foreigners in that school, both NES (whatever kind of animal that might be) and non-NES but, apparently, according to that little bird who told me about it, nobody is confessing to holding any kind of paper qualifications (you know, degrees, tefl, work permits, etc). Presumably they do but the bureaucratic monster in resident at that school is so huge that everybody thought that Ajarn A took care of such things while Ajarn A thought that it was Ajarn B's job and Ajarn B was very sure that Ajarn C is the right person to see about it ...

So how do you get to teach in Thailand?

I asked a few foreign teachers in Thailand and most of them came through an agency. That, basically, is how things are done in Thailand. The school needs some foreign teachers to boost their ratings or boost their ego or whatever and they just pass the job to an agency. The agency may be manned by people who are not fluent in English (alright, maybe enough English to save themselves if their lives depended on it) and the agency is tasked with screening foreigners to teach English. Great start.

Qualifications and experience, from what I can make out, have no bearing on the issue. It all depends on how desperately the agency needs to fill its quota of teachers which it has been contracted to supply to the school. I am serious. I have personally spoken to a foreigner who became a teacher for the very simple reason that she had run out of money.

So should anyone teach in Thailand?

Why not? You cannot be worse than what I have already met. And when you measure against the rock bottom, you will always be an improvement. Thai kids, by the way, are not really fools. If you cannot teach, their parents will hear about it soon enough, and the Director's ear is just a phone call away. So that's what happened to the foreign woman who became a teacher for the very simple reason that she had run out of money. She got away with the charade for only one week. Then she was shipped out. I heard that she was sent to a school in the jungle somewhere (just kidding but then again, a rubber plantation does look like a jungle, doesn't it?) but that rumour may just be a face-saving ruse.

Edited August 18, 2014 by Aree Wongwanlee

[benj005]

Are you a handsome man?

And does the OP have tits...

Well if he's a man and has tits that would make him a... [emoji15]

[benj005]

First off, I get the impression that the person who asked the question in the first place is not really looking for an answer. Sounds more like looking for a fight. At least, that's the impression I get after reading through most of the posts here (or as many as I could remember in between dropping off to snooze on my keyboard).

Anyway for anyone who have never taught in Thailand and would like to know what it's like, here's a glimpse at how things look like from the ground.

Someone told me about his colleagues at a very big Thai government school (I am not telling where). There are plenty of foreigners in that school, both NES (whatever kind of animal that might be) and non-NES but, apparently, according to that little bird who told me about it, nobody is confessing to holding any kind of paper qualifications (you know, degrees, tefl, work permits, etc). Presumably they do but the bureaucratic monster in resident at that school is so huge that everybody thought that Ajarn A took care of such things while Ajarn A thought that it was Ajarn B's job and Ajarn B was very sure that Ajarn C is the right person to see about it ...

So how do you get to teach in Thailand?

I asked a few foreign teachers in Thailand and most of them came through an agency. That, basically, is how things are done in Thailand. The school needs some foreign teachers to boost their ratings or boost their ego or whatever and they just pass the job to an agency. The agency may be manned by people who are not fluent in English (alright, maybe enough English to save themselves if their lives depended on it) and the agency is tasked with screening foreigners to teach English. Great start.

Qualifications and experience, from what I can make out, have no bearing on the issue. It all depends on how desperately the agency needs to fill its quota of teachers which it has been contracted to supply to the school. I am serious. I have personally spoken to a foreigner who became a teacher for the very simple reason that she had run out of money.

So should anyone teach in Thailand?

Why not? You cannot be worse than what I have already met. And when you measure against the rock bottom, you will always be an improvement. Thai kids, by the way, are not really fools. If you cannot teach, their parents will hear about it soon enough, and the Director's ear is just a phone call away. So that's what happened to the foreign woman who became a teacher for the very simple reason that she had run out of money. She got away with the charade for only one week. Then she was shipped out. I heard that she was sent to a school in the jungle somewhere (just kidding but then again, a rubber plantation does look like a jungle, doesn't it?) but that rumour may just be a face-saving ruse.

You do meet some freaky people who teach ESL. I remember the last school I was at was in South Korea. The school hired this really big dopey guy. He would put the kindergarten kids on his knees and sing sings to them. He would cry with them if they were having a bad day. He would talk baby talk to them. The classroom that he was in had a window that looked out to the hallway. He would look out the window and shut the curtains very quickly. His room stunk and was always dark.

Creeeeepy!

Edited August 18, 2014 by benj005