Susan Richardson

[Loaded]

Put the username SusanRichardson in to the search engine of most Thai TEFL teaching discussion boards and you will discover that this person haunts TEFL sites and displays an almost pathological hatred of the Thai TEFL industry. Apparently we are all unqualified sexual deviants. It's believed by quite a few people that this username is the newish username of a nutter called 'smeg' who haunted ajarn dot com for many years.

Edited September 2, 2006 by Loaded

[paully]

If you really miss Smeg, he still operates (and is regularly and understandably ridiculed) on another forum. He's been banned from everywhere else.

[Ijustwannateach]

I know whom you mean. Susan is certainly Smeggish in most incarnations I have seen. However, we must be patient- after all, there's a quintillion-to-one against chance that someone normal has just chosen this handle by accident. (those who are not too familiar with the online TEFL scene, please forgive us for the inside jargon).

"Smeg" is generally considered the most fitting self-chosen handle for a serial troll who stalks Teaching-In-Thailand boards, and who has, as Loaded describes, a pathological hatred for all things TEFL in Thailand- from the teachers, to the TEFL-trainers, and probably extending to the existence of Thailand itself. He's even trolled on teaching boards in his home country (believed to be Bournemouth)- who reacted to him as the nutter he is. He has a particular grudge against one of our very own here on the Thaivisa teaching forum.

As Paully says, there's only one board left insane enough to tolerate him as "Smeg." The handle SusanRichardson pops up now and again in different places, but "she" has also more or less blown "her" credibility- on other boards, I'll hasten to add. Even those who may agree with one or two of Smeg's points have noted his obsessive and scary behavior. He has been known to make threats of violence against those who disagree with or edit his madness.

Please be reassured that anyone behaving like him will not be welcome for very long here, under whatever handle.

"Steven"

[SusanRichardson]

The facts and truth always makes you complain.

FACT: The TEFL certificate industry in Thailand is a JOKE.

FACT: With a legitamate college degree and being a native speaker of English you will be welcome at most if not all schools.

The propping up of advertisers is all you guys and girls do who complain about the above two facts.

cheers. 100,000baht says I am not your hated "Smeg" person or handle. 100,000baht to your 1000baht, any day, any time. Susan

[SusanRichardson]

Put the username SusanRichardson in to the search engine of most Thai TEFL teaching discussion boards and you will discover that this person haunts TEFL sites and displays an almost pathological hatred of the Thai TEFL industry. Apparently we are all unqualified sexual deviants.

Go ahead, make my day. Just relized, your quoting none other than "Bruce" of TEFL International who claimed those who did not take a TEFL course were "sex tourist" and "too cheap". I've NEVER said anything of the sort. I don't hate the "Thai TEFL industry" either. I "despise" the scams laid out by the various TEFL Certificate providers. The "industry" of having native English speakers teaching Thai students is a great concept and working. Cheers. Susan

[udon]

The facts and truth always makes you complain.

FACT: The TEFL certificate industry in Thailand is a JOKE.

FACT: With a legitamate college degree and being a native speaker of English you will be welcome at most if not all schools.

The propping up of advertisers is all you guys and girls do who complain about the above two facts.

cheers. 100,000baht says I am not your hated "Smeg" person or handle. 100,000baht to your 1000baht, any day, any time. Susan

Not the sharpest tool in the shed, are you.

That was rhetorical.... no need to reply.

[PeaceBlondie]

Fine, Susan, you're welcome to your opinion; we all have one.

Of course, we're entitled to disagree. I had a real degree, and a teensy bit of unschooled practice in the real world of New Chinatown in Houston. I'm an accomplished public speaker. And by reverse heredity, my daughter is a real, real teacher.

Was I ready to step into the mayhem which is Thai TEFL? No, and I had the cash to INVEST. Yeah, invest. I don't regret one satang of the price; it helped me immensely.

Of course, if you wish to work unprepared, you can walk into some provincial school in deepest darkest Isaan, or elsewhere in Thailand, that doesn't begin to meet Thailand's own standards of education, where they're desperate to have any smelly backpacker or expat from wherever, to help them teach Smeglish/English. But it's a pure nightmare out there, being one of the only farang in town, the only non-native on the campus, huge classes, no air/con, no curriculum, no western food, no communication with your colleages. It was difficult enough for me (the previous 100 farang over the last 38 years had apparently fled in horror).

So if you want to fail, try Susan's method. You might not fail.

Oh, and the TEFL providers. I went through Text'n'Talk. Have kept in touch with their offices ever since (three years now), and numerous fellow graduates who earned that little piece of TEFL certificate. It's not a scam, in my opinion. Bruce of TEFL Intl. seems to run a real school. Are there some scams out there somewhere? Of course, in every nonregulated business, and even in regulated businesses. Caveat emptor; we're adults.

[SusanRichardson]

Oh, and the TEFL providers. I went through Text'n'Talk. Have kept in touch with their offices ever since (three years now), and numerous fellow graduates who earned that little piece of TEFL certificate. It's not a scam, in my opinion. Bruce of TEFL Intl. seems to run a real school. Are there some scams out there somewhere? Of course, in every nonregulated business, and even in regulated businesses. Caveat emptor; we're adults.

Neither of the mentioned "schools" have a bad reputation other than the sales practices. Neither of them is a "school", clever as that was to insert. They are your basic Vocational Tech. type of places. Nothing wrong with VoTech. They are both over priced, nothing wrong with attempting to charge as much as you can.

They, or their errand boys and girls, have over the years made such claims as:

-You have to have a TEFL Certificate to teach in Thailand

-You have to take a 120hour course to be considered TEFL qualified(never mind one of them now offers a course with much less hours)

-You have to have a certified TEFL provider certificate to get a teachers liscense and only we have same(never mind no such certification exist at the M.o.Ed.)

-You are being "cheap" if you don't take the course

-You are nothing but a "sex tourist" if you don't take an over priced course

-You will be harming students if you don't take our course

-Edited in. Almost forgot what you mentioned! It is an "investment". If it is an investment, why do those with TEFL Certificates make the same wage as those without? Answer: Because, this is tricky, it serves as a diploma if you don't have one from a University. The things you learn, and you do learn some I will admit, are not an investment.

The list goes on. All of it sick sales efforts by people with only one goal, money. Is sales about money, maybe, but not when deception creeps in. The price for the course should be about $200.usd, not $1000-1500usd. THIS IS THAILAND

cheers. Susan

Edited September 3, 2006 by SusanRichardson

[Neeranam]

Susan, you make some good points!

I spent 10 years doing it - TEFL in Thailand is a joke, people should see it as that and then make there decision whether or not they want to do it. Most people can only hack it for a few years.

Edited September 3, 2006 by Neeranam

[mbkudu]

I can see Susan's point about the scam aspect. As far as qualifications go, I think a month course of any kind means little, and the one's that promise a lot should be avoided. Some of hese courses do provide a good service though. Since I completed my CELTA a year ago I have never been asked by an employer if I even have such a qualification. The director of a small school where I work now part time has never even heard of a CELTA. I was simply hired because of my interview. I will say, however, that I learnd a tremendous amount of useful techniques for my own benefit from the course.

A good course is useful for someone who has never taught before or a teacher, like me, who had a long absence from teaching tefl. As far as work permits and teacher's licenses go, it means nothing.

The MOE doesn't give a sh!t if you have a TEFL certificate or a CELTA, just a degree. The cetificate is just for personal development.

[mbkudu]

Susan, you make some good points!

I spent 10 years doing it - TEFL in Thailand is a joke, people should see it as that and then make there decision whether or not they want to do it. Most people can only hack it for a few years.

I like jokes because they make me laugh.

[Ijustwannateach]

I think now is an appropriate moment to remind certain users to post in a topical manner. More specifically, if SR would like a thread in which to discuss the economics of TEFL courses, that's entirely possible; if, however, her posts on every thread devolve into the same anti-TEFL-course drivel, her posts will begin to disappear.

If SR would like this to be her flagship anti-TEFL-course thread, go for it.

"Steven"

[jdinasia]

Sorry .... I rarely interject in the TiT subform .... but isn't THIS thread a trolling / flaming thread?

[Ijustwannateach]

Normally, with other members (and other handles) I would agree. However, as all indications point to "SR" being the same poster "she" has been on other boards, it is a legitimate concern of the posters here who want to keep the level of discourse civil. So I'm going to allow the question to stand; however, it's probably a good idea to close the thread now that most regular readers have been alerted.

"Steven"