The Sky Is Falling

[Ladphrao]

“I found that Thai school administrators don't like to learn how to do new things. Can't be bothered.”

“Talk on the street is that teachers in Bangkok are getting busted teaching English without work permits.”

“Also check with the MoE as they've recently started rejecting certain TEFL certificate.....so make sure the one you do is going to be recognised by them!”

“The immigration lot are at it again. Harrow got turned over this morning. Its said over 30 Farrangs arrested. Our school is on alert, as we are expecting a visit any time. If you are working on a tourist BE CAREFUL!!”

“I think teachers or potential teachers from around the world should actually boycott working in Thailand until the government and owners of these fly-by-night establishments show a dedication to education that includes decent pay and working conditions.”

“I read somewhere on the internet today the Prime Minister is going to eliminate illegal workers in Thailand by next year. (I think he got this promise from the same box he got the poverty elimination promise)

Does this mean there will be an even greater shortage of English teachers in Thailand?”

“just had immigration police in our school today, videoing foreign teachers and checking passports. They are coming back next month to interview all foreign staff and check passports and work permits. Are illegal English teachers really going to be tolerated for much longer?”

One purpose these teaching forums provide as a way for teachers to work themselves into a tizzy. The days of teachers being able to live in the country for years illegally without paying taxes and without the proper visa may be nearing an end, but I doubt the day is here just yet, but doesn’t everyone know this will happen someday? Tourist visas are for tourists, if you are going to live here you are going to have to get a correct visa, a wp and pay taxes. Doesn’t sound unreasonable to me, but then again I haven’t yet seen the light and realized all Thais are out to get us farangs.

I know, I should realize the sky is falling, but I don’t follow these forums on a daily basis, but every three or six months when I poke in the same frenzy over rumor and hearsay seems to be going on. Funny, I live and work in Bangkok and I never hear of any of these paranoid delusions from talking to Thais and “normal” farangs.

My prediction, there will still be thousands of farangs teaching English in Thailand next year at this time and this forum will continue to be filled with speculation about the end of the TEFl/ESL/EFL industry in Thailand as well as endless complainants about teaching and living in Thailand.

[Ijustwannateach]

Not sure what the point is here, but I can at least agree with the last statement. TEFL's not going away, and neither are the various arguments associated with it. However, I think a certain group of teachers is likely to go away. Possibly worth it to them to go into a tizzy.

"S"

[PeaceBlondie]

Thanks for the good opening post, Ladphrao. I'll confess to spreading tentative rumours that might tend to resemble Chicken Little's little litany.

I think some of the OP contains typical rants not only from this teachers' forum, but from other forums. But ya' know, it ain't paranoia if they really are out to get ya'.

It's rational to imagine a worst-case scenario, and it's only human to get nervous when you're not 100% legal (visa, work permit, teacher's license, not to mention drivers' license, insurance, motorcycle registration, or extracurricular activities).

One forum polled about 75 of its multi-thousand members and almost half of them are claiming that 100% of the teachers at their lucky schools are 100% legal. I don't believe it. I don't think it's a valid sample of TEFLers all over Thailand, anyway.

As the old gospel hymn says, "Nobody knows the troubles I've had" and here in LOS (Land of Statistics), nobody has any statistics.

The sky may not fall all the way to the ground, but it's cracking.

[johnnyk]

Look on the bright side:

1) It may force admins to get off their <deleted> and get WPs for real, qualified teachers

2) It may force admins to consider hiring real, qualified teachers and not just semi-sober caucasians

3) It may force admins to realize that real, qualified teachers can be gotten if you pay real salaries

...but I doubt it.

[Loaded]

Do you remember a few years back when immigration released info about future visa changes (min. taxable incomes for certain nationalities who have wps from a Thai company NOT teachers)?

The panic of quite a few was similar to now, stories were invented about visa runners sent to prison bla bla... All of it turned out to be <deleted> and life went on as normal for every teacher in Thailand. I think similar this time.

[Ladphrao]

Years ago, it was possible for a bloke to "run off to sea" to escape and find adventure. However, the shipping industry matured and the need for unskilled labor diminished. Later in the USA, it was possible for a young man with no real skills to head out west and reinvent himself as a cowboy or whatever. However, soon civilization came and the range was fenced in and the need for nomadic cowboys vanished. Early last century it was possible to run off and join the French Foreign Legion regardless of past or abilities, however, the French empire crumbled and the nature of soldiering changed resulting in less demand for foreign cannon fodder. Today there are fewer opportunities to run away and join the circus, well actually I mean there are fewer opportunities that are attractive to Anglo-Saxon men who have grown accustomed to a middle class life. There are still plenty of opportunities to become migrant fruit pickers in foreign lands and such jobs, but these are generally not very appealing to those of us from lands that have long been "civilized".

One of the remaining opportunities to pack it up, escape, and lead a life of "adventure" (without any specific talent or training) is to come to Southeast Asia and teach English However, like these other occupations from the past, the industry is maturing and there will at some time in the future be less demand for those with nothing more to offer than a white face and a pretty fair knowledge of their mother tongue. 10 years ago, the concept of a TEFL certificate was basically unknown, now it is becoming close to a requirement to get one of the better jobs. Even the idea of teaching ESL/EFL as a career is something quite new, in the past it was thought of as something you did for a couple of years in your twenties to see the world before settling down to a "real job". Now, it has been a "career" of sorts and people do it for decades.

I don't think the days of being able to hop on a plane with no skills and no specific training or education and being able to find a job teaching in Thailand are over, however, there will be a time in the not so distant future when this situation will change pretty dramatically, but I figure the changes will continue to be slow and evolutionary. If you are in the "business" and wish to make a "career" out of it, obviously living in the country indefinitely on tourist visas and working illegally is not sustainable, however if you just want an extended holiday, you can probably still do so for a few years, but I wouldn't plan on being able to do it forever.

Thailand is growing and becoming more "civilized" and orderly

"Once order comes, the orders come" (Jack Kerouac, Desolation Angels).

This is the nature of "progress."

As order comes to the educational industry in Thailand as the industry matures, expect the orders (rules) to come and the days of the cowboy teacher will be over. but these days will live on in legend.

[kenkannif]

The Visa changes are really just to get people in file as per the recent transcript.

It won't really effect many people at all, unless you're blacklisted.

Same old same old to be honest.

Actually I've noticed the people it seems to be scaring away are those that are often legit and hold degrees.....strange really!!!

[Ijustwannateach]

A few posts have been removed. We're not going to obsess about non-existent anti-Thai ranting on this thread.

[PeaceBlondie]

Howdy, I'm from Texas, and if I can't be president of the USA, maybe I can teach EFL in Thailand.

Uhh, in the three little schools I've worked in, that had over 335 teachers and administrators, I never saw one non-Thai person in control. Not in control of anything except maybe 49 Thai teenagers, and that was tenuous.

The future of TEFL in Thailand will be decided by Thais. So, if there's something rotten in Denmark, let's not blame the Saudis. Even if gasoline is expensive in Copenhagen.

Is the only evidence of Thai xenophobia found in its immigration regs? No, by nature such regs are reasonably exclusive toward foreigners, in every country. Are there numerous anecdotes and ample evidence over recent years, including global surveys, that show Thais are, indeed, afraid of foreigners? Yes.

If too many unqualified cowboys are teaching in Thailand, the Thais are quite capable of weeding them out. If they wish.

But if the Thais use a bulldozer to get weeds out of their TEFL flower garden, they may pull out some extremely successful, qualified flowers in the process.

[Ladphrao]

"Thais are, indeed, afraid of foreigners?"

??????????

There are a higher percent of foreign teachers in Thailand than in just about any country in the world.

There is a fairly high percent of foreign teachers with Thai spouses, that contradicts your statement.

You can see what you want, if you want to see Thai bad, plenty of evidence to support your views, if I want to see Thai good, there is plenlty of evidence to support my view as well.

If you want to see the sky is falling, ok, guess it is time for you to start looking for employment elsewhere.

Actually, I might be leaving Thailand within the next year, not because I don't like the country or because of some slight, but because of recent events have opened a lot of doors for me. But I sure haven't ruled out staying here if something can be worked out that aligns my career goals and the needs of organizations here.

If you want to see trouble ahead for the education system in Thailand, I am sure you can find the evidence to support this. However, from my perspective, one needs to take a broader and longer-term view and see the situation from an objective angle. Sure, Thailand is "behind" the USA in economic growth and money spent on education, but the trends have all been on the upswing for decades here in LOS.

I don't see the point in working oneself into a tizzy over hearsay, rumor, half-truths, and the like. Can't see the point in searching out information and opinion to justify being upset. But, if you find it a productive use of time, go for it.

Finally, we need to put ourselves in perspective. We are only teachers, most teaching a subject the majority of our students will never master and never actually use. We really aren't all that important to the country or its development, and shouldn't take ourselves too seriously.

Edited September 19, 2006 by Ladphrao