The letters from the people who are trying to project their self intellect and portray themselves as educators (or trained mechanics- thank ya Mr. Meade) and not English teachers who are teaching English as a foreign language please get a grip of common sense. If these people want to be worshipped and praised then that's fine but can you actually teach ESL?
Education and ESL are two different things. Its that simple. What does a degree in Astro Physics have to with teaching a foreign language to a 9 year old for example? I would say this connection is minimal. Ask how many of these "graduates" know what a predicate adverb is and they'll fall flat on their faces. Ask someone with a degree in Sports science" what your Gluteas Maximus is and I'm sure they'll tell you its the arse muscle - what these self proclaimed educators use to talk with.

CELTA is the number one qualification for teaching ESL - so say the University of Cambridge, whom I'm sure people will agree is a recognized University by anyone's standards. The University of Cambridge, I think knows better. The reason these people keep writing in and saying that being as highly educated as them is needed to be a teacher are only saying it because they know if there is a lack of teachers in this country - and that will force the schools to pay more money. This meaning they are only motivated by their own self-gain and greed and really do not give a monkeys about teaching English at all as long as they get more money. If I want to study Chemistry then I would need a Professor with all the right qualifications in that field. If the Professor was qualified in accountancy then he would not be much use to me. I have an education and I am not a great teacher. I have worked with teachers who only have a CELTA or TEFL and they run rings around me. What is the point in having Celta schools advertising "do your Celta in Thailand" if you can't work here.

As we all know, most people who have degrees do not decide to make their fame and fortune by becoming a teacher in Thailand. Lets be fair most salaries are a joke compared to what they could get in their fields at home. People end up teaching because they discover what a great job it is and to be able to work in amazing Thailand is a great opportunity to stay. When you come to Thailand as a backpacker, you do not decide to do a Celta course and earn enough money to continue traveling because Celta courses aren't cheap. They could obviously use this money to continue travelling. As for the Canadians who were sent home because they only had a TEFL then I really do feel sorry for them and I'm sure some of them would have made great teachers. It wasn't their fault that they didn't meet the legal visa requirements, It wasn't their inability as an ESL teacher that caused them to be sent home. it was in fact, quite simply the rules of the needed visa requirements which were that you needed a degree.

Maybe, they were people who lacked opportunity in their own country and went abroad to teach in a wonderful profession to see if they could make a life and career for themselves like the millions of immigrants who poor into Great Britain and United States etc to seek careers and a better education, legal and illegal. Are there that many degree holders who want to leave their field and come work for a quarter or less of what they could earn at home who want to work as ESL teachers in Thailand. I think not. If it is the future of children's ability to make a career for themselves through the learning of the English language that you care about, then I'm sure you' agree with the statement CELTA is No.1. Astro physics degree holders please apply to Nasa, the wages are much higher if you are competent enough and remember, no one likes a smart arse. I think if Mr. Meade and his followers actually stop and listen to something apart from the sound of their own voice that continually keeps reminding them of their greatness then they would realize that the Thais are the educators and we supplement their system by teaching ESL. As long as we act accordingly and do not abuse our own education for wrong doings then I'm sure children will will act accordingly to. I'm sure, not even Mr. Karr acted like Jim Carrey on ecstasy in his school.

RM