If you know that your salary is low, and just accept that you will continue to work in Thailand earning a low salary, then I hope that the "I do it because I love the lifestyle" argument has much substance to it, because it sure seems that the reasons people stay here are silly and often selfish reasons.

Foreigners working in Thailand, mostly as teachers, will often say that the low salary is okay for them because they love the lifestyle and love living in Thailand. It is an old, recycled argument that true believers will continuously fall back on. I hear things like "My salary might be low, but it's enough to support my lifestyle and still save a little." Great. Good for you. I'm proud you believe that.

I would love to see a list of 10 or so things about this "lifestyle" that people keep referring too. Sadly, when I ask, people are taken aback and quickly scramble for a greatest hits generic list that often starts like this: "Well, the people are nice, the food and transport is cheap, travel is cheap, the beaches are amazing, and culture is fascinating , etc." Ughhh....

To which I reply: "How many countries have you been to?? There are load of places with "nice" people, cheap, food and transport, fascinating culture, etc. There are literally thousands of nice beaches in the world. You know you have been in Thailand too long when you keep revisiting the same cities, the same islands, and the same "hotspots"

It seems that a bunch of the "stuck-in-the-mud-with-no-options-and-nowhere-to-go" types here (and there are lots of them) have just given up. Being away from family and friends and meaningful relationships so you can pretend you are younger than you are and go to full moon parties, Khao San Rd or Cheap Charlies on weekends (before it closed - oh, the the hundred of comments I read about it closing and how people were absolutely gutted...lol) or sit in an air-conditioned cafe in Chiang Mai with wifi for hours on end updating your Facebook status with selfies and check-ins to share with everyone (often people they haven't seen or talked to in years) about their "amazing" travels.

Yes, it is an amazing journey from the air-conditioned guesthouse to the air-conditioned cafe.

Jeff

To me the saddest part of the low-TEFL wages in Thailand are the Thai students who end up being taught by a rotating crew of inexperienced, untrained foreigners who will probably only stay in the job for a year or two at the most. But thats the result when the salaries are what they are. So long as that's the case, TEFL in Thailand will be a good option only for fresh graduates seeking a 1-year adventure abroad, or retirees looking to pad their pensions.

Committed, trained career teachers will either end up teaching the elite in an international school, or quickly move on to greener pastures

Danny

"Should teachers tolerate telephones in the classroom? "

Absolutely not!

Having seen schools in Thailand pretty much tell teachers to 'ignore the phones' and see their classes descend into chaos, I can't see the benefits.

During a placement in a UK school, I witnessed the enforcement of a ban on children bringing mobile phones to the school. The result? One of the highest performing state schools in the north of England which constantly receives 'Outstanding' ratings from Ofsted. The kids are attentive and every teacher I spoke to said that allowing mobile phones in the classroom does not aid learning. I believe there are studies out there which validate this too.

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/may/15/mobile-phone-bans-improve-school-exam-results-research-shows

They used technological aids in my placement school too, including interactive whiteboards. Laptops were made available for the pupils from time to time (to access Science/Maths/English games/tests online etc). The school made sure that only learning sites or sites like the BBC were available. Tech is fine, if used well.

To be honest, I could see issues with 'bullying' if the teacher tried to incorporate the use of smartphones in the classroom. What about the kids from less affluent backgrounds who may not have the latest iPhone? TIT, remember? I doubt many schools can afford to buy all the kids new smartphones anyway.

Distractions aren't usually great for a teacher, although I once had a snake enter a classroom and the children learned some new words that day. Not bad ones from me, but phrases like "The children were very frightened and ran out of the classroom!"

However, on the whole, distractions can be a nightmare for a teacher (and foreign teachers in Thailand have to put up with a lot of interruptions, from Thai teachers etc). Interruptions must be kept to a minimum, wherever possible if one wishes to improve learning.

The fewer interruptions, the better!

Neil

NES teachers come from individualistic, moderately egalitarian and risk-taking cultures while Thailand has a more collectivist, hierarchal and risk adverse culture. Add to this the differences in languages, levels of economic development and political systems, it is not surprising most NES teachers, even those of us who have spent years here, never completely understand the underlying aspects of the environments we work and live in while in Thailand.

Thailand is an extremely different place than countries with Anglo-American cultures and traditions most NES teachers come from.

Any value judgment or value comparisons between cultures is purely subjective. Some people claim Thailand is a wonderful place to live and work and others claim it is a horrible place to live and work. Both are the “truth” for the individuals making the judgments but are not true in an objective sense.

Reading constant one-sided stories of the horrors of teaching in Thailand and about how Thais are bad and NES teachers are good is not helpful in gaining a deeper understanding of our surroundings.

Having been an expat for many years in many countries, and having done extrusive research on the topic, it appears the overwhelming results of studies show individuals who are less judgmental, open to new experience and eager to learn the language of the host country enjoy their overseas assignments more and are more professionally successful.

Most of the research in expat adjustment has been done with business people, but it is likely we would find similar results when looking at the experiences of teachers, NGO workers and even long-term tourists or retirees for that matter.

In my overseas work experience, I have run into office politics, incompetent co-workers, shady characters and other challenges. But I suspect I would have run across about the same amount if I had decided to have a domestic career and stayed at home.
Just because you hear a rant in the teachers lounge or read a rant on ajarn.com or face; it does not imply you automatically have enough unbiased information to make a value judgement on the situation.

Although there are exceptions, in general schools want to retain good teachers, but what the school considers a good teacher may not be aligned with the individual’s evaluation of his or her own performance.

If you are going to read any of the online discussion forums for teachers in Thailand or occasionally take a seat in the teachers' lounge between classes you will be exposed to Thai-bashing and rants, but one does not have to allow all the negativity that the ESL industry in Thailand is so well known for to pull you down.

Jack

For a school or any business to truly work well, everyone has to feel respected and appreciated. From the head honcho to the cleaners, they all have to feel they have a part to play and are contributing. Often foreign teachers don't feel this and feel they're only at the school because that's what the parents want. Make all staff, including the foreign teachers, feel welcome, valued and respected, and they will work harder and more happily. But this really is common sense.

The buck stops with the people in charge. These people are paid more and are usually employed based on their qualifications, skills and experience. The biggest skill a boss can have for me is compassion and empathy. Bosses can't simply demand and order. People don't respond well to this.

Also, the boss has to be consistent. Either you're an asshole or you're not. There's nothing worse than having a boss who blows hot and cold. People don't like unpredictability. They like to know what to expect. At least with an asshole boss you know what to expect and what's expected of you.

I feel agencies will become obsolete. We live in an age where we have instant information at our finger tips - BUT, schools need to put trust in their teachers. Identify the good ones and utilize them. Don't chuck them all in the same pile because that will breed complacency. If you have a decent teacher, in everyday on time, accommodating and affable, put some trust in them. Give these teachers more responsibility. Have them help with recruitment. Make them feel valued. Once they prove to you they can do it, have them as a head teacher.

Once they have been appointed as head teacher, they can recruit new teachers. They can monitor and check on new teachers. Pay them more and maybe decrease their teaching load so they can concentrate on leading. But! Very important - make sure they're still teaching. The best way to lead is from experience and setting examples. "I might be your boss, but I do the same teaching as you. I know all the problems you have, and I'm here to support you".

Deadbeats and jobsworths need to be identified and culled. There are too many in schools nowadays. I believe most people are good. You treat them well and they will reciprocate that. The TEFL industry here needs a huge kick up the arse. We need to get away from thinking of education as a business.

Education is not something that should be allowed to be bought or sold.

Kyle

For a school or any business to truly work well, everyone has to feel respected and appreciated. From the head honcho to the cleaners, they all have to feel they have a part to play and are contributing. Often foreign teachers don't feel this and feel they're only at the school because that's what the parents want. Make all staff, including the foreign teachers, feel welcome, valued and respected, and they will work harder and more happily. But this really is common sense.

The buck stops with the people in charge. These people are paid more and are usually employed based on their qualifications, skills and experience. The biggest skill a boss can have for me is compassion and empathy. Bosses can't simply demand and order. People don't respond well to this. Also, the boss has to be consistent. Either you're an asshole or you're not. There's nothing worse than having a boss who blows hot and cold. People don't like unpredictability. They like to know what to expect. At least with an asshole boss you know what to expect and what's expected of you.

I feel agencies will become obsolete. We live in an age where we have instant information at our finger tips - BUT, schools need to put trust in their teachers. Identify the good ones and utilize them. Don't chuck them all in the same pile because that will breed complacency. If you have a decent teacher, in everyday on time, accommodating and affable, put some trust in them. Give these teachers more responsibility. Have them help with recruitment. Make them feel valued. Once they prove to you they can do it, have them as a head teacher.

Once they have been appointed as head teacher, they can recruit new teachers. They can monitor and check on new teachers. Pay them more and maybe decrease their teaching load so they can concentrate on leading. But! Very important - make sure they're still teaching. The best way to lead is from experience and setting examples. "I might be your boss, but I do the same teaching as you. I know all the problems you have, and I'm here to support you".

Deadbeats and jobsworths need to be identified and culled. There are too many in schools nowadays. I believe most people are good. You treat them well and they will reciprocate that. The TEFL industry here needs a huge kick up the arse. We need to get away from thinking of education as a business. Education is not something that should be allowed to be bought or sold.

Kyle

I've worked in a few countries and now in Slovakia. The TEFL industry here is pretty poor also, but they have proper laws protecting teachers from unscrupulous schools.

There's no real perfect school. There's always one bad apple. My school at the moment we have it pretty good. I came from the bottom up so know how it is for new teachers and teachers with problems. It's a lot better here than it was in Thailand.

I really enjoyed my time in Thailand but the school life does wear you down. I made many friends and we seemed to have many of the same stories. Docked salaries, tax evasion, employing teachers without work permits etc. To be honest, it all seemed very dodgy. Not a place you can take yourself seriously unless you're suitably qualified. It felt lawless and that scared me.

I hate whining teachers who bitch and moan. If you've signed a contract then stick by it, but there certainly were many times teachers had a genuine grievance and were simply dismissed as being negative. I didn't like that. The school could basically do what they liked and if you didn't like it you were being negative. If you really didn't like it you were told to leave or were dismissed.

A lot of teachers moaned but I left. I'd advise anyone else to do the same. Instead of complaining about moaning teachers, ask why they're moaning. We simply dismiss them as negative without asking why. Similar to the war on drugs. We condemn people as bad in society for taking drugs yet we don't ask why they take drugs. I guess it's not convenient to know the answer to that

Tim

We'll be running the always popular ajarn dot com fantasy football league for another season. The code to join is 10661-4303 if you have not played before. If you played last season, then you will be added to the league automatically when you log in.
The fantasy league website URL is https://fantasy.premierleague.com/ Good luck everyone!

Phil

I live in Rayong and for the previous two years I have worked at a Thai school.

Has this ever happened to you? I did my job in a caring, diligent manner the whole time I was there. I showed respect to everyone from school directors on down. The department director who hired me was let go between my first and second year and she was replaced by a totally incompetent loser who insisted on bringing everyone down to her level. Still, I persisted in maintaining a professional attitude.

Until one day , at assembly, I was approached by the school director who immediately adopted a belittling tone. He made it quite clear he didn't like me, (although we never spoke) and from that day on my life in Rayong has been one of harassment and intimidation. I mean, these guys are ruthless. I honestly fear for my safety even though I've never done anything to anyone.

What goes guys? These school officials have never openly threatened me but they have made it clear to everyone that they don't like me and they're out to get me. No one deserves this.

Connamera

I think there are two questions here.

The first one is SHOULD teachers perform gate guard duty. I will not give an opinion as this question is very subjective in nature and would appear the answer can be influenced by many contextual factors (size of the school, organizational culture, experience and level of responsibility of the individual teacher, etc.…).

The second question is whether refusing to do gate duty, which can be perceived as being confrontational, contrary, disrespectful of the school’s management, insensitive to local culture and indifferent to the success of the school or organization, will be helpful in achieving your individual career goals or make your life happier.

I have a pretty strong opinion on this second question.

I am not sure holding onto the 1950s union attitude of the “management” as the enemy helps to become successful in the ESL or any other industry.

Ironically, while typing this I am overhearing a conversation by an employee who always refuses to engage in any “extra” activities complain about his low performance evaluation. There is a correlation between his refusal to do extra work and his poor performance appraisal, but of course it could just be a coincidence and the two activities are unrelated, or maybe the two could be related.

Oh well, we all have to make our own choices and live with the choices we make. If you think refusing to stand gate guard duty when it is expected will help you live a happier and more successful life, by all means refuse. If you think gate guard duty is a slight inconvenience but will help you achieve bigger and more important goals, go ahead and do it.

In my experience, the angriest and most insistent individuals who claim the decisions they made were absolutely right and everyone who disagrees with their attitudes is wrong, are likely the individuals the least satisfied with the results of their previously made choices.

Since I am not expected to stand gate guard duty, I don't have to make the choice.

Jack