I agree, most teachers who don't meet the "white" or "farang" image often get tossed on the back-burner with regards to their salary. I myself have taught in Bangkok and Thailand. I am an American "Thai", BUT a native English speaker who grew up and worked over twenty years in the States. I'm Thai...like Tiger Woods is Thai, so schools that hired me had a native speaker without the work permit or visa issues as I hold both passports, but most were still unwilling to give me the typical farang wage of 50K or more because of my "Thainess" even though I have much more education, experience and my command of English is at a higher level than most of the "true native whiteys" working as teachers. It actually took me four years to get the standard "native" speaker salary while others who were less qualified, less experienced, less articulate but a bit lighter skinned, would get it in their first teaching gig. But hey, this is Thailand.

Anucha

I have and will argue until the end of time that most Filipino teachers are under-paid. In the past five years I have worked with many Filipino teachers, and quite frankly, they work circles around the "white NES teacher". 15,000 Baht may be OK for a new teacher with no experience, but seasoned teachers are grossly underpaid at this rate. Filipino teachers are the core teachers especially for the lower to mid-level primary students. I believe that once in middle or high School, NES teachers can do better, especially with the pronunciation and fine tuning the grammar in IP programs.

Mike

Dear Ajarn, whenever I browse through your jobs page for the latest ads from various schools or agencies here in Thailand, I shake my head in disappointment with every ad that shows a salary of 15,000 baht for Filipino teachers.

I am a Filipino teacher too, I have been teaching in Thailand for more than 5 years now, and it seems that the salary price tag for my fellow countrymen, assumed by many employers or schools, seems very degrading to me. I even heard that some Filipino teachers in Bangkok area even go as low as 10k. That price seem very unfair especially for a location with a higher cost of living.

Luckily I have been hired by a school that pays me fair enough for me to live a life of luxury, security and peace of mind. But then I remind myself that there some who are unlucky and take up these low paying jobs just to stay in the country.

I mean, I understand your predicament, but to my fellow Filipinos, if we continue to take on these jobs with low salaries, without even bothering to haggle for an increase, we are making the Filipino teacher's value in this country lower. We do our best to be productive and work hard, even harder than native speakers (we go the extra mile at work like come in on weekends or go unpaid overtime without complaints, than any other foreign teacher nationality). We easily blend in with Thai culture than westerners, and understand Thai people better because of cultural and regional similarities. Yet salaries for Filipinos are being priced like unsold perishable items on sale in Tesco.

Yes, maybe because there are too many Filipinos in the country so therefore the supply is more than the demand. But then again 15k baht or below is an insult to many of us hardworking Filipinos. We deserve better.

I write this letter in angst because one of these days, if I need to find a new teaching job in Thailand, most employers would not pay for an above or near equal rate from what I am currently earning. They will not consider my experiences, nor my accomplishments. They will just see another Filipino, worth 15,000 baht. How about a Caucasian? 30k or more.

Pinoyguy

There is a place in Thailand
They call the “City of Sin”
And it's been the ruin of many a sex-pat
And God, I know, I’ve seen

My girlfriend was a bargirl
She swore she’d never been
But she plied her trade in many a bar
Down in Soi 16

Now the only thing a sex-pat needs
Is a barstool and a Chang
And cash to pay the barfine
To the Mama-san

Oh mother tell your children
Not to be what I have been
Spend your lives in sin and misery
In the bars on Soi 16

Well, I got one foot on the airbridge
The other foot on the plane
I'm goin' back to Pattaya
To trawl the bars again

Well, my pockets now are empty
From the things I’ve seen and done
And it's been the ruin of this poor boy
But God, It’s been such fun!

Last one from me, but if anyone else wants to have a go here are some suggestions:
Teaching in Ayutthaya (Living in America) James Brown
Brass in Phuket (Brass in Pocket) The Pretenders
Private Tutor (Private Dancer) Tina Turner
Teaching Conversation (Private Investigations) Dire Straits
Motorbike Taxi (Paperback Writer) The Beatles
What You Do (It Takes Two) Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
Owner of a Somtam Cart (Owner of a Lonely Heart) Yes

Del

"imagine" got me thinking about what other bands would have written if they had toured Thailand. Would we have had "Sweet Home Nana Plaza" , "The Thais of a Thai Girl" or even "Massage in a Brothel"? Then I remembered that Sting was a teacher before his Police days. If he had taught ESL in Thailand :Don't Stand So Close" might have been a little different.

Don't Satand So Close To Me

Foreign teacher the subject
Thai school girl’s fantasy
He wants her so badly
But knows it’s not for free

Inside her there's scheming
This girl's wants half his wage
Book marking she's so close now
And she wants higher grades

Don't satand, don't satand so
Don't satand so close to me
Don't satand, don't satand so
Don't satand so close to me

His friends are so jealous
You know how teachers get
Sometimes it's not so easy
When you’re a 20 year vet.

Temptation, frustration
So bad it makes them fret
To Patpong, they’re heading
Know what they want to get

Don't satand, don't satand so
Don't satand so close to me
Don't satand, don't satand so
Don't satand so close to me

Short skirts in the classroom
To flirt they try and try
Then post it on Facebook
The accusations fly

It's no use he sees her
He going to lose his job
Just like the old man in
That book by Nabokov

Don't satand, don't satand so
Don't satand so close to me
Don't satand, don't satand so
Don't satand so close to me

Del

What if the Beatles came to Thailand to meditate instead of India. What if John Lennon never got gunned down. Where would he live? What if he settled down in deepest darkest Isaan, what would he write???

Imagine

Imagine there's no 7
It'll make you want to cry
No-one speaks any English
Everybody, only Thai
Imagine all the people living for today

Imagine there's no Foodland
No Tesco Lotus too
Nowhere to go for dinner
And no beer bars too
Imagine all the people going to bed at 8

You, you may say I'm a expat,
And here I'm the only one.
I hope someday you'll join us
And we all can have some fun

Imagine there’s no wi-fi
I wonder if you can
No need for Line or Facebook
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the family sharing just one room

You, you may say stupid expat,
but don’t give me the blame.
All over rural Thailand
There are many living same same.

Del

Many Thai people wonder why with only 21 consonants and 5 vowels English still remains a nut to crack - compared to the Thai language with 44 consonants and 32 vowels. Then I remembered my CAMELTA prospectus which says - there is neither egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger, neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins were not invented in England, or French fries in France.

Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat. If we explore the paradoxes of English we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig. And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers groce but hammers don't ham?

If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth - beeth? One goose, two geese, so one moose two meese? One index, two indices? doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it? If teachers taught, why doesn't preachers praught? If the vegetarian eats vegetable, what does a humanitarian eat?

Is this some philosophical eudemonism?

Paschal Safeh

It looks as though Cambodia will soon leapfrog Thailand and relegate them to the bottom of the SE-Asia English ladder.

This is a third-world country (the U.N. define any developing democracy as such) that pays low wages with no pay-rise in the ten years I've been here. Does Thailand expect the same standards for English teachers that they have in the west ? Apparently they do. Are they saying a native English speaker like myself with ten years teaching experience, a TEFL, a three year diploma and the necessary Thai-skills and temperament required to deal with disinterested, non-motivated students isn't qualified to teach basic English to little Somsak? Apparently they are.

As things stand, I hear from a recruiter that the authorities are visiting schools - government schools at that - and rooting out teachers who do not hold both a PGCE and a Bachelor's degree. What person with those qualifications is going to accept 30-35K a month to teach 50 kids in an oven? Maybe now schools will have to also pony up the other 10-15k they've been pocketing for each teacher they've employed.

A basic Bachelor's degree in Britain is a three year course - same as my Higher Diploma - but the MoE here doesn't see it that way. Even if I had a PGCE my qualifications are no longer acceptable, and being accepted onto a PGCE course is not possible because they don't recognise my three year qualification because it doesn't contain the word "Bachelor".

Who will fill these positions all over Thailand? How many people come to Thailand with both a PGCE plus a Bachelor's degree? Certainly not enough to fill the necessary number of positions. The well-to-do folk of Thailand who can afford to send their children to expensive International schools or top EPs aren't worried. Their schools will have employed the PGCE-holding Bachelor's\Master's degree-holders already ... but what about the vast majority of schools who will suddenly find that there are no teachers to fill the void? Thailand hasn't thought this through very well at all.

My twin daughters - whose father's career is now in serious jeopardy - returned home the other day with their first homework from Anuban 1. It contained the number '1' which had to be coloured in ... and above it were two mangos. Two. And I'm the one not qualified to teach.

Concerned in Chonburi

In response to Dave's letter (The Day of Reckoning, Ajarn Postbox, 24th July). According to the 'OECD'S PISA Tests (2014)' :The UK are 6th! South Korea are top with three other Asian countries in the top five. Albeit, Thailand isn't one of them!

I wish people stopped quoting dated facts and figures!

Mike

I really should pick Dave up on a statement he made referring to a shortage of unqualified teachers (The Day of Reckoning, Ajarn Postbox 24th July). That is one thing Thailand has never had. What Thailand does have, and will continue to have, is a shortage of qualified teachers because at present the salaries that government or mainstream schools can offer is far below what a large proportion of the teaching fraternity will come and work for.

Add to this the obvious 8.5 month pay structure which is pretty much the backbone of the current system I cannot see an immediate (within the next few years ) solution to this problem, and this is a problem for the Thai authorities and no-one else. I certainly can't see qualified teachers (PGCE etc) scrambling to come here and work a year and be content being paid for two thirds of the year.

I also think Dave is spot on with his comment that the degree today is equivalent to the high school diploma, this is certainly the case in most developed countries now, in fact the degree is becoming increasingly devalued. In the US for example there is much debate whether it is worth getting a degree as most people have one and the benefits regarding earnings no longer make it a viable option for most people.

No bitching here. I have a degree and I am just quoting what several studies seem to be concluding. Many years ago a room full of applicants would muster a handful of degrees but a hell of a lot of high school diplomas, Now, you just have a room full of degrees, no separation, just personality and competence. So you employ who you think the most competent person as they all have the degree anyway.

Thailand's problems are not small by any means and there is nothing to be gained by cracking a hazelnut with a sledgehammer. I think the Thai authorities know what they have to do and I think they will do a good job. Things take time and in all fairness this might have started back in 2002 but in reality nothing has been addressed as yet. Token bits and pieces maybe - but if they are starting now then they have a long way to go.

Jonathan