For once in my life I can use "I know what you mean" literally. I am a male South African (coloured) and I teach in a smaller province in Thailand. I have been teaching for about 7 months and apart from frustrations here and there, I can say that I genuinely enjoy it. My hair is fairly long and naturally wavy so I had it chemically straightened in Bangkok and since then everyone seems to think I’m Thai. Thais tend to think that everyone in South Africa has black skin.

I came to Thailand with my girlfriend and within two weeks we both had a job in the same school - quite fortunate, I know. Neither of us have degrees, but we have TESOL certs and various tertiary qualifications. The process of getting the job was a little strange or different to what I'm used to. We both applied for the same job posts that we found online and many of these applications required a picture. My girlfriend got quick replies and I hardly got any or was told that I would be 'kept in mind' for future positions.

I started wondering why there was such an instant desire for her over me when there isn't much difference when it comes to our CVs. We are both 20, we both have tertiary qualifications, TESOL certificates, the same teaching practice ( when I say the same , I mean identical in terms of students and amount of hours ) and our passports and visas are identical with dates. I was new to Thailand and didn't know much about the culture, but I suddenly realized that my girlfriend was preferred over me because she is Caucasian.

Anyway, after taking some time to think about what we were going to do, we received a phone call from a British employer stating that we are in luck. A school in a smaller province needed two English teachers and we fit the profile. He said that we basically had the job secured and just needed to come in for the paperwork. We went to the offices and all our paperwork was photocopied and we filled out a form with very minimal details required. My girlfriend was then asked into the Thai manager's office for an 'interview'. Things felt a little odd - I realized this was in fact an agency and the British guy was just a recruiter. Now his story changed a little, he said that the school will just need to interview us but he was sure that we have the job. My girlfriend was out of the manager's office in two minutes and that was it. I wasn't 'interviewed' and now we just had to go to the school on Monday morning for the interview.

At first the school didn’t want to hire us because we didn’t have degrees even though the agency pretty much ‘promised’ us the job. Seven months have passed and I haven’t had any major issues. I do however notice the photo thing Xandra mentions on a regular basis. I teach upper primary grades and my girlfriend the lower grades. When it comes to private tutoring, they always ask my girlfriend. We have the same accents and knowledge but they have literally stated before that they want a white female tutor. Sometimes my girlfriend tells the parents (of older students) that I’m better suited to tutor them as I teach the upper grades but then they become awkward.

Skin colour is a huge part of Thai culture and it’s not going to change anytime soon.

Mr B

I just read the letter from Xandra and agree 100%. I am a caucasian teacher and I am married to a black African. My husband does not teach but I have heard of many African teachers that have trouble getting jobs. Some school directors have a policy to just not hire blacks (although they won't state this publicly). My husband has had to do a few Cambodian visa runs since arriving. In short, because he is African he was charged close to $1000 each time and treated like garbage (he's certainly not the only one, this is standard). The visa and applicable fees should not have been any more than $120. I have seen first hand that many Thais generally dislike blacks although they are not agressive about it. I am only making the comment because this issue has caused us to burn through all of our savings and had we realized earlier we would not have moved to Thailand at all. Teachers be aware.

Ms. Martey

I am a female teacher from South Africa. I am a person of colour (or coloured) in my country. I do not have a degree in any field - only a diploma. When doing my TEFL course and doing research on the internet, people painted a picture of how easy it would be to find a teaching job in Thailand. This however does not appear to be the case.

I was fortunate to get my first job through a referral and I came to work in the province of Phichit in June 2011. Here I teach grade one and I enjoy it tremendously. This province has hardly any foreigners and there is simply nothing to do and no real attractions. But I like it all the same.

The only foreigners here seem to be Western men married to Thai women and Filipinos. When I arrived at the school there were only two foreign teachers - both male. Shortly afterwards, a female foreign teacher arrived but she left after two months along with one of the male teachers. Those two teachers were then replaced with two more female teachers. One of the female teacher’s boyfriends came to teach at the high school as well.

So in total we were now five foreign teachers, four white and me the only colored teacher. I started to notice odd behaviour from the school staff and so did the foreigners. The white teachers were always asked to be in photographs and were asked to introduce themselves to important people whenever the school had activities.

The Filipinos were also treated civilly. After speaking with some Thais I was put in the picture about skin color and the fact that it indicates your wealth or standing in society. A person working in the fields would be dark because of having to work outside all day. The person with a fairer complexion or white skin would have a better job such as working in an office. This I understand but as a foreigner I did not expect to be treated any differently from the white, blond-haired, blue-eyed teacher.

I have spoken to other colored teachers from South Africa and they have shared similar experiences. In short, we do not seem to be favored. This is a difficult situation to accept because we come from a country that had apartheid for many years. Many of us grew up during the time that changes happened and we were never victims. Now we arrive in a country where we seem to be shunned. The agencies often do not have a problem with us but the school wants white teachers. It’s as simple as that.

Secondly, as I have said, I do not have a degree and have difficulty finding a job without an agent. Agents have even suggested faking a degree - something that does not sit well with me. Many jobs on the internet also ask for degrees. I take the opportunity to apply but I am yet to receive a job offer from an application.

How is teaching during your gap year possible when you do not have a degree? How is it possible to get a teaching position in a province that you want to live in?

Xandra Martin

Most teachers who have spent time in Korea regard it as a “cash cow” and an excellent opportunity to pay off any existing student loans. It is also a “cash cow” for Koreans who continue to establish their brands globally. They prefer to keep teachers and even have a severance package as a safety net. Korean teachers get paid well and have healthy work hours resulting in normal work relations with foreigners. A degree is enough in Korea.

Korea’s success involves more than students who learn how to communicate in another language but who can also learn what might appeal to other cultures. The success of Samsung, LG and Kia are directly related to been able to communicate and as a result they have emerged as global brands. In terms of changing a cultural outlook—when Samsung makes commercials with Ozzy Osborne in order to sell phones (no pun intended) then obviously their way of thinking has changed in order to control more of the market share in media and communication. It is now Nokia who? And Blackberry is quickly on the demise.

When Japan started recruiting English teachers they became the first country to be able to establish brands globally and part of this emergence directly involved communication and cultural change. Being able to understand and predict what another culture wants and needs when you are capable of making good products is a successful formula. Japan has been making many better products than America for years.

Over the last decade, Japan has gotten cheap--removing good secure teaching jobs, replacing them with low paying part time positions. Then greed surfaced as full time jobs disappeared and teachers worked miserably through agencies, which eventually bankrupted, resulting in many teachers going to other countries—especially Korea. Japan now has a reputation of not being a country to work in as a teacher. Korea on the other hand has a great reputation and continues to gain more of the Asian global market export share.

China has large economic growth in demand for “outsourcing products” from western companies and expansion of global markets. Realizing the demand for English and communication as a necessity, well-paid teaching positions are also emerging in order to prepare a generation for change. The future looks promising. A degree is enough in China.

The same may be said for Vietnam. They are quickly developing and acquiring more share of a global market in manufacturing and it is just a matter of time when brands develop. They are also a country recruiting teachers and paying them fairly well.

Singapore has been speaking English since the colonial days but they have still failed to establish their brands globally. Only their airline is a well-known brand. This seems odd when it is a huge area for trade. It seems safe to say that just speaking English is not enough, one has to change certain things culturally as well—this is hard to define because how do you explain Samsung’s decision to get Ozzy to market their cell phones?

It seems safe to say that the country that keeps teachers and pays them well benefits in the long run. Those that don’t, lose them and carry the stigma of being an undesirable place to work. This has lasting affects on economic growth.

Dr. Morgan Rodder

This is a follow-up from a post I made late last year regarding a school in rural Nakhonsawan, where I informed the readers of my surprise at landing a job in a 'normal' school and how the school itself and the staff seemed nice and human. However, at the end of my post I did leave room to doubt my findings. And lo and behold they proved me right to doubt their good intentions. After several teachers asked me to stay at the school for several years and how they were so happy with what was being done there, I set my mind to do just that. They did inform me however that my salary would have to drop by 5,000bt.

After giving it lots of deep thought, I accepted the situation. Now it's that time when we have to renew our contract and after many staff meetings and lots of deliberation, I was handed a new contract in which not only did they want to cut my salary but they didn't want to pay me for school breaks. Meaning for three months of the year I would have to hibernate like a bear. To be honest I'm not shocked at the way the Thais treat other nationalities. I, like everyone else, hear and read this sort of thing most weeks. You know boys and girls out there in this land of smiles, there is an old saying. If someone tells you you look sick and to go see a doctor, don't take much notice. But if seven people tell you you look sick, go to the hospital.

Mr. Russell Park

I work at a private school in Bangkok that was severely damaged by the flood. I am happy to say that all teachers, both foreign and Thai, were paid their full salaries during the disaster. I make 45k per month which is a bit higher than average at my school. I work as a high school science teacher and even make a little more money coaching after school sports. Of course my school is not perfect. We have poor communication between the administration office and teachers at times, non-existent consequences for poor student behavior, and a policy that every student passes the class regardless of their actual grade (promotes laziness!) However, I love teaching the subject I teach and I have some really amazing students. All in all, I love my job and love living in Thailand.

Dizzy Dean

Dear Ajarn.com, I really enjoy reading the letters and editorials on your website. Unlike expat English teacher-oriented websites for a lot of other nearby countries, it seems like this one really fishes out the pertinent issues and attempts to take an object stance.

I lived in Thailand and taught there for a little over a year. I worked at two places: A university and the EP department of a high school. I am married to a Thai national, and although we will surely visit her family there, I pray that I will never have to work there again. My beef with working there pretty much echoes what others have said: two-faced Thai teachers and coworkers, bad workplace communication, hostile and invasive supervisors that seem eager to see you go, lies about pay and conditions, generally low pay, improper or non-existent support, inconvenient and unreasonable visa system, etc.

The main reason I'm writing this letter, of course, is not to flatten the poor horse any more because certainly he is nearly paper thin by now. Rather I'd like to provide a very respectful criticism of your editorial section here.

Often prospective teachers or others write in to inquire about salaries and working conditions for jobs there in Thailand. Often those inquiries are about pay being relative to the cost of living and so on. What I notice is that all too often, the response to the inquiries make it appear that the normal situation for a teacher with normal teaching qualifications ie: a TEFL cert, Bachelors degree, some teaching experience, etc would allow that teacher to make upwards of 40~50k baht per month.

For example, about a month ago, you ran a story comparing someone working in Bangkok who made 60,000 baht with someone working in the South who made 40,000 baht. The article seemed to represent these figures as if they purported to a status quo (I believe in the end, the conclusion was made that 40,000 a month in the South was not enough money to survive). In stark contrast, however, a brief scan of the jobs being advertised here on your website brushstrokes a very different picture.

Most jobs here pay 30,000 baht at best - and more still pay in the neighborhood of 20,000 baht. It is rare to find one that pays 40,000 baht in Bangkok, but there are a few jobs at business English schools for adults and so on. Universities in Thailand almost universally pay between 25,000 and 30,000, with a few exceptions.

So, could you please adjust your explanations about what the salaries are like in Thailand, in the future? I am sure a lot of people who plan to go there would really appreciate that.

Nick Busch

I really can’t see the point of teachers complaining about salaries. Time after time there are instances of corruption, bad behavior by directors and coordinators, unruly student behavior with no disciplinary procedures. Each posting takes us nearer to truth about Thai education; students with the lowest I.Q’s in Asia, and compulsory falsification of exam results to try to hide it. Why has the salary dropped? It’s very simple, as many have pointed out; you’re not teachers, you’re ‘entertainers’ and how much is a ‘babysitter’ worth? That’s why you’re being offered 15,000 to 25,000 a month! Forget your grammar and bring into the classroom a set of bingo cards instead . . . . . the students will be happy and if the students are happy the parents will be happy. If the parents are happy they’ll keep paying the school and somewhere along the line you’ll be given a little bit of it to struggle by on, be seen as a good, conforming ‘teacher’ and will have no more problems.

If however, you do look on yourself as a teacher and especially for the older ones amongst us, why put up with it? Granted, Thailand to me is the nicest place to live in but not to work. How about the oil states, or China, or up and coming Vietnam? There’s plenty of work for the more mature teachers and perhaps teaching in Thailand should be left to the blond/e backpacking Henrietta’s and Rupert’s of the world for their one year ‘cultural’ experiences. Perhaps Thailand indeed gets what it deserves.

A year or two contract in the aforementioned places, then a visit to Laos on your return for a six-month Thai tourist visa and you combine the pleasure of living in Thailand without getting burned out or suffering a heart attack from the stress of teaching unruly class sizes of 50+, 26+ hours a week. I used to teach in Thailand and I see boatloads of foreigners leaving. One day I hope the Thai government will realize that entertainment and falsifying exam results might be part of the reason that Thailand is the bottom of the league table in education. They might then also come to the logical conclusion that singing and clapping hands all day with backpackers needs some serious reconsideration. Until then, au revoir Thailand.

John in China

My TCT waiver/exemption letter dated January 25, 2010 is for 2 years, but in 2011 Mukdahan immigration office only gave me my new visa until January 25, 2012. I had to get a new TCT letter (another 2 years) to allow me to finish the current academic year in early March. I would recommend to the TCT that their letters should state a more explicit time frame, like including an ending date for example. It would be better if their letter specifically said something like: "for X academic year(s) ending on March 31, 20XX." which is when I think many contracts end. Mukdahan immigration is only doing their job to the letter of the TCT waiver, but students could lose a teacher before the academic year ends if the TCT decides to reject the school's new application for its teacher. Also, I now have to pay again for the privilege of completing this term with my students. My school sadly doesn't pay for my visa and work permit like many other schools.

Jim

This is the story of the ghost of an ex-English teacher who hunts the Principal of a Thai school.
Definitely, it was a strong curse! For the first time in the last year, the Principal had to bite her tongue, make the sign of the cross three times and promise never to touch the foreign teachers ‘desks!
One day, all the teachers from the foreign department couldn’t believe what they saw with their own eyes. All the teachers desks were messed up and moved to different positions from where they used to be, according to a pre-established unknown rule from above.

Foreign teachers had to bite their tongue and to protest silently, in the way they considered the most decent and the most appropriate to the respective situation.For example, teacher P came to school for the next four months, dressed with his snow coat, ski mask, winter collar and gloves, since the aircon blew like a -30 degrees celsius Siberian blizzard, straight onto his back! But that didn’t bother Thai staff at all. They were happy and they were giggling about the foreign teachers’ situation. Doesn’t matter some of them had to pay several visits to the doctors, even take some days off, for catching strong colds or rheumatic pains caused by the aircon that continued to blow impassible, straight onto their backs for several months. That’s why the school pays so much money to insure the foreigners, so they can enjoy their aristocratic privileges!

Teacher P continued to endure this harsh treatment several months and when the right opportunity came up, he handed in his resignation in the most honest and decent way. But this time teacher P had his V from vendetta. Earlier this morning, as teacher K. showed up at the office, he couldn’t find his desk!? Again!? Why? Obviously, it had been moved by somebody without his permission. Since only the Thai coordinators were around, he presumed they might have something to do with the Unidentified Freaking Operation, shortly called U.F.O.

Don’t get me wrong, but teacher K. believes in all sort of ethereal things like aliens and other extraterrestrial beings, and, if the coordinators couldn’t admit that they were involved somehow in his desk levitation, then for sure the Devil itself put his tail between his legs. Finally, the coordinators admitted they were the authors of the strange phenomenon but with one amendment: they received orders straight from the school’s Principal. With the pressure building up like a locomotive whistle, teacher K. heads down to Principal’s office, ready to explode, threatening the school with his imminent and unconditional resignation.

Unexpectedly, the Principal found her words in a perfect English, explaining she has never given any controversial order to move his desk around the office. More than that, she assured him of taking all the necessary measures for reestablishing the normal course of his desk (life)! Shortly after, she ordered to the coordinators to move the desks back, so there will be no mystery about who ordered to move the desks around the office! Obviously, there was no extraterrestrial involvement. Just a matter of authentic high level Thai management or as they say: Mai pen rai, Sucker!

Any resemblance to actual characters or situations is purely coincidental.

Steve Bold