What is a qualified teacher?
Postbox letter from Concerned in Chonburi
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.
Teaching 'with' students, 'to' students and 'at' students
Sometimes I decide to just look on the funny side of trying to teach
I've been teaching in various capacities almost two years in Thailand now, and the differences between teaching students who want to be with you versus those who must be there are quite clear.
Thailand teaching stuff - July 2014
A selection of interesting Thailand-related articles and blogs
Hello all, Peter Clarke here, and I'm back again with a selection of links to interesting Thailand-related blogs and articles that I've found on the internet over the last couple of months.
A shortage of qualified teachers more like
Postbox letter from Jonathan
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.
The day of reckoning
Postbox letter from Dave
The days of the "tourist teacher" with a high school completion, fresh face and a TEFL cert are now facing a mass extinction event (globally).
There is hope
Postbox letter from Trevor
I am in my third year at the same government school. I have a TEFL certificate, but do not have a degree.
The grass is greener!
Postbox letter from Mike
I had five excellent years living and working in Thailand, but the nonsensical bureaucracy eventually drove me away
Let's wait and see what happens
Postbox letter from John
It is very interesting to read all the gossip and drama surrounding the new visa rules. I think 'apparently' is the correct word to use during this debate because I think people need to look at this situation realistically.
World cup festival
How one school in Chiang Mai celebrated a feast of football
The football World Cup was a great opportunity to broaden students' horizons by encouraging them to learn about people and cultures around the world. And enjoy the football of course!
Teacher agencies
Do they deserve such a bad press?
I first wrote about the topic of teacher placement agencies (TPAs) back in 2006. Back then, there were relatively few TPAs recruiting foreign teachers in Thailand compared with the number who operate today - but even in those early days, there were certainly a good few complaints about them.
