The chalkies need a real change
Postbox letter from Mr Grumpy
Nothing can prepare the foreign teacher for the employee-to-management-to-admin staff life. Dealing with these matters can drive the most experienced teachers up the wall and can turn a normally friendly teacher into a paranoid wreck!
Fast times at Hitler High
What on earth are the schoolkids being prepared for?
For those who think that the students may have missed the lessons on Hitler and the NAZIS, or perhaps fell asleep during the lectures, I say the opposite: I say that these students were probably very much awake and were mesmerized by all things NAZI. By the looks of things, they seem to have learned quite a bit.
A fishy tale
What happens when your pet fish become part of the family.
Sometimes I'm reminded what a great country Thailand is to live in, especially when I encounter a level of customer service that I would never imagine possible.
The land of good samaritans
Sometimes you can find help when you least expect it
What happened to me last November has given me the impression that there are indeed a lot of good samaritans in Thailand.
Is it the teachers fault?
Postbox letter from James
We face an impossible task. You can’t force someone to learn and I flatly refuse to accept that it is all the teacher’s fault. The schools and managers would certainly have you believe that and it is in their own interests to do so.
The teacher's diary revisited
One teacher's descent into madness. Now updated for 2011
The diary is the heartbreaking four-week journal of Mr Jim Elmdon - a teacher who came to Thailand and failed miserably. Keep a box of tissues handy.
A change ain't gonna come
Postbox letter from Paul
The Government is pouring bhat after bhat into improving the Thais ability to speak English, but it is not happening much because Thais are resistant to change
A cultural curveball
Just when you think you know most things about Thai culture
Having lived in Thailand more than twenty years, one likes to think themselves as au fait with most aspects of Thai culture, and then some innocuous situation develops and you're left wondering if you truly know the first thing about Thai culture at all.
Clouds of smoke
Postbox letter from Fair go
Surely there must be the element in institutions where English is taught for profit in Thailand, that they want to adorn their business prospectus with a young and handsome or beautiful white face.
Let's not kid ourselves
Postbox letter from Anonymous
The bottom line is that Thailand does not adhere to non-discriminatory hiring practices: height, age, attractiveness, overall appearance, and especially skin tone are typically and explicitly considered for any job that requires working with the public
