A very bad day indeed
Today was one of the most unpleasant in my four years plus of teaching
My problem was discipline. You see, I've been teaching for over four years and until today I had only received two complaints.
Abandon all logic
Thailand's unfathomable logic
One of the great joys of travel is to experience the exotic; to find oneself immersed in a culture which holds little or any resemblance to that which we call home.
The battle is finally over
And there were no winners
Restrictions on freedom of speech are simply a form a thought control and involve a huge amount of power. Thailand must accept that if it wants to be a fore - player in the modern world, it must at least accept that other nations allow freedom of speech.
A Thai student's diary
What it feels like to be a Thai student studying English in school
A foreign teacher contacted ajarn wanting to share a diary that one of his English program students had written. Although the student is only a youngster, the diary is a very frank account of what it's like to study at a Thai school. Top work!
Why don't you just go home?
Problems with living in Thailand
Don't get me wrong. I'm prone to the odd gripe myself. I do get exasperated when apparently easy tasks at work are made difficult by the traditional Thai "assume somebody else will tell them the meeting is cancelled" attitude.
Moral education
The Bangkok case
So what are the problems faced by Thai youth? Well, many of the same problems are faced by Thai youth as are faced by their North American counterparts, though in different degree and proportion. Unfortunately, statistics are few and far between and often unreliable.
What hope for a superficial education system?
The joys of being part of the system
Being a foreign teacher is again another superficial and costly exercise. They want to show you off like a new piece of gold jewelry or a good photograph. Relatively speaking it costs a lot to employ a foreign teacher in Thailand.
Transitions in Thailand
The grass isn't always greener on the other side
Bored with teaching? Sure there is a better way to make a baht in Thailand besides the TEFL game? Well, I just finished a six-month stint working in the marketing department of a large Thai furniture company.
Here is the news
as prepared by the Thailand Ministry of Open and Honest Government
In Education news - A British English teacher who had been fired for failing a student has been reinstated. Last month Trevor Brigham was dismissed for failing a female student.
The teacher's diary
One teacher's descent into madness
The diary is the sad and heartbreaking four-week journal of Mr Jim Elmdon - a teacher who came, saw, and failed miserably. Keep a box of tissues handy.