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tideout
Joined: 05 Feb 2011
Posts: 213
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 Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2013 2:42 am Post subject: Thai public schools |
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I'm looking for comments or thoughts from those who may have had some direct experience within Thai public schools
I've heard from about 4 people in direct conversation that Thai public schools are not very good to work in and the students were "the worst" etc...
Unfortunately, of the 5 people who've had opinions on it, 4 were and are pretty unprepared to be teaching anywhere - little or no teaching experience, no TESOL cert etc and only tried working in a Thai school for a month or two.
The fifth has never worked in a Thai school.....
Any positive stories about working in the Thai public system? Anyone care to nuance the storyline a bit?
Regards! |
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tttompatz
Joined: 06 Mar 2010
Posts: 1951
Location: Talibon, Bohol, Philippines
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| Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2013 3:48 am Post subject: |
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Thai public schools run the gamut from atrocious to great.
Thai students (P1 - M6) run the gamut from atrocious to great.
Foreign teachers in Thai schools run the gamut from atrocious (hungover back packers extending their stay in the tropics) to great (teachers who put in the effort to be prepared and get the job done).
I will say that, on average, Thai schools have large classes (45-60), little support for the foreign teacher and only basic supplies to work with/from.
If a teacher is adequately prepared the students, at least in the x-1 and x-2 classes, will often work well and show great progress.
Students in the lower level classes (x-5, x-6) often are failing everything and can't be arsed to learn from you either.
Can you turn it around = yes.
Will it be easy = no.
Find a decent EP / MEP / bilingual school and enjoy your work and your students.
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tideout
Joined: 05 Feb 2011
Posts: 213
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| Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2013 5:32 am Post subject: |
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| tttompatz wrote: |
Thai public schools run the gamut from atrocious to great.
Thai students (P1 - M6) run the gamut from atrocious to great.
Foreign teachers in Thai schools run the gamut from atrocious (hungover back packers extending their stay in the tropics) to great (teachers who put in the effort to be prepared and get the job done).
I will say that, on average, Thai schools have large classes (45-60), little support for the foreign teacher and only basic supplies to work with/from.
If a teacher is adequately prepared the students, at least in the x-1 and x-2 classes, will often work well and show great progress.
Students in the lower level classes (x-5, x-6) often are failing everything and can't be arsed to learn from you either.
Can you turn it around = yes.
Will it be easy = no.
Find a decent EP / MEP / bilingual school and enjoy your work and your students.
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Thanks TP. More or less what I'd imagined.
Just to be sure - EP/ MEP are ??? |
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tttompatz
Joined: 06 Mar 2010
Posts: 1951
Location: Talibon, Bohol, Philippines
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| Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2013 7:47 am Post subject: |
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English Program, Mini English Program.
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tideout
Joined: 05 Feb 2011
Posts: 213
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| Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2013 8:55 am Post subject: |
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| tttompatz wrote: |
English Program, Mini English Program.
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Ah, gotcha. Thanks again.
Regards |
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ldragon
Joined: 01 Jan 2011
Posts: 32
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| Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2013 4:31 pm Post subject: |
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The students never bothered me too much. A little at first. But then I learned to relax. Figured out if the skills are low, then so are the expectations. And everyone passes in Thailand.
The biggest challenge for me was the Thai teachers. There seems to be this innate distrust between Thai teachers and foreign teachers. Probably b/c the Thais have been burned by bad foreign teachers (and maybe a little the other way around too). There's also a little jealously at hand too. Foreigner teachers w/ no experience can earn more than twice the salary of an experienced Thai teacher. That rears it's head at times too. But in general, I felt like the Thai teachers wanted to make my job more difficult than it needed to be. Giving me very little information, then springing things on me at the last minute. Some of this might be the language barrier. And again, if the communication is low, then so are the expectations (or they should be). But sometimes they don't see it that way.
I agree, if you have the skills, go for an EP/MEP or private school. |
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tideout
Joined: 05 Feb 2011
Posts: 213
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| Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2013 11:15 pm Post subject: |
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| Thanks for your input and thoughts ldragon. |
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plumpy nut
Joined: 12 Mar 2011
Posts: 1652
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| Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2013 4:16 pm Post subject: Re: Thai public schools |
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| tideout wrote: |
I've heard from about 4 people in direct conversation that Thai public schools are not very good to work in and the students were "the worst" etc...
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In general most of the schools public or private are dismal and not pleasant to work at. I have heard there are some public schools with good programs and decent students and there are some private schools with the same, but not many. It has to do with the Thai work ethic and Thai morals.
Keep in mind the Thai school system is a system where the starting pay for teachers is something like $300 US a month, a little under actually, and teachers get more money for themselves by selling teaching and in some cases good scores on the side. |
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Barca21
Joined: 22 Mar 2013
Posts: 9
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| Posted: Mon Apr 01, 2013 5:07 pm Post subject: |
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| tttompatz wrote: |
Thai public schools run the gamut from atrocious to great.
Thai students (P1 - M6) run the gamut from atrocious to great.
Foreign teachers in Thai schools run the gamut from atrocious (hungover back packers extending their stay in the tropics) to great (teachers who put in the effort to be prepared and get the job done).
I will say that, on average, Thai schools have large classes (45-60), little support for the foreign teacher and only basic supplies to work with/from.
If a teacher is adequately prepared the students, at least in the x-1 and x-2 classes, will often work well and show great progress.
Students in the lower level classes (x-5, x-6) often are failing everything and can't be arsed to learn from you either.
Can you turn it around = yes.
Will it be easy = no.
Find a decent EP / MEP / bilingual school and enjoy your work and your students.
. |
Would you consider these positions impossible to land for a newcomer (no exp)? If so what type of position should a newcomer look for with a mid-April arrival? What salary should one hold out for? |
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ldragon
Joined: 01 Jan 2011
Posts: 32
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| Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2013 7:40 am Post subject: |
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| Barca21 wrote: |
| tttompatz wrote: |
Thai public schools run the gamut from atrocious to great.
Thai students (P1 - M6) run the gamut from atrocious to great.
Foreign teachers in Thai schools run the gamut from atrocious (hungover back packers extending their stay in the tropics) to great (teachers who put in the effort to be prepared and get the job done).
I will say that, on average, Thai schools have large classes (45-60), little support for the foreign teacher and only basic supplies to work with/from.
If a teacher is adequately prepared the students, at least in the x-1 and x-2 classes, will often work well and show great progress.
Students in the lower level classes (x-5, x-6) often are failing everything and can't be arsed to learn from you either.
Can you turn it around = yes.
Will it be easy = no.
Find a decent EP / MEP / bilingual school and enjoy your work and your students.
. |
Would you consider these positions impossible to land for a newcomer (no exp)? If so what type of position should a newcomer look for with a mid-April arrival? What salary should one hold out for? |
Absolutely not. I've known loads of teachers that come here w/ no to little experience and get jobs in EP/MEP programs. It depends on your qualifications. And there's the issue of finding the job. There's not a lot going on at the moment, but things will pick up in late April. You'll might want to avoid an agency. It has it's advantages (that's debatable) and disadvantages. I'm not really sure about the best way to find a direct hire job. I've heard you can just walk into schools and drop of your resume. But that's a little intimidating, especially if you're new to TH. And you need to make sure it's getting in the hands of the right person. |
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ldragon
Joined: 01 Jan 2011
Posts: 32
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| Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2013 7:42 am Post subject: |
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| Barca21 wrote: |
| tttompatz wrote: |
Thai public schools run the gamut from atrocious to great.
Thai students (P1 - M6) run the gamut from atrocious to great.
Foreign teachers in Thai schools run the gamut from atrocious (hungover back packers extending their stay in the tropics) to great (teachers who put in the effort to be prepared and get the job done).
I will say that, on average, Thai schools have large classes (45-60), little support for the foreign teacher and only basic supplies to work with/from.
If a teacher is adequately prepared the students, at least in the x-1 and x-2 classes, will often work well and show great progress.
Students in the lower level classes (x-5, x-6) often are failing everything and can't be arsed to learn from you either.
Can you turn it around = yes.
Will it be easy = no.
Find a decent EP / MEP / bilingual school and enjoy your work and your students.
. |
Would you consider these positions impossible to land for a newcomer (no exp)? If so what type of position should a newcomer look for with a mid-April arrival? What salary should one hold out for? |
Absolutely not. I've known loads of teachers that come here w/ no to little experience and get jobs in EP/MEP programs. It depends on your qualifications. And there's the issue of finding the job. There's not a lot going on at the moment, but things will pick up in late April. You'll might want to avoid an agency. It has it's advantages (that's debatable) and disadvantages. I'm not really sure about the best way to find a direct hire job. I've heard you can just walk into schools and drop of your resume. But that's a little intimidating, especially if you're new to TH. And you need to make sure it's getting in the hands of the right person. |
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tttompatz
Joined: 06 Mar 2010
Posts: 1951
Location: Talibon, Bohol, Philippines
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| Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2013 8:50 am Post subject: |
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Degree, TEFL cert and passport from an anglophone country and you should be able to find something that is OK paying 30-40k right off of the plane.
If you have more to offer (B.Ed, state teacher's license, etc) then 40-60k.
IF you don't have a degree then take what you can get cause legal work isn't in your future (no visa or work permit).
IF your passport isn't from one of: UK, Ireland, USA, Canada, Australia or NZ then you can add a TOEIC test to the list of credentials needed for a visa and your salary will be in the 15-25k range.
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Barca21
Joined: 22 Mar 2013
Posts: 9
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| Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2013 4:35 pm Post subject: |
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| ldragon wrote: |
| Barca21 wrote: |
| tttompatz wrote: |
Thai public schools run the gamut from atrocious to great.
Thai students (P1 - M6) run the gamut from atrocious to great.
Foreign teachers in Thai schools run the gamut from atrocious (hungover back packers extending their stay in the tropics) to great (teachers who put in the effort to be prepared and get the job done).
I will say that, on average, Thai schools have large classes (45-60), little support for the foreign teacher and only basic supplies to work with/from.
If a teacher is adequately prepared the students, at least in the x-1 and x-2 classes, will often work well and show great progress.
Students in the lower level classes (x-5, x-6) often are failing everything and can't be arsed to learn from you either.
Can you turn it around = yes.
Will it be easy = no.
Find a decent EP / MEP / bilingual school and enjoy your work and your students.
. |
Would you consider these positions impossible to land for a newcomer (no exp)? If so what type of position should a newcomer look for with a mid-April arrival? What salary should one hold out for? |
Absolutely not. I've known loads of teachers that come here w/ no to little experience and get jobs in EP/MEP programs. It depends on your qualifications. And there's the issue of finding the job. There's not a lot going on at the moment, but things will pick up in late April. You'll might want to avoid an agency. It has it's advantages (that's debatable) and disadvantages. I'm not really sure about the best way to find a direct hire job. I've heard you can just walk into schools and drop of your resume. But that's a little intimidating, especially if you're new to TH. And you need to make sure it's getting in the hands of the right person. |
Thanks for the response. Do you think having only a BA in Econ/tefl course/ being a decent looking American will cut it? |
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tttompatz
Joined: 06 Mar 2010
Posts: 1951
Location: Talibon, Bohol, Philippines
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| Posted: Wed Apr 03, 2013 12:22 am Post subject: |
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| Barca21 wrote: |
| Thanks for the response. Do you think having only a BA in Econ/tefl course/ being a decent looking American will cut it? |
Degree = check
University issued transcript = check
US passport = check
police check (state level is fine) = check.
Good to go for any legal job as an English teacher in The Kingdom.
Get on a plane and get your butt over here or you will be left with what is left after the school year starts.
Hint: check out the job before you sign on the dotted line.
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Barca21
Joined: 22 Mar 2013
Posts: 9
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| Posted: Wed Apr 03, 2013 1:35 am Post subject: |
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| Thanks tompatz. I have everything you listed. Specifically in regards to EP/MEP programs are my quals acceptable? Will be arriving on the 15th. |
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