Job Discussion Forums

[moonraven]

xxx: As usual, you don't know what you're talking about. Nobody in Venezuela has been forced to flee the country--some folks have chosen to leave and join the Miami Mafia--from whose friendly confines plots are hatched like the one which resulted in the murder by car bomb Thursday night of prosecutor Danilo Anderson in Caracas. Was he an opposition guy? Hardly--the victim was in charge of three of the bigger cases resulting from the US-backed military coup of April 11, 2002, which took Ch�vez out of the power.

I sure do know what pendejo means--and I suspect I am responding to one now.

[Rice Paddy Daddy]

I completely agree.

TEFL'ing is dead end.

However, there are also a lot of other jobs I was working back home that were dead end.

Difference is that I just got taxed more back home, eat better food here in Asia, work fewer hours per week and travel to tropical beaches now on my vacations.

[once again]

Chris, where is your avatar picture from?

[dagi]

I think if it's dead end or not depends on what you make of it. If your only qualification is that that you are a native speaker and you head of with a backpack to have fun it is a dead end. If you do TEFL because you want to be a teacher, get the proper qualications and become a proffessional it's not a dead end. Don't they need English teachers in the US, UK, NZ, AUS for native speakers? It all depends on how much time and effort you put in it.

As for the 'retirement on a tropical beach' I think that is just bullshit. I have retired parents and grandparents and there is no way I see myself retiring on a tropical beach in Thailand. My grandparents are still fit but they are in their 80's and do need medical treatments every now and then, they need help every now and then. People who dream of spending their retirement in Thailand or some other SEA country are unrealistic and should spend a day with some elderly to realise what it's like to be old.

[moonraven]

Good points. As for needing English teachers for native speakers in English-speaking countries--of course they do. But that means getting a master's degree--which a lot of tefl-ers are loath to do.

[Aramas]

I find it amusing that so many people take for granted that we westerners are so 'priveleged' that, not only do we expect to spend our dotage as raw material to be exploited by the medical and pharmaceutical industries, but a lot of people seem to believe that we require it.

No one in my family has ever been to a retirement home, and all of my grandparents and great-grandparents died either at home or after a brief stay in hospital - some in their 90's. They managed quite well with meal deliveries and visiting nurses. Such arrangements would be far less expensive in less greedy countries.

I'm also amused by the ignorant assumption that countries such as Thailand have an inadequate medical system. That's just untrue. The assumption that medical insurance would be unaffordable is also innaccurate. Most expat medical insurance covers people anywhere in the world except the US, which has the most outrageously exploitative medical and pharmaceutical industries in the world.

Setting up a workable retirement plan in asia or latin america is not only quite feasible, but actually preferable to staying in a country with high living costs and an inadequate public health system. I'm amazed at how many seemingly intelligent and educated people unquestioningly accept advertising and corporate and government propaganda as fact, and allow fear to be the primary driving force in their lives. It's pathetic.

[Chris_Crossley]

[merlin]

Aramas,
I agree with you in fact but have to say you're also operating with blinder on, just looking at different scenery.

Medical systems vary from country to county and some people prefer one while other prefer another.

I personally prefer the concept of being able to sue a doctor after having my forehead stitched up by a guy who was so drunk he could hardly stand up. I also like the idea of being given the very best medicine, no matter what the price. The side effects of second-grade antibiotics and other medication are often worse than the actual disease, IMHO.

On the other hand, I also see the benefits of an affordable healthcare system.

I wouldn't call preferences ignorance. They're just preferences. I would guess that if you get the opportunity to see your wife butchered by an incompetent OBGYN who somehow got licensed through nepotism or corruption or if a certain medication caused a birth defect in your friend's child despite the availability of better medications in other countires, well, you might see yourself as the ignorant one.

[Sheep-Goats]

[merlin]

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

There's a thread in the newbie forum, "After Opinions" where this link was posted.

The slavery of teaching English:

http://education.telegraph.co.uk/education/main.jhtml?xml=/education/2004/01/17/teftefl17.xml

[ContemporaryDog]

Thanks for one of the most sobering/depressing articles I've read in ages...

[Chris_Crossley]

[ChinaEFLteacher]

wow, having taught in a uni has been a good experience for me. i wouldn't do it as a career because the lack of a monetary future, but life isn't too bad. that article makes the language mills sound even worse than i've heard. maybe i'll invest in one of them if they're so popular. any suckers wanna come get exploited and earn me my fortune, gimme a ring!

[Gordon]

I don't know what the TEFL industry is like in Europe, but I doubt it is a very accurate portrayal. It isn't reflective of parts of Asia I've seen. It is a writing piece that is trying to sell.