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[ESL.Teacher.Steve]

I wanted to share my experience at NICS in Nakhonsithammrat, so here it is...

I worked for Nakhon �International� City School for a few months Dec 2011-Jan 2012. I am surprised that I made it that long. Let me preface by stating that I have never posted anything about any schools that I have worked for before, but the utter incompetence and backstabbing that takes place at NICS should be brought to light to prevent other teachers from falling victim to it. The first thing that I noticed about this school is that NO ONE is happy. I should have turned the job down based on that, but I did not. I interviewed with the Thai Director as the Foreign Director had quit less then 4 months into his contract and went back to the USA. From what the other teachers said, he badmouthed all the Thai administrators.

I found out that this school was a joke from the other teacher in town, and they said not to work for them. I talked the school into a 3-month contract so that I could test the waters. They did not want to do it, but they had no choice. Teachers who knew better, would not work for them. Every teacher they had was from outside the city and did not know what they had gotten into until they were locked in for a year.

After excepting an offer of employment at a pay of 39,000 Baht a month, I found a post from for the same job (7th and 8th grade science teacher) but one year ago offering 70,000 Baht a month http://www.ajarnjobspace.com/job-l2FjWQ%3D%3D.htm . When I brought this up with the Thai Director, I was told that �there was no such ad� and that I must have seen something from another school. I tried to let her save face for the day, and came back with my laptop the next day to show here the ad. She then told me that no, that was an outside agent that they hired who must have made a mistake. I could see this was not going to go anywhere; again I let her save face and pretended like I understood. I really understood the lies here are thick and these people were anything but honest.

I went with the school for �Big Clean Up Day�, and was told that I need to come help shop for supplies for the science lab, actually I was going to be picking up trash. I like to volunteer and help out in the community, so I was easy going once we got to the shopping center and I figured out what we were doing. So we got assigned a street to go clean. We drove there, about 10 Thai administrators and I, and got out of the car. I notice that the other teams had brooms, gloves, and bins with them. We had nothing. OK, so as we are walking down the street, someone sees a bag and a straw from a drink that fell out of the trash pile it was next to. The director took pictures of everyone holding this bag and straw, and then took a group picture next to the trash pile that someone else had made to take credit for it. They asked me to join, and I refused and went to actually pick up some trash while they stayed in the shade and had some cold drinks.

We went on another field trip to plant trees in Promkriri (about a 45 minute drive into the mountains). After taking two very full busses of teachers and students out to the site, the busses then went back to grab three more office workers with out telling anyone. After planting the trees, we began to load the busses. Not everyone was going to fit in the busses. It was then arranged that the foreign teacher who is new to the area, should be left on the side of the road and sort out their own ride into town. I finally protested enough that someone called a guy who would come pick me up, left to sit on the side of the road for almost an hour waiting.

When I begun working for NICS, I had a tourist visa. I needed to get the switched into a Non-B. I was told by the director 2 weeks before my tourist visa expired, that I would need to return to the USA to get my non-b!!! I laughed and told her that I would just go back to working for Rajabhat University (pervious employer) if that was the case, because they get there teachers visas no problem. I had to do all the research on what documents I needed to get my visa, present them to the school, explain all the rules, tell them how to apply for my work permit so that I can get a w2 form and get my visa changed. It was a seriously difficult task to gather this information. I felt like I had to do their jobs, and not reading Thai and limited speaking ability, left me at a serious disadvantage. I also had to pay for the trip to Bangkok and the cost of the visa, which they had told me previously they would pay for. More lies.

Finally I had had enough. The foreign director had �changed his mind� and returned to the school this week. He and I did not see things the same way, and he wanted to (as I found out later) put his friend in my position. I, after receiving an obnoxious threatening email on Monday morning concerning a lesson plan from when I was in Bangkok for my visa (20 minutes after I was standing talking with him face to face and he said nothing about this), approached him in his office. In the nicest way I could, I told him that I did not think I was going to be renewing the contract, and that I would be leaving in a month and a half. In the mean time, I am happy to give the students great lessons (the students did love my class and will attest to that), be here on time, and such. I also told him that I was not on board with the copious amounts of extra work, clubs, and bureaucratic BS that he was after. I told him that my lesson plans are in a red book on my desk in my class, and if he wanted to see them, he was always welcome to come have a look. I also told him that I found the tone of his emails less then encouraging and if he had anything to discuss with me please do it face to face. He told me, �If that is the way you feel, you might as well pack your shit up now.� I smiled at him and told him he just made my day and walked out of his office. I went to my classroom, gathered my stuff and off I went.

I then took a little 2-week holiday.

I went to apply to schools around Nakhon and found out I had been blacklisted by NICS and a man named Nicky who works for them. I have some good Thai friends who have connections in Nakhon and the lies that Nicky spread would have been an arrest-able offence in the USA. He had told other schools that I was drinking before class, that I had been a really bad teacher and the students did not like me, and that I was incompetent. I have been teaching for over 6 years, everything from university to preschool. I have a list of references to support me, and they could not have been further from the truth. My students at NICS told me that I was one of the best teachers and that my science class was the one they looked forward to the most. The students learned about nuclear fusion in stars, diffusion of particles, and astronomy (my back ground). Also, I had a parent who came to the school tell me how much his son loved my class.


1) This school has had its entire city-funding cut and is not a �City School�
2) A parent made a large donation and that is the only reason the lights are still on. (If they fail to do so again, the school will be forced to close)
3) There is nothing international about this school.
4) They have no curriculum. (Although they will tell you they do, then expect you to build one for no additional pay.)
5) The textbooks are highly inappropriate for the students.
6) They are not anywhere close to fulfilling international school regulations or standards. Not even close in one area.
7) The Foreign principal is under 30, from the USA, educated in Bangkok, and treats the teachers like second-class citizens. (I can handle a wealthy Thai doing this, but come on mate, you got your degree at Assumption, pay the money = get the paper)
The foreign principal also will send you threatening emails and ultimatums when he needs something from you. (Keep in mind there were 6 teachers working at the school. Grow a pair and come talk to me if you need something!)

[kidefl]

MOD EDIT

Nah, a lot of international schools aren't anywhere near international. It's sort of a popular buzz word.

I worked a couple of years at the private Christian school there. It was so so and the pay was so so. Lot of gangsters round there. I liked Surat a lot better.