Thinking about being a teacher in Thailand?

[El Cata]

Just to clear up some misconceptions here:

 

Contrary to popular belief, a TEFL is neither a requirement to teach nor for a WP. However, it is advisable to do one if you are not qualified. I'm going to do one in the near future, as I am a qualified science & maths teacher and wouldn't have a clue how to teach English.

 

The legal requirements to teach in Thailand are a degree & an education degree or a BEd.

 

The only accepted TEFL courses are those that include 120+ hours theory & 6+ hours observed teaching practice.

 

The Thai culture course is a requirement for a TL. It is a 2 day course & costs 4000B.

 

The TCT course (Thai education degree) is a 1 year course which will qualify you to teach; in Thailand only! It costs around 60000B. You can circumvent this by taking the 4 TCT exams, at a cost of 1000B each. Once you have passed the exams you are a 'qualified' teacher & can apply for a TL.

 

You may or may not need a police check. TIT.

 

I saw the ad for teaching and spoke to a couple of Bangkok teachers,both of whom I had trouble understanding due to their accents and thought if they can do it so can I.

I haven't got a degree but I was educated to a good level so I thought I'd be ok...

I know I was doing well though because now and again I'd bump into the parents and they'd say that their children always said they liked me and it was fun.

Oh dear!!!

 

Yet another falang who chances his arm at English teaching so he can stay in LOS & whoremonger, at the expense of qualified teacher's wages & Thai children's education. BTW nice bit of self assessment at the end there!

 

It sounds as if you jumped blindly into it without doing any research & then got burned; som nam na.

 

Peace.

[Shivers]

What sort a degree is needed to teach? I mean, could it be some silly degree in Underwater Basket Weaving, or does it have to be in a teaching-related field. Does it have to be a Bachelor's degree (4 years - 120 credit hours), or would an Associate's degree (2 years - 60 credit hours) do the trick? Also, does it have to be from an accredited college/university?

 

I'm in Afghanistan, and plan on staying here for years to come, so it's not as though getting a degree would be easy. However, I have 32 college credit hours and wouldn't mind going through the process of getting an Associate's degree if I knew it would pay off down the road should I ever want to move to Thailand a little earlier than expected and do some teaching to help with some income as well as give me a positive way to spend my time. Just like to keep my options open.

[Nak Muay]

What sort a degree is needed to teach? I mean, could it be some silly degree in Underwater Basket Weaving, or does it have to be in a teaching-related field. Does it have to be a Bachelor's degree (4 years - 120 credit hours), or would an Associate's degree (2 years - 60 credit hours) do the trick? Also, does it have to be from an accredited college/university?

 

I'm in Afghanistan, and plan on staying here for years to come, so it's not as though getting a degree would be easy. However, I have 32 college credit hours and wouldn't mind going through the process of getting an Associate's degree if I knew it would pay off down the road should I ever want to move to Thailand a little earlier than expected and do some teaching to help with some income as well as give me a positive way to spend my time. Just like to keep my options open.

 

 

best info for this area is the ajarn forum which is dedicated to this area.

 

any type of degree they are not specific about it, i looked into it and an English 3 year degree is seen as equal to a 1year degree in Africa. even tho in reality they would be very different.

 

i think the best thing about this route is being able to get a permanent visa much easier, but then im sure given enough time u could buy a visa for the same price of 60000 baht.

[Hallmark]

Just to clear up some misconceptions here:

 

Contrary to popular belief, a TEFL is neither a requirement to teach nor for a WP. However, it is advisable to do one if you are not qualified. I'm going to do one in the near future, as I am a qualified science & maths teacher and wouldn't have a clue how to teach English.

 

The legal requirements to teach in Thailand are a degree & an education degree or a BEd.

 

The only accepted TEFL courses are those that include 120+ hours theory & 6+ hours observed teaching practice.

 

The Thai culture course is a requirement for a TL. It is a 2 day course & costs 4000B.

 

The TCT course (Thai education degree) is a 1 year course which will qualify you to teach; in Thailand only! It costs around 60000B. You can circumvent this by taking the 4 TCT exams, at a cost of 1000B each. Once you have passed the exams you are a 'qualified' teacher & can apply for a TL.

 

You may or may not need a police check. TIT.

 

 

 

 

Oh dear!!!

 

Yet another falang who chances his arm at English teaching so he can stay in LOS & whoremonger, at the expense of qualified teacher's wages & Thai children's education. BTW nice bit of self assessment at the end there!

 

It sounds as if you jumped blindly into it without doing any research & then got burned; som nam na.

 

Peace.

 

And yet another of your attempted hatchet jobs on someone !

 

How did I get burned ? Do you know my full story or are you going on titbits you may have heard from someone ?

 

I tried it for 6 months,I did ok at the school,I didn't like it so I stopped doing it,I met my lady while teaching at the school so some good did come out of it ! I didn't do it to carry on whoremongering so please get your facts right.

 

Didn't do any research ? How do you know what research I did ?

 

Why don't you save your comments for the people you know,who have done teaching over here who have had no qualifications whatsoever instead of cutting my post,are you a Sun journalist by any chance ?

[kuffki]

Just to clear up some misconceptions here:

 

Contrary to popular belief, a TEFL is neither a requirement to teach nor for a WP. However, it is advisable to do one if you are not qualified. I'm going to do one in the near future, as I am a qualified science & maths teacher and wouldn't have a clue how to teach English.

 

The legal requirements to teach in Thailand are a degree & an education degree or a BEd.

 

The only accepted TEFL courses are those that include 120+ hours theory & 6+ hours observed teaching practice.

 

The Thai culture course is a requirement for a TL. It is a 2 day course & costs 4000B.

 

The TCT course (Thai education degree) is a 1 year course which will qualify you to teach; in Thailand only! It costs around 60000B. You can circumvent this by taking the 4 TCT exams, at a cost of 1000B each. Once you have passed the exams you are a 'qualified' teacher & can apply for a TL.

 

You may or may not need a police check. TIT.

 

 

 

 

Oh dear!!!

 

Yet another falang who chances his arm at English teaching so he can stay in LOS & whoremonger, at the expense of qualified teacher's wages & Thai children's education. BTW nice bit of self assessment at the end there!

 

It sounds as if you jumped blindly into it without doing any research & then got burned; som nam na.

 

Peace.

 

Mate i really do not know why you trying to have a go at someone who posted real life experience? Have you worked in Thailand? Have you taught in Thailand?

 

If he had MASTERS would his experience with school be any different?

 

You then assume he is a whoremonger as to opposing you not being one?

 

What is wrong with giving it a go in Thailand if possible to live here? I do not see many Thai people speaking even conversational English, but then again half of native English speakers can not speak it properly either.

 

Now you refer to qualified teachers. Having a degree really does not make anyone a good teacher, all it says is that you have a degree.

 

My degree qualifies me for teaching, yet i will never even consider to teach because i have no patience and hate explaining things over and over again.

 

From what Kessaya posted and what i hear from everyone else, kids at school or university are NOT to fail, so really it does not matter if you teach them or not, THEY WILL ALWAYS PASS.

Which explains why there are so many doctors in Thailand who would not know where heart is located.

 

Not to have a go at you, but unless you have lived in Thailand and worked as a teacher, i do not think it is fair to criticize or assume things about someone who has.

 

Reading forums and what should be is totally different to real life and how things are.

 

I have known people who taught for 20 000 baht salary and who were paid 120000 per month.

 

Your home education while is helpful is not a deciding factor.

 

It is who you know and how lucky you are.

 

1 Guy i know teaching at university on 120K salary DOES NOT have a teaching degree but taught for 20000 for few years, then got a job for 40 000, then 7 years later. Someone he knew was working at that same uni and uni was looking for a teacher, so he brought my mate in. Education had nothing to do with it.

 

At the same time, while ago i dated an English and Computer teacher, she was Thai. She her self told me she did not have any degree nor did she know anything about computers, but knew how to use one. Her English was slightly above average, as a result she got the job. Principle of the school asked her to speak English and do a spread sheet for him.

 

Principle did not speak any English, so really anything she said that sounded English was good enough and any moron can do spread sheets.

 

So if anything, if you are considering making a move to Thailand and teaching, you should take Kessaya's post as a reality check rather then a point of criticism and assumptions

 

Once again not having a go at you personally, but it seems every time expat posts about their experience, there are people who are happy to criticize the post yet those people have no personal experience in the matter.

 

There are hundreds of German's, Dutch, French, Italian even Filipino who teach English in Thailand, do you think their knowledge of the language is better then a native speaker because they have a teaching degree?

 

PS. I can always go to Kaorsan road and for 3 000 baht have a teaching degree from my home country. It is impossible for Thai school to check, nor would they even bother to check

Edited September 7, 2010 by kuffki

[ExpatDave]

PS. I can always go to Kaorsan road and for 3 000 baht have a teaching degree from my home country. It is impossible for Thai school to check, nor would they even bother to check

 

Hi,

 

Hoping you can expand on this. I am working for a big company that got me here with only having an A.A.. I hate this job, but it got me here.

 

Wondering how I can teach here without a BA.

 

Note: I taught English for Berlitz in Europe, but they never cared about education.

 

Thanks,

 

ExpatDave

[kuffki]

Hi,

 

Hoping you can expand on this. I am working for a big company that got me here with only having an A.A.. I hate this job, but it got me here.

 

Wondering how I can teach here without a BA.

 

Note: I taught English for Berlitz in Europe, but they never cared about education.

 

Thanks,

 

ExpatDave

 

 

Just answered your PM

[ExpatDave]

Thanks.

Edited September 7, 2010 by ExpatDave

[El Cata]

And yet another of your attempted hatchet jobs on someone !

 

How did I get burned ? Do you know my full story or are you going on titbits you may have heard from someone ?

 

I tried it for 6 months,I did ok at the school,I didn't like it so I stopped doing it,I met my lady while teaching at the school so some good did come out of it ! I didn't do it to carry on whoremongering so please get your facts right.

 

Didn't do any research ? How do you know what research I did ?

 

Why don't you save your comments for the people you know,who have done teaching over here who have had no qualifications whatsoever instead of cutting my post,are you a Sun journalist by any chance ?

Well, a couple of silly comments at the beginning & end there.

 

How do I know you got burned & didn't do your research? You've admitted that you got conned into enrolling onto an unrecognised, useless TEFL course with a school / agency that promised the world, then accepted a low paid job with shitty conditions, organised by the school.

 

If you had spent even ten minutes on the ajarn forum, you would have been aware of this common scam. Your experience would have been very different had you done a recognised TEFL course & known where to apply for the best jobs.

 

Perhaps I was a bit hard on you, but education is not like renting motorbikes. Children's education is especially important & is not to be done is a 'half assed' way. Again you assess yourself as 'doing ok'. In who's eyes? Ok for who? You or your students? Just because students enjoy lessons, it doesn't automatically mean that they are learning anything. Have a look at this study:

 

http://www.er.uqam.ca/nobel/r30034/PSY4180/Pages/Naftulin.html

 

Thank you for your story.

 

Peace.

Edited September 7, 2010 by El Cata

[kuffki]

 

Perhaps I was a bit hard on you, but education is not like renting motorbikes. Children's education is especially important & is not to be done is a 'half assed' way. Again you assess yourself as 'doing ok'. In who's eyes? Ok for who? You or your students? Just because students enjoy lessons, it doesn't automatically mean that they are learning anything. Have a look at this study:

 

http://www.er.uqam.ca/nobel/r30034/PSY4180/Pages/Naftulin.html

 

Thank you for your story.

 

Peace.

 

You again missed the main point.Thai's do not care about education. Their system is not set up to educate. Their system set up for everyone to pass.

 

A total moron can work as a teacher and not teach anything and its perfectly acceptable, because everyone must pass.

 

Thai system is set up for kids to repeat not to think, this is why there are so many threads on Thai logic and stupid things, because from school all the way to uni they are not taught to think but to repeat and follow.

 

This facts have nothing to do with teachers, it is the system.

 

Just another perfect example for you. When studying medicine, everyone must learn English, so explain to me how it is that most Thai doctors do not speak a word and yet they got the degree's

 

I have a feeling if you do move to Thailand and start to work teaching and apply your principles at work, you may find yourself out work before you can say "cat in the hat"

 

It seems you are basing all your information on another forum, have you considered speaking to real people who are here and who have real experience rather then a general rule and what should be in ideal world.

 

I can tell you for a fact, not sure if its mentioned on the other forum, but your WP and conditions all depend on the school.

 

If school has good connections with Ministry of Education, they can get you WP even if you never even went to school.

If school does not have any connections, then it really does not matter what degree you have, you will have to jump through hoops on fire to get one.

 

Public school with limited funding, really could not care less how many teachers they change-hence why there are always adverts for teachers.

 

Private school, uni and education centers simply will not employ you no matter what degree you have unless you have had some experience working in Thailand.

 

Everyone and i mean Everyone needs to start off in shit before they climb the ladder, which is the same in every country in the word.

 

After finishing uni in UK, OZ, USA no matter what you studied, law, medicine, business-everyone starts as a coffee boy on low paid job and then slowly climbs up the ladder, unless of course they know someone in the position to offer them better.

 

 

There are no scams with TEFL, if he was to swallow the crap and stay there for over a year, his next job would of been more money and better conditions and so on. You have never had a Thai or Thai business promise you everything and deliver half if lucky or simply nothing?

 

Read my thread about Power Buy, a huge corporation not only refuses to honor the contract (warranty) but could not care less what they deliver and what they promise.

 

How else can they get teachers in Thailand? especially when they need so many.

 

Hate to say it but it appears you have a PERSONAL issue with Kessaya rather then thread related!

[Hallmark]

Well, a couple of silly comments at the beginning & end there.

 

How do I know you got burned & didn't do your research? You've admitted that you got conned into enrolling onto an unrecognised, useless TEFL course with a school / agency that promised the world, then accepted a low paid job with shitty conditions, organised by the school.

 

If you had spent even ten minutes on the ajarn forum, you would have been aware of this common scam. Your experience would have been very different had you done a recognised TEFL course & known where to apply for the best jobs.

 

Perhaps I was a bit hard on you, but education is not like renting motorbikes. Children's education is especially important & is not to be done is a 'half assed' way. Again you assess yourself as 'doing ok'. In who's eyes? Ok for who? You or your students? Just because students enjoy lessons, it doesn't automatically mean that they are learning anything. Have a look at this study:

 

http://www.er.uqam.ca/nobel/r30034/PSY4180/Pages/Naftulin.html

 

Thank you for your story.

 

Peace.

 

Where do I say I got conned ? Apart from the work permit which the school was supposed to sort out but didn't.The course was legitimate and the certificate is recognised by the schools around here.

Useless TEFL course ? Really,are you an expert on TEFL courses,do they do TEFL courses in Middlesbrough these days ?

Low paid job ? 20,000bt p/m for 4 days and about 4 hours a day isn't too bad over here.A fellow student on the course went to a job paying 23,000 for 5 days,07.30-17.00.But I'm sure you'll be getting the top jobs straightaway.

So the course I did was an unrecognised scam was it ? Again you'd know about that in Middlesbrough wouldn't you.It got me a job as promised,it got me a certificate that I can still use today if required.

Shall I tell you about my research ? I read and re-read ajarn.com.I spoke to as many farang teachers as I could find (about 15),the two I mentioned from Bangkok were the poorest and I used them as examples.I visited as many schools as possible around here and spoke to Thai teachers asking them relevant questions (with the Thai lady at the time to help me).

www.ajarn.com

Strange that 4-5 schools all answered me when I applied to them.All of them recognised my fake TEFL certificate and all wanted me to go for an interview,I had already accepted the position offered to me in Pattaya by this time and so I turned them down.

Assesed myself did I ? The day after telling the school I was finishing at the end of the month the owner and head teacher asked me to stay for the following term with more money.They now have a Filipino working there on a lot less money than I was on.

Why is it that the language school I worked at part time are still calling me 7 months later because I'm being recommended to new students by my ex students ? Why are children's parents from my old school still calling and asking me for help with their English ? Not my assesment really is it ? I couldn't have been that half assed could I ? In truth my self assesment would be that I was average,but I'm pleased that when I see my ex students be they P1,P5 or M3 they can all still talk to me in English even if it's only their names.

I sincerely hope that when you come here with all your degree's and diplomas you can change the Thai education system and not be half assed like me.

And my girlfriends motorbike business is going very well thank you,running at 100% capacity now,27 bikes and all out,more half assed I suppose.

Now why don't you forget that post I wrote all those months ago that obviously still gets to you,as far as I'm aware it was recently removed so stop fretting ok.

[Hallmark]

You again missed the main point.Thai's do not care about education. Their system is not set up to educate. Their system set up for everyone to pass.

 

A total moron can work as a teacher and not teach anything and its perfectly acceptable, because everyone must pass.

 

Thai system is set up for kids to repeat not to think, this is why there are so many threads on Thai logic and stupid things, because from school all the way to uni they are not taught to think but to repeat and follow.

 

This facts have nothing to do with teachers, it is the system.

 

Just another perfect example for you. When studying medicine, everyone must learn English, so explain to me how it is that most Thai doctors do not speak a word and yet they got the degree's

 

I have a feeling if you do move to Thailand and start to work teaching and apply your principles at work, you may find yourself out work before you can say "cat in the hat"

 

It seems you are basing all your information on another forum, have you considered speaking to real people who are here and who have real experience rather then a general rule and what should be in ideal world.

 

I can tell you for a fact, not sure if its mentioned on the other forum, but your WP and conditions all depend on the school.

 

If school has good connections with Ministry of Education, they can get you WP even if you never even went to school.

If school does not have any connections, then it really does not matter what degree you have, you will have to jump through hoops on fire to get one.

 

Public school with limited funding, really could not care less how many teachers they change-hence why there are always adverts for teachers.

 

Private school, uni and education centers simply will not employ you no matter what degree you have unless you have had some experience working in Thailand.

 

Everyone and i mean Everyone needs to start off in shit before they climb the ladder, which is the same in every country in the word.

 

After finishing uni in UK, OZ, USA no matter what you studied, law, medicine, business-everyone starts as a coffee boy on low paid job and then slowly climbs up the ladder, unless of course they know someone in the position to offer them better.

 

 

There are no scams with TEFL, if he was to swallow the crap and stay there for over a year, his next job would of been more money and better conditions and so on. You have never had a Thai or Thai business promise you everything and deliver half if lucky or simply nothing?

 

Read my thread about Power Buy, a huge corporation not only refuses to honor the contract (warranty) but could not care less what they deliver and what they promise.

 

How else can they get teachers in Thailand? especially when they need so many.

 

Hate to say it but it appears you have a PERSONAL issue with Kessaya rather then thread related!

 

I think that too Kuffki but as I've told him the post was removed a couple of weeks ago.Sad isn't it when someone who normally posts intelligent posts should start doing this.

Ah well,each to their own eh ?

[El Cata]

Have you worked in Thailand? Have you taught in Thailand?

No, but I have teaching experience in the UK & have done my research. I am going into it with my eyes wide open.

 

If he had MASTERS would his experience with school be any different?

No, but if he had done some research & had some experience it would have been.

 

You then assume he is a whoremonger as to opposing you not being one?

Well, he didn't have a GF when he started teaching. What was he doing before that? Was he a monk? BTW I'm not a whoremonger; any more.

 

What is wrong with giving it a go in Thailand if possible to live here? I do not see many Thai people speaking even conversational English, but then again half of native English speakers can not speak it properly either.

There is nothing wrong with giving it a go here, with any other occupation. The point I was trying to make is that someone should not teach just to stay in LOS, they should teach because they want to teach & have a passion / talent for it. The former can only damage student's education!

 

Now you refer to qualified teachers. Having a degree really does not make anyone a good teacher, all it says is that you have a degree.

 

My degree qualifies me for teaching, yet i will never even consider to teach because i have no patience and hate explaining things over and over again.

Having a degree does not qualify you to teach, but having a teaching degree does. In the same vain, having a teaching degree whilst not having a batchelors degree (in a related field) does not qualify you to teach that subject. Try teaching science & maths to 16 year olds, with a degree in history; you will be laughed out of the classroom by the students. TEFL is a bit different, as an English degree is actually an English literature degree, not an English language one. Hence, it can be taught by people with GCSE only level English.

 

From what Kessaya posted and what i hear from everyone else, kids at school or university are NOT to fail, so really it does not matter if you teach them or not, THEY WILL ALWAYS PASS.

Yes, I've heard this hundreds of times. I've done my research. You see?

 

It seems like you are saying that there is no point teaching in LOS because everyone passes. This attitude is offensive to me & I'm glad that you will never be a teacher. I went into teaching because I have a passion for it, not to blindly guide students through exams. If I can help even one child, then it will all be worth it!

 

Your home education while is helpful is not a deciding factor.

 

It is who you know and how lucky you are.

So all those 60K+ per month jobs advertised on the ajarn forum, which require a teaching certificate from your own country, are going to given to someone's mate who doesn't have one?

 

Once again not having a go at you personally, but it seems every time expat posts about their experience, there are people who are happy to criticize the post yet those people have no personal experience in the matter.

That may be true & I don't usually flame, but this is a special case don't you think?

 

There are hundreds of German's, Dutch, French, Italian even Filipino who teach English in Thailand, do you think their knowledge of the language is better then a native speaker because they have a teaching degree?

Yes, especially if they have a TEFL qualification. Every native speaker & his dog thinks they can teach the language just because they can speak it. Sadly they quickly find out that they are mistaken.

 

PS. I can always go to Kaorsan road and for 3 000 baht have a teaching degree from my home country. It is impossible for Thai school to check, nor would they even bother to check

 

Kuffki, I've read your posts & about your experiences for a while now. You always complain about inept, untrained sales staff & the like, or in this case about unqualified doctors. Why would you complain about such things, whilst at the same time championing inept falang teachers, who hold the precious education of children in their very hands? It seems nonsensical to me!

 

Rant over.

 

Peace.

[El Cata]

It seems you are basing all your information on another forum, have you considered speaking to real people who are here and who have real experience rather then a general rule and what should be in ideal world.

Hmmm. So only you & others on the this forum live & work in LOS. Ajarn is full of people who have been working as teachers in LOS for 20+ years. Why should I favour the experiences of people on this forum, most of whom have never even visited LOS, over the collective experiences of the TEFLers on ajarn?

 

Hate to say it but it appears you have a PERSONAL issue with Kessaya rather then thread related!

I don't know the guy from adam. Never knowingly met him or even seen him. It seems like you may have the personal issue, as you think I have insulted your personal friend.

 

Peace.

[kuffki]

No, but I have teaching experience in the UK & have done my research. I am going into it with my eyes wide open.

 

 

No, but if he had done some research & had some experience it would have been.

 

 

Well, he didn't have a GF when he started teaching. What was he doing before that? Was he a monk? BTW I'm not a whoremonger; any more.

 

 

There is nothing wrong with giving it a go here, with any other occupation. The point I was trying to make is that someone should not teach just to stay in LOS, they should teach because they want to teach & have a passion / talent for it. The former can only damage student's education!

 

 

Having a degree does not qualify you to teach, but having a teaching degree does. In the same vain, having a teaching degree whilst not having a batchelors degree (in a related field) does not qualify you to teach that subject. Try teaching science & maths to 16 year olds, with a degree in history; you will be laughed out of the classroom by the students. TEFL is a bit different, as an English degree is actually an English literature degree, not an English language one. Hence, it can be taught by people with GCSE only level English.

 

 

Yes, I've heard this hundreds of times. I've done my research. You see?

 

It seems like you are saying that there is no point teaching in LOS because everyone passes. This attitude is offensive to me & I'm glad that you will never be a teacher. I went into teaching because I have a passion for it, not to blindly guide students through exams. If I can help even one child, then it will all be worth it!

 

 

So all those 60K+ per month jobs advertised on the ajarn forum, which require a teaching certificate from your own country, are going to given to someone's mate who doesn't have one?

 

 

That may be true & I don't usually flame, but this is a special case don't you think?

 

 

Yes, especially if they have a TEFL qualification. Every native speaker & his dog thinks they can teach the language just because they can speak it. Sadly they quickly find out that they are mistaken.

 

 

 

Kuffki, I've read your posts & about your experiences for a while now. You always complain about inept, untrained sales staff & the like, or in this case about unqualified doctors. Why would you complain about such things, whilst at the same time championing inept falang teachers, who hold the precious education of children in their very hands? It seems nonsensical to me!

 

Rant over.

 

Peace.

i see all your points but again you are failing to see the MAIN point and i am sure you will learn it once you start to work.

 

It is useless and pointless trying to apply your principles from UK to Thailand in regards to teaching, just like it is pointless to compare systems and ways of life in Thailand to UK, because it will simply drive you mad and make you hate Thailand with passion.

 

Teaching may well be a passion for you, but does not mean it is a passion for everyone-it is a job that pays salary

You have done your research in UK, which i hate to say means absolutely nothing because your research is "an ideal fantasy" if anything, you should take Kessaya's post as a benchmark, because if you do not, you may find yourself in some deep waters.

 

You seem to repeatedly ignore that all students must pass irrespective of their knowledge. Have you not been told that by any of the forums?

 

Yes the jobs advertised on Ajarm will go to people with experience working in Thailand. Why do not you try to apply for one and see if you get an interview.

 

You bring up that having teaching degree makes you qualified. Yes on the paper it does, but it does not make you a good teacher. Some people are born with it and others no matter how many degrees they have will never be a good teacher.

 

Just like some people are natural born leaders and others are not.

 

Funny you mention me always complaining about things, well this is because of Thai education system and once again, you need to start seeing a reality on the ground.

 

IT DOES NOT MATTER HOW GREAT OF A TEACHER YOU ARE-ALL STUDENTS ARE TO PASS EVEN IF THEY HAVE 0 KNOWLEDGE.

 

So yeah there is no point teaching because everyone will pass either way. Some kids want to learn and others do not. And there is no point blaming teachers if there is no benchmark.

 

I would seriously suggest you attend a simple Thai language school and see how teaching works in Thailand for yourself.

 

Just an example for you, in my 1 year at school we have had a change of about 7 teachers. It went from bad to worse. None of the students and i mean none can speak any Thai after full time study for 1 year, only those who study at home on their own made progress. One of the latest teachers not only can not teach, but can not spell, i spend half of the class correcting her.

 

Other one can not explain simple pattern in the language

 

Other one can not explain the meaning of the word and the list goes on

 

All other points about mongering and other personal things, again shows that you have some kind of grudge against Kessaya and it is your choice, but perhaps you should take it private rather then attack the guy on a very useful and truthful post he made.

 

He posted real life experience you are posting some internet fantasy ideal life. Bookmark this thread, move to Thailand, get a teaching job and then update us on your REAL life experience.

[El Cata]

Now why don't you forget that post I wrote all those months ago that obviously still gets to you,as far as I'm aware it was recently removed so stop fretting ok.

 

I think that too Kuffki but as I've told him the post was removed a couple of weeks ago.Sad isn't it when someone who normally posts intelligent posts should start doing this.

Ah well,each to their own eh ?

What post? What are you talking about? Frankly you're coming across as a bit paranoid here. I don't know you & my original comments were directed at TEFLers in LOS generally.

 

BTW, I didn't call your (or your GF's) business 'half assed'. I called you a 'half assed' teacher.

 

This is all getting a bit silly now.

 

Peace.

Edited September 7, 2010 by El Cata

[Hallmark]

Kuffki, I've read your posts & about your experiences for a while now. You always complain about inept, untrained sales staff & the like, or in this case about unqualified doctors. Why would you complain about such things, whilst at the same time championing inept falang teachers, who hold the precious education of children in their very hands? It seems nonsensical to me!

 

Rant over.

 

Peace.

 

Now I'm inept and half assed.......you are in for such a culture shock when you come to work in a Thai school Precious education ? Give them less than the required pass rate and see what happens when either A,the school looks at it or B,the big lad in M3 who you failed see's it or C,the parents see it Let's see where your degree get's you then !

[lk mark]

 

PS. I can always go to Kaorsan road and for 3 000 baht have a teaching degree from my home country. It is impossible for Thai school to check, nor would they even bother to check

 

Very dangerous false information. The MOE can, and do verify degrees. Kuffki is talking shite and obviously knows fuck all. This from the Ajarn forum.

 

 

 

It's been a long, long month for me; first of all the arrest then 2 nights in the Immigration Detention Centre, followed by the first court appearance, two probation meetings and sentencing today.

In my life, I have been knocked down so many times and then kicked so you start to think 'Is it worth getting up again or should I just lie here for my next kicking?' All possible permutations have been spinning round my head - secretly hoping for the best but fearing the worst!

Mrs Hippo and I arrived at the court today with the lawyer and sat in the court at 9 o'clock along with about 5 other defendants (different cases) - will I be the first case or the last? I thought that the trial would start at 9 but no, the judge came in at 10 and my name was called first.

Mrs Hippo and I approached and the judge gave the sentence - 3000 Baht fine and a 6 month suspended prison sentence; he said that it should have been double but as I had confessed and my probation report was good he halved it. The prison sentence is suspended for two years.

Did the school report me? Not according to the probation officer. There is someone at the Ministry checking all degrees, he shown me the list but as it was in Thai, I was not able to read it.

So anyone who has worked with a fake in the past 7 or 8 years or is working with one now, I think that you have every reason to be concerned. I got off light but I fear that this will not happen in every case - be careful!

[Hallmark]

Just for the record for anyone else reading this thread here is a fact.

 

I have never met or spoken to BM Kuffki in my life.

[kuffki]

Hmmm. So only you & others on the this forum live & work in LOS. Ajarn is full of people who have been working as teachers in LOS for 20+ years. Why should I favour the experiences of people on this forum, most of whom have never even visited LOS, over the collective experiences of the TEFLers on ajarn?

 

 

I don't know the guy from adam. Never knowingly met him or even seen him. It seems like you may have the personal issue, as you think I have insulted your personal friend.

 

Peace.

 

I hope this was a joke.

For starters you have attacked a guy for posting his experience to shreds from some high stool you are sitting on and now you claim you have no issues and he is my friend.

 

I am sorry one thing i really hate is people who do not live in Thailand but post and attack those who do especially from a high stool and better yet, sitting behind the computer in UK start to teach locals on how things are and should be in Thailand according to their research.

 

Little like when curfew was on in Pattaya, expats were posting that its on, while few wanna be's made posts like- "Yes i can confirm, i just spoke to my girl and she said have curfew"

 

Expats have already posted there was a curfew yet it was not good enough for the UK armchair, they had to speak to a hooker to confirm and re-post that they concur.

 

On another thread you mentioned that you were thinking of leaving the forum because you are a sponsor and you hate the attitude of people toward sponsors. Do you not think that you are doing exactly that? by putting another member into a category which you think he fits.

 

Secondly and i really hope this statement is a joke "Why should I favor the experiences of people on this forum, most of whom have never even visited LOS, over the collective experiences of the TEFLers on ajarn?"

 

I do not know how long Kessaya has been living in Thailand, but i have lived here for over 7 years. so it kind of qualifies me as visiting more then a few times. Kessaya posted his real life experience working in Thailand, NOT in UK or elsewhere, but you do not consider that being a REAL experience?

 

There are also people on this forum who claim to have had 3somes, 4somes and what ever fuck else and rest assured half of it is crap, so you would consider their "internet experiences" as a benchmark on another forum?

 

Some people have 1 experience, others have another. You have assumed too many things and then started your judgments based on your Internet research. As i said before, move to Thailand, get a job in Thailand and then and only then can you judge other members on their experience

 

I seriously am failing to see your reasoning for attacking the guy, insulting the guy and trying to put him down.

[El Cata]

Very dangerous false information. The MOE can, and do verify degrees. Kuffki is talking shite and obviously knows fuck all. This from the Ajarn forum.

 

 

 

It's been a long, long month for me; first of all the arrest then 2 nights in the Immigration Detention Centre, followed by the first court appearance, two probation meetings and sentencing today.

In my life, I have been knocked down so many times and then kicked so you start to think 'Is it worth getting up again or should I just lie here for my next kicking?' All possible permutations have been spinning round my head - secretly hoping for the best but fearing the worst!

Mrs Hippo and I arrived at the court today with the lawyer and sat in the court at 9 o'clock along with about 5 other defendants (different cases) - will I be the first case or the last? I thought that the trial would start at 9 but no, the judge came in at 10 and my name was called first.

Mrs Hippo and I approached and the judge gave the sentence - 3000 Baht fine and a 6 month suspended prison sentence; he said that it should have been double but as I had confessed and my probation report was good he halved it. The prison sentence is suspended for two years.

Did the school report me? Not according to the probation officer. There is someone at the Ministry checking all degrees, he shown me the list but as it was in Thai, I was not able to read it.

So anyone who has worked with a fake in the past 7 or 8 years or is working with one now, I think that you have every reason to be concerned. I got off light but I fear that this will not happen in every case - be careful!

Spot on. That is the famous 'Mr Hippos day in court' topic from ajarn. Required reading for any aspiring teacher.

 

Peace.

[Hallmark]

Very dangerous false information. The MOE can, and do verify degrees. Kuffki is talking shite and obviously knows fuck all. This from the Ajarn forum.

 

 

 

It's been a long, long month for me; first of all the arrest then 2 nights in the Immigration Detention Centre, followed by the first court appearance, two probation meetings and sentencing today.

In my life, I have been knocked down so many times and then kicked so you start to think 'Is it worth getting up again or should I just lie here for my next kicking?' All possible permutations have been spinning round my head - secretly hoping for the best but fearing the worst!

Mrs Hippo and I arrived at the court today with the lawyer and sat in the court at 9 o'clock along with about 5 other defendants (different cases) - will I be the first case or the last? I thought that the trial would start at 9 but no, the judge came in at 10 and my name was called first.

Mrs Hippo and I approached and the judge gave the sentence - 3000 Baht fine and a 6 month suspended prison sentence; he said that it should have been double but as I had confessed and my probation report was good he halved it. The prison sentence is suspended for two years.

Did the school report me? Not according to the probation officer. There is someone at the Ministry checking all degrees, he shown me the list but as it was in Thai, I was not able to read it.

So anyone who has worked with a fake in the past 7 or 8 years or is working with one now, I think that you have every reason to be concerned. I got off light but I fear that this will not happen in every case - be careful!

 

I think you will find that is shite too.Ask any bar owner who has been pulled for "working illegally" how much they had to pay ? I'm sure the many who have been done have paid a lot more than 3000bt,20 or 30 times more.It's a scare story.

And kuffki's not talking shite either,I was told by various people that these diplomas can be bought and if questioned by the authorities it was simply a case of a bit of tea money and away you go.

[kuffki]

Very dangerous false information. The MOE can, and do verify degrees. Kuffki is talking shite and obviously knows fuck all. This from the Ajarn forum.

 

 

 

It's been a long, long month for me; first of all the arrest then 2 nights in the Immigration Detention Centre, followed by the first court appearance, two probation meetings and sentencing today.

In my life, I have been knocked down so many times and then kicked so you start to think 'Is it worth getting up again or should I just lie here for my next kicking?' All possible permutations have been spinning round my head - secretly hoping for the best but fearing the worst!

Mrs Hippo and I arrived at the court today with the lawyer and sat in the court at 9 o'clock along with about 5 other defendants (different cases) - will I be the first case or the last? I thought that the trial would start at 9 but no, the judge came in at 10 and my name was called first.

Mrs Hippo and I approached and the judge gave the sentence - 3000 Baht fine and a 6 month suspended prison sentence; he said that it should have been double but as I had confessed and my probation report was good he halved it. The prison sentence is suspended for two years.

Did the school report me? Not according to the probation officer. There is someone at the Ministry checking all degrees, he shown me the list but as it was in Thai, I was not able to read it.

So anyone who has worked with a fake in the past 7 or 8 years or is working with one now, I think that you have every reason to be concerned. I got off light but I fear that this will not happen in every case - be careful!

 

Have you come off your medication?

 

Can you please enlighten me how school will check the degree???

Will they call university in UK or OZ or USA and ask their records officer to go look through 500 000 or so records to see if John Smith did study at university and completed his degree 20-30 years ago? and infact the degree is in the field it says it is .Would that be the way?

 

Or did you just feel like trolling a little for the sake of trolling?

 

I especially like the comment from your quoted story could not read Thai so in fact he had no idea what was written on the paper.

 

Since i talk all shite, could you please post links to news or any other source besides the one that you posted where people have been arrested for having fake degree.

 

If you can not, perhaps better to go back to the hole where you came from.

[lk mark]

The Dangers of Using Fake Degrees

In the past, Thailand earned a reputation for the easy to obtain, so-called 'Khao San Road' degrees, bought off the street for as little as 600 Baht ($20). However, it is unwise to get a teaching job based on a fake degree. If caught, this is a serious offense, as it amounts to defrauding not only the school but the Thai government.

 

As the Bangkok Post highlights in its article, Two Held with Fake Qualifications (17 January 2007), “Two foreign nationals have been arrested for using fake qualification certificates to teach at a Bangkok school. Officers from the Immigration Police Bureau (IPB) apprehended Briton Allan Parson and Canadian Greg Morgan Mercer yesterday”.

 

A number of recent high profile pedophile cases revealed that the suspects were found to have been teaching in Thailand. As a consequence, the Ministry of Education carried out a random check on its teachers: “background checks on 1,000 of them found that 65 produced false certificates to obtain their jobs........These teachers were now being prosecuted” Bangkok Post (17 January 2007).

 

Since the introduction of new regulations in 2006, employing schools are legally responsible for verifying a teacher’s qualifications before offering them employment. The MOE has toughened up on this and schools face a hefty fine if they are found to be recruiting teachers with fake degrees or teaching certificates. The school will normally contact the teacher’s university and TEFL course provider to obtain an official letter to verify dates of study.

 

 

 

Read more at Suite101: Teaching in Thailand: No Degree: No Degree or Fake Degree – the English Teacher’s Dilemma? http://www.suite101.com/content/teaching-in-thailand-no-degree-a35556#ixzz0yqhBm9Ug

[Hallmark]

El Cata

 

You admit that you have never taught in Thailand,ok so you're a teacher in England.If you're coming here and expecting it to be all apples for the teacher and loads of respect you're in for a MASSIVE shock.

Sure there are some good schools around where the kids want to learn but they are very much in the minority.There are some excellent Universities around too but you really do seem to miss the point.The Thai education system is Thai.It's corrupt,it's a joke and you aren't going to make the slightest difference to it.I thought I'd be fantastic with the kids,that I'd have them speaking fluent English within weeks,no way.Farang teachers at most schools are seen as a status symbol for the school so they can charge more for tuition.It's corrupt here everywhere,remember that.

One thing is that the child must never fail any exam,that is not allowed.You will not change that,you will not change anything.

One last thing about ajarn.com.There's a lot of things on there that are utter bullshit.Again when you come to work here you will understand,could I ask you why a post I put on there about my experience as a newbie teacher was removed ? Probably because it told it as it was and wasn't appreciated.

Leave it now,come to Thailand and get your job as a teacher and write about it after 6 months,let's see if it was all you thought it would be.