A lot of people have asked me about teaching in Thailand.
Would I recommend it? What was it like? Was it life changing?
If you are okay with
students having no motivation to learn/complete work/ pay attention in class
then yes, I 100% recommend it. I knew somewhat what to expect with regards to
the students and their expectations in class because of my TEFL training, but
at the time I figured I wouldn't be bothered with the lack of motivation. I wasn’t the
most motivated student, but I did complete my work and I didn’t
talk in class (at least until high school). Sometimes I fell asleep in
class but I can’t help that I can fall asleep in any position. Some call it a
gift.
If you are okay with school management not telling you the criteria for testing the students until the last month week of school,
then yes. If you are okay with the school telling you that too many students have too low of grades, but to make sure when you go back and change them (because you can change grades simply because) that you can't make them too high either. If you are okay with students passing each and every class, simply
for sitting there and converting oxygen into carbon dioxide, then yes.
Did I
enjoy teaching in Thailand? Absolutely. Was it one of the most testing and
mentally exhausting things I have ever done? Yes. Granted, I haven’t done much
job wise, but I would say this takes the cake. I can somewhat keep 32 11-12 year old Thai kids under control. My
patience has increased ten fold, but it will eventually run out, and you
will write “I will listen to Teacher Laura when she tells me to be quiet” 100
times.
I can pull a math lesson out of my ass. I can pull any
lesson out of my ass because sometimes we will have to cover other classes 5
minutes ago because our agency forgot to send a substitute teacher. I can
remember 90 Thai students’ nicknames even though ¼ of them look same same but
different. I can maybe sometimes somewhat keep the attention of 20 kids who have severe ADD. My
times tables are the fastest they have ever been (were was this skill when I
was in grade school?!) I can drink an entire pot of coffee and not feel a
single jitter (this could be labeled as an addiction). I can speak a little bit of
Thai. Mostly related to food but hey, priorities. I can act like a complete
idiot in front of my class but they love it. I can pretend not to know what my
student is saying when she asks me “Teacha what does porn mean?” Not today young grasshopper, not today.
^testing my patience
Sometimes I will be doing something and all of a sudden I
remember I am a teacher. A math teacher. In Thailand. It’s like realizing you
are in a dream while you are still in a dream- some Inception shit.
I am very fortunate to be able to have had this experience and I am so happy my parents are supportive of meputting
off starting my career traveling across the world to attempt to teach math.
A lot of my friends have told me how jealous they are I am doing this, how they
wish they could have travelled, how they hate sitting in their offices all day.
My answer to them is if they want to travel, do it. Putting off one or two years of
your “real life” and taking the time to do something you have always wanted to
do is going to be more beneficial than sitting in an office staring at a
computer screen and refreshing Facebook every five minutes. You are going to be
working for 40+ years most likely. Think about that. 40 years. Is taking off one
year to do what you have always wanted to do really going to matter in the long
run?
I am very fortunate to be able to have had this experience and I am so happy my parents are supportive of me
