Teaching in Thailand
Signature Assignment (Teaching in Thailand)
It’s hard to put into words all the reasons why I want to be a teacher. Some days when I take time to ponder the immensity that the role of a teacher entails I feel overwhelmed. Some days I find myself just dying for my chance to “get out there” and touch children’s lives. It’s hard to describe, but something inside of me tells me that though it’s not going to be easy, this is what I am meant to do. I want to live a life of service to others, especially children. I want to nurture them and be the person that lifts them up. I want them to feel like they could fly if they put their mind to it. I want to show them the beauty, power and courage inside them, even if they don’t always see it in themselves. I want my classroom to be an exciting adventure land but also a safe haven all at once. I want children to leave my class with more confidence, compassion, and enthusiasm for life and learning than they entered it. I will teach them the skills they need to know to succeed academically, and the skills they will need to love themselves and others. Perhaps I will only plant seeds that I may never personally see flower, but I will not ever give up. As a teacher I will have great power to change lives. This power will be humbling, exhilarating, overwhelming, frightening, but exceedingly worthwhile.
My choice to become a teacher was not made lightly. This decision was a culmination of a process of reflection about what I wanted to do with my life. I have chosen a career in education because I believe that it is one of the most important functions performed in our culture. I believe that teachers individually and collectively have the ability to not only change the world, but to improve it. Within the process of teaching, I hope to find both personal and professional renewal. I want to be a part of a noble profession with the hope of one day being counted among those in whom future teachers find inspiration.
Many of the great teachers that I have had throughout my education have become my heroes and role models. I began to understand in high school and college that great teachers have skills that I wanted to learn. I want to follow their examples. I remember that great teachers were good at explaining content, were patient yet firm with students, were always fair, set high expectations, knew how to motivate, and used humor appropriately. They were great communicators who had a command of their subject matter content. This is the type of teacher that I intend to become. However, I understand that my personal teaching style will evolve as I draw on my own strengths, knowledge, skills, values, and experiences.
I want children to learn in a safe and comfortable environment so that their self-esteem will be increased. A high self-esteem will enable them to strive for and accomplish any goals they set for themselves. As a teacher, I will play a part in helping them to do that. I will have the privilege of shaping future parents and productive members of society. For all of these reasons, I ask myself, what better job could there be. My answer is none because teaching is more than a job. It is an important contribution I can make to better our society, and I am excited about the opportunity to do so.
During my undergraduate program at ASU I chose classes that would help me in my career as a teacher. These classes ranged from discipline (Methods of Discipline for Children), to third-world culture, psychology for adults, children, and adolescents, along with topics that are important to both educators and parents (Raising Boys to be Men of Character). During that time I also spent a considerable amount of time observing classrooms, along with teaching 4th grade Sunday school at my church. With the love I have for children, along with my education, and the experience I have had in the classroom, I know that teaching is a career that I will be successful in.
Why do I want to become a teacher? A teacher has the direct opportunity to make a difference, to change the future. I have been told that I am an idealist. I want the best for everyone. I will set high goals as a teacher and do my best to show each and every student that these goals are within their reach. I will expect every one of my students to want to learn and more importantly to understand. I want my students to fight over the seats in the front row as if they were attending a concert, not elementary school. I want to make my students wonder; make them question; make them think critically; make them write; make them read, read, read.
An excellent teacher is not just someone who explains. Not someone who just demonstrates. An excellent teacher is someone who inspires. An excellent teacher goes the extra mile. They can take any individual and make them believe, truly believe, that their hopes and dreams are within their reach. An excellent teacher will not let a student walk away until every question is fully explained and completely understood, no matter how long it may take. If the day ends and the student still have not understood the lesson plan, an extraordinary teacher would brainstorm. He or she would think, “How can I explain this concept to the student so that he or she can better understand it?” I intend on being that type of teacher.
The chance to inspire another human being is not an opportunity it’s a challenge. There are too many educators that haven’t accepted this challenge, and it needs to change. Students go to school because they are forced to. Many times learning is not their top priority, but the teacher’s job is to teach. Students are always learning. Unfortunately, it just may not be what the teacher is teaching. Since this is the case, a teacher must not only know his or her content area, they must also be prepared to teach other “things”. Things, such as character, morals, etc., which may prove to be more valuable than knowledge itself. This is the reason I want to become a teacher…. I want to inspire the children who will represent the future of our great nation.
Many people know Thailand for its beautiful beaches or Bangkok’s temples and shopping on Khao San Road, but few people have ventured off the beaten trail to the more rural areas of Thailand. Whereas in the tourist destinations, many people speak English and have a global perspective, people in the rural eastern part of Thailand have rarely seen foreigners, let alone had a chance to speak English with a native speaker. Students in the eastern Isan area have difficulty competing with the more privileged students in the cities for enrollment in universities or for jobs. While Bangkok absorbs an enormous number of English teachers, both trained and untrained, there is also demand in the other cities such as Hat Yai, Chiang Mai in the north, and Songkhla in the south, where there is less competition for work. Not much teacher recruitment takes place outside Thailand. Even Thai universities and teachers’ colleges, as well as private business colleges, all of which have EFL departments, depend on finding native-speaking teachers locally.
In short, anyone who is determined to teach in Thailand and prepared to go there to look for work is virtually guaranteed to find opportunities. Finding language schools to approach is not a problem. Most new arrivals in Bangkok start with the English language yellow pages. Job vacancy notices appear in the English language press: The Bangkok Post and The Nation. Popular hostels often have bulletin boards with job notices and other information for foreigners. The best place to start the actual job hunting is around Siam Square and the Victory Monument where language schools and institutes abound. The busiest season for English schools is mid-March to mid-May during the school holidays, when many secondary school and university students take extra tuition in English. This coincides with the hot season. The next best time to look for work in private schools is October. The worst time is January and February. Working as a self-employed private tutor pays better than working for a commercial school, but tutoring jobs are hard to set up until you have been settled in one place for a while and found out how to tap into the local elite community. Placing an ad for private pupils in English language papers often works. Possible venues for would-be teachers include hotels where a native speaker is needed to organize conversation classes for staff.
