How did you start your teaching career in Thailand and how did you achieve your position as a school manager?

While studying my MBA in the states for 2 years, I became friends with a large group of International students from Thailand. We studied most of our classes together, did assignments together, and traveled in our free time. Upon graduation everyone invited me to come to Thailand to visit. (As I side note, when I met them, I had no clue where Thailand was, and had to go home and look it up on a map.) I originally thought of 1 month to tour around after graduation and then back to the states to start the job hunt. I then started thinking that coming to visit my friends right after graduation, they would be doing the same thing, looking for a job, and they would not have any time for me. I was reading one of those free magazines you can pick up on your university campus, and it had an article about people going to teach in Thailand. So I did a search on the Internet, (which was still in its infancy 13 years ago) and found the present school I am working for was looking for a business instructor for 10 months. Perfect, just finishing my MBA that would be great. I signed up, and 2 days after graduation, I was on a flight to Bangkok! What an adventure it would be! Twelve years later, and I am still here.

As to how I achieved my position as school manager, it was sort of a gradual process, I was never officially given the position, I just worked up to it on my own. When I first arrived at this private school, it is as many of the horror stories you read on the Internet these days associated with government schools. Sixty students to a class, no books, students have no books, teachers have no clue what the previous teacher had taught them, miscommunication between Thai staff and foreign teacher as to what to do, where to be, and hard to control student behavior. So I started on my own to change things, trying to better the programs. I had many meetings with the management about the issues, and what we would have to do to improve the quality of English teaching in the school. I had the feeling that many teachers have in the first 3 months of this situation What am I doing here? This is so backwards, I think I will quit and travel a month, and go home. But I trudged on and things got better. The management had a very open attitude about what I spoke about, which as I would find out later is very rare for Thai management. So one term at a time I started to create a curriculum, tests, selected course texts, and started my own English Department by hiring a few teachers as our demand grew. I managed to slice classes up by their levels, and keep them to a maximum of 25 students per class, offering students that have to study English anyway, to study with a foreign teacher instead of a Thai teacher, of course paying a higher tuition. I received budget to purchase all the major teaching tools needed by foreign teachers to be able to teach, such as radios, CDs, teachers manuals, computers in the office for Internet use, printer, etc.. Our school group has 7 campuses, and once the management team of each campus saw how good of a thing I had going at my original campus, they asked I implement the program at all campuses. I did so, and at the peak of our success I had over 4,000 students out of 10,000 at all the campuses studying English in my programs.

In conclusion, it took years of dedication, sweat and tears, and a gradual loss of hair to become a successful school manager. It cannot be done over night, and a position such as this is only for the strong at heart.

As a school manager - what are the few things you keep in mind before recruiting Native teachers from the west?

Recruiting Native English teachers from the west is a delicate process, as you have to keep in mind the two different cultures when recruiting. You have to be as gentle as possible with the questions you ask, as not to scare of the individuals from coming to Thailand. An example of this is Thai management would like to know personal details about you, such as age, and marital status. As well as every application must have a photo of the individual applying, as to see if the individual looks Asian, has visible tattoos, nose rings, long hair on men, etc. Looks are very important. Thai students pay a lot of money to study with Western teachers, and their families want to see their children studying with the classic white skinned, yellow haired person. It is hard to tell a person they are not qualified for the position due to they are from Korean decent, or you are too old. I have been called discriminatory on several occasions, when actually I am not, we have a market to please, and we need to give our market what they request, or we would not have students studying in our English programs. So these individuals would get the Thank your for applying, all of our positions are currently full. This completes the delicate dance around the real issues. The picture you choose to send is also very important. Professionalism is the key. I have canned many applications due to the photographs that are attached to the application. You are applying for a real job, and photos of you with your arms around bar girls, your latest party with a bottle of beer in your hand, or sitting on a buffalo in Isarn with a straw hat just don t cut it. I have actually received these photos. Business Attire on a plain background increases your chances of being selected.

The other things I keep in mind are how the individuals will cope with the inevitable culture shock. Recruiting for 12 years, I have seen several degrees of culture shock. Thai students have a different learning style than what we are used to in the West, and for a Western Individual to enter the classroom, they will have to learn these differences. I will check to see how much the individuals have traveled out of their home country to see how worldly they are. Most well traveled individuals cope better with culture shock than those that have never left their home country. Others have problems with understanding their host culture and some even to the extent of being ethnocentric. These people have the worst time in Thailand.

One important factor in recruiting is the legal issues. Individuals must have a bachelor s degree, and bring the original copy of this bachelor s degree with them to Thailand. They must also have a valid passport, and apply for a Thai visa from their home country. As well as get a police report that they are all clear from the law. Although this may sound easy, Thailand is very bureaucratic. Without the correct documentation from the beginning, it makes the visa process that much more difficult. Be very concise in gathering the documents requested by the school that is hiring you, don t overlook any of the small details. Once in Thailand, if you are planning to be here long term you will need to look into taking a cultural training program, and applying for a teacher license on your own merits.

What should teachers come prepared with when they are planning to come to Thailand for the first time?

The first thing I tell teachers to prepare is any of their favorite over the counter medications for ailments such as stomach aches, diarrhea, fever, headaches, sore eyes, respiratory, etc. As coming from such a clean environment, you are bound to have a few down days, and having your own medicine from home that you trust may just get you back to health. Inoculations are not necessary, but good if you want a piece of mind. If you have any favorite toiletries that you just can t do without, you may pack those as well, but you can find most major brand of anything here from the west, just a little more expensive then the Thai counterparts. I also request women to bring enough undergarments, as Thai women are very small, which makes it very difficult for the western women to find undergarments that fit.

A Lonely Planet travel guide to Thailand is also a handy tool, as it will give you some general information about living and traveling in Thailand. Individuals should also prepare themselves by reading as much as they can about the culture they are about indulge in to make sure it is something they can handle. Do s and Don t are a good start. You may also want to learn a few basic phrases in Thai that would make your life a bit easier once you arrive, such as how to order food you can eat that is not spicy, or the word for vegetarian if you are a vegetarian. You should also learn a few directional words, believe me they will come in handy in a taxi, nothing worse than being driven around town before arriving to your destination, which actually may have been just up the road. The Internet is a great tool for learning about Thailand and its culture.

Most teachers ask about any books or materials they should bring. These days with the tight restrictions on check in luggage weight, and the vastness of the Internet, it is not necessary to bring many things of this nature from home as it can all be found online.

Money is another important factor to keep in mind. As you will need enough to live on until your first pay check, which could be a month or two. You may need to pay for apartment deposits, amenities for your apartment and purchase cloths for school. Proper clothing for men is a bit easier than women to find here. Proper school attire for men is a shirt and tie, with slacks and dress shoes, all can be purchased here rather cheaply. For women, it is knee length skirts, and conservative blouses, which may be more difficult to find for the same reasons as mentioned above. I would recommend you bring a few sets of cloths from home to get started on, and once you know your way around you can do some shopping here.

You should also prepare all of the documents you will need to legally live and work in Thailand. You should check with your place of employment for the correct documents you must prepare.

Lastly, you will need to be open minded, and flexible in order to have a wonderful work and living experience in the land of smiles.