Week 7

This week I have continued the exchange with my international professional contact. When speaking to her I found out great information about early childhood in Thailand.

-What issues regarding quality and early childhood professionals are being discussed where you live and work?

The foreign teachers would always discuss what steps we could take in order to enhance learning but because of language barriers and the general laid back ways of Thailand nothing usually got done. Thailand as a whole, realizes that they need to step up their language game and that is why more after school programs and more intensive in classroom programs are turning up. However, this process is slow and daunting and just now laws that pertain to students and teachers (like all teachers needing to have a degree) are finally being abided to.  

-What opportunities and/or requirements for professional development exist?

            There is not much room for professional growth for a foreigner in Thailand. After two years of teaching in the country you are required to take a cultural immersion course. This is a three-day course. This is the first step to establishing that you are committed to teaching in the country. After this, you must sign up for an education exam, which is supposedly very hard. BUT you are not required to pass the test you just need to attempt the test and show as though you are invested in Thailand’s educational system. I believe you can continue to take the test over years and have up to five tries to pass.

-What are some of your professional goals?

            Well, I am no longer in Thailand but if I was, my professional goal would probably be going to grad school. People with masters in education can work in international schools and make more money. I would say that a majority of teachers in Thailand are not actual teachers in the sense of that is what they do in their homeland. I worked with an environmental professional, marketing professional, hospitality manager, and other professionals. 

-What are some of your professional hopes, dreams, and challenges?

I'm still trying to figure out my professional hopes and dreams. I am not very sure exactly where I am headed in my professional career but I would say that I would only be interested in teaching English overseas. A lot of people have asked if I wanted to teach in America and I'm not sure that's something I would like to do.

Week 5 I contacted my international contact but she was not able to get back to me until after Saturday. Here are the questions and answers:

-What grade or age level did you teach?

I taught in a Mini English program for first grade. Basically it was an intensive English program that was available to anyone who could afford it. It was something like $2,000 a semester, which was crazy. An average person in Thailand earns around 700 to 800 dollars a month. They got 15 hours of English instructed courses by a native speaker but a Thai taught their grammar. They were taught conversational English, Science, Math, Science, Health, and Art all in the English language. 

-In Thailand are there a lot of early childhood programs available? If so, does every child have the same opportunity to attend these programs?

Early childhood programs are up and coming in Thailand. Everyone is about getting their child into school and learning English as soon as possible. I had a friend who was teaching extra classes at a tutoring place. She was teaching a 1.5 year old at one point. Well she would sing to her and try to talk with her. The Thai's are super competitive and anyways trying to out do each other. Unfortunately, programs like this cost a bunch of money and are only available to the wealthy. Money is a big player in this country and that's how you get ahead in school, pay extra to get your child in a better class, and after school programs. All my kids in my MEP program were rich. Unfortunately, that meant that some of them were able to buy themselves into the program so all my students were not on the same level. 

-Are these programs of high quality and have mandated standards?

Some programs near the cities are of better standards than others. Again schools with more money have more of an ability to charge more for their students and expect more for their teachers. A school with less money probably has less quality. 

The programs have standards. They have a specific amount of time you need to teach English and what curriculum you have to teach but I do not think this was a federal or even province wide standard. It may have just been my school. Also, everything in Thailand is super relaxed and "standards" as they would be in the states are nothing like they would be in Thailand. For example, no one can fail in Thailand. If a child is not doing well and not putting in effort they are just allowed to pass no matter what. It's a very aggravating system in that aspect. 

Another random thing is that you don't need a teaching license until two years after you have taught in the country. So I was allowed to teach just because I had a degree (in anything) and a TEFL certificate. BUT one of the teachers I taught with did not have a degree and just had a TEFL but he was also asked to leave after a year. They are pretty strict about having a degree but sometimes people can slide in. 

-Was there poverty in the area you were? If so, what types?

I'm not sure how to characterize the kind of poverty there was but there definitely was poverty. I volunteered at an organization that needed to take in children who had parents that couldn't continue to support them. They had about 20 kids. On top of that, everywhere you went just about 5five minutes out of the city there were examples of poverty. People living in tin houses or bamboo houses etc... But poverty in Thailand seems to be much different than it is in the states. 

-What types of qualifications are required of the teachers?

As stated earlier you need a Bachelors and a TEFL certificate but you can get around that. After two years you need to take a cultural class and take a test. If you don't pass you can still teach though. 

-Any thing else you could share about your experience?

All in all Thailand is an amazing place. They do things VERY differently than in America but I think that gives them a special leg up on Americans. Thailand breeds really easy going relaxed people who don't have a care in the world. This obviously causes some issues but it also allows for a stress free life style, which is pretty neat.