• Another Day Another Battle

    by
    peelieorion
    Published on 6th February 2010 18:39  Number of Views: 1710  
    7 Comments Comments
    Yesterday a student of mine came to me with a speech she was supposed to present at the opening ceremony of our town's Tomato Festival. Written by her Private teacher it was the usual concoction of over formal English with inapproriate long words. The student, new to my school, has been studying with this private tutor for 2 years which probably explains why she is 23rd out of 24th in my M3. anyway I sat with her and simplified the whole thing so at least she could read it and wouldn't lose her face.
    Roll on today. Her tutor strides into the office today demanding to know why I had changed the speech. Apparently he has a good reputation in the town. I tried to be polite but I find it difficult in the face of nonense to control myself. I told him his speech was riddled with mistakes and that if any of my M1 top group kids had produced it, they would have been asked to rewrite it. He started to get angry so I offered to prove the point. I explained that I was not putting one of my students on a stage infront of 3000 people with a script that was incomprehensible.

    Just then Yayee my number 1 Thai student in M1 walked by. I asked her in 10 minutes to write a short speech to open the local Tomato Festival. as she was doing this the teacher walked out in a huff. Just to further the point I hand delivered a copy of what my student had written. The Principal remained neutral throughout but afterwards took me to lunch and told me she agreeed with everything I had done.

    I hate these battles but why do some Thais think its o.k to send students up on stage with to lose face. If he had asked me in the first place I would have been happy to help. As it turns out another Thai teacher hates me. The student at least appreciated the help judging by the delicious Somtam I got today off her for lunch.
    This article was originally published in forum thread: Another Day Another Battle started by peelieorion View original post
    Categories:
    1. Personal Stories
    2. Staffroom Politics
    3. Thailand
    Comments 7 Comments
    1. traveler2's Avatar
      I am assuming her tutor was Thai?

      Thais have a tendency of not listening to farang even when they are right ( which is most of the time ). A fellow teacher once told me they edited some sign for a school down South. Although his was more concise and grammatically correct, the staff at the school decided to post 'their' sign riddled with mistakes!

      My theory is they do not want to lose face themselves because a farang had to do their work for them, which is lame because English is not their main language. If we were making a sign in Thai we would consult a Thai without a second thought!

      Did your student do the speech yet? If not, I hope she reads yours and not the tutor's.
      Reply
    1. Cream's Avatar
      At every school I have worked at the Thai teachers have always asked me for help when needed, many were cunts but most were really nice! I was always happy to help with anything and still remember helping a teacher with some worksheets so she could go and teach monks. Forget the nasty ones and concentrate on the nice teachers
      Reply
    1. Lotuslevi's Avatar
      I miss living in Thailand but I don't miss working there. At a language school in Japan, I feel like a little something more than an ornament.
      Reply
    1. peelieorion's Avatar
      Quote Originally Posted by traveler2 View Post
      I am assuming her tutor was Thai?

      Thais have a tendency of not listening to farang even when they are right ( which is most of the time ). A fellow teacher once told me they edited some sign for a school down South. Although his was more concise and grammatically correct, the staff at the school decided to post 'their' sign riddled with mistakes!

      My theory is they do not want to lose face themselves because a farang had to do their work for them, which is lame because English is not their main language. If we were making a sign in Thai we would consult a Thai without a second thought!

      Did your student do the speech yet? If not, I hope she reads yours and not the tutor's.
      The students did my speech and thanked me for it afterwards. Her tutor bought me a beer and thanked me for my help. No face was really lost and everyone got something out of it. I have always found honesty to work for me here.
      Reply
    1. Whitey's Avatar
      Get used to the BS, Pee, no matter where you go, teachers have to deal with BS.
      Reply
    1. traveler2's Avatar
      Quote Originally Posted by peelieorion View Post
      The students did my speech and thanked me for it afterwards. Her tutor bought me a beer and thanked me for my help. No face was really lost and everyone got something out of it. I have always found honesty to work for me here.
      Glad it worked out!
      Reply
    1. Nick's Avatar
      Generally speaking, Thais shouldn't teach English.
      Reply