Teaching in Myanmar

**Kiwi gal** · 2nd July 2011 22:20

Hi,
As you can pick from my handle I am a New Zealander teaching in an Early Childhood in Mandalay. I am interesting in hearing from others who are in Mandalay. The school I am at is one of the small ones and we are banging against some of the big players in Myanmar, however we are getting there. With a primary class just opened we could also be looking for a primary teacher for anyone wanting to know more about teaching in the Golden land.

**The Quiet American** · 2nd July 2011 22:39

damn , and I thought I liked to get away from it all

**Bangkok Phil** · 3rd July 2011 09:45

Moved to Not Teaching in Thailand section

**Ben2talk** · 3rd July 2011 12:50

Originally Posted by Kiwi gal

I am interesting in hearing from others

Instant fail at just about any Bilingual or Private school worth a toss...

**zeusbheld** · 3rd July 2011 14:26

i'm not necessarily interested in moving to Myanmar (unless the pay is tempting), but i'd enjoy it if you posted in great detail about your experiences living and working there...

**Mister T** · 3rd July 2011 14:49

Welcome Kiwi gal, as Zeus says, share some of your living and teaching experiences in Mandalay. I am certain it is much better that Rangoon.

**Indoguru** · 3rd July 2011 14:50

I've some friends teaching in Rangoon, but mandalay is a bit far out.

**Kiwi gal** · 3rd July 2011 19:05

Mandalay is a bit off the beaten path and you can feel a bit isolated, you can literally go for days without seeing a westerner, however it also adds the edge to the work and means that the school has a point of difference, especially having a native speaker in preschool. I have found it pretty good and the school started from scratch so we have been mainly building up a reputation. The biggest part of working in Myanmar is in the challenging of the dominant teacher driven teaching style of the Myanmar and while I have the support of my manager the parents are slowly warming to the child friendly classroom of child initiated learning environment. That said, the job is rewarding and the changes that we are making for teachers and children is huge.

**Kiwi gal** · 3rd July 2011 21:17

You would have to have some altruistic tendencies to be here as all of the negative things that others have spoken are very real; it is not an alternative Bangkok. However you need to balance that against a people who are genuinely friendly and so desperate for effective teaching and participation of quality teachers that you will feel that this is the work of the heart. As you may have picked I am still new at this and Myanmar is a tough place to cut your teeth on, however I am also seriously considering a second year, so I have not been scared off by the size of the job, yet.

**The Quiet American** · 4th July 2011 08:02

Originally Posted by Kiwi gal

child friendly classroom of child initiated learning environment.

the stylebook says use "child centric" now

**Cantona** · 4th July 2011 16:16

Myanmar's a shitehole and I can't wait to get out of here

**zeusbheld** · 4th July 2011 20:11

Originally Posted by Cantona

Myanmar's a shitehole and I can't wait to get out of here

definitely to-the-point but a bit lacking in specific detail.

is the pay shite too? cost of living?

**traveler2** · 5th July 2011 08:19

What is the safety situation like from day to day? Is it a matter of staying current with what is going on or do you have to constantly look over your shoulder?

**Kiwi gal** · 5th July 2011 20:23

When I first came it was at the time of the elections and there was no email out at all and that was pretty daunting coming over and not able to communicate to anyone, however once I was in the country I really have not noticed the safety, or lack there of. The people at the school are very protective of me almost to the point that you just want to break out, and you see very little of the military presence. I am not saying that the military are not here, they have a strangle hold on the country that is not good, however there are still alot of people that have to get on with life and they do. Things are a bit in the news at the moment with the recent bomb blasts however i have pretty good internet provided by the school and can usally hear more of what is going on, than most Burmese.

---Update---

Originally Posted by The Quiet American

"child centric"

works for me, thank you!

**Thaitanium** · 5th July 2011 21:20

People are funny...I remember when the red shirt stuff was going on and communicating to those not in Thailand was a constant stream of reassurances that I was not affected(not being in Bangkok)...I could get some indication as to how the western media treated the situation...

Knowing this...I think the same way about you in Myanmar...about how you should be careful and such...but as you say it probably feels about the same to you there as it did for me here...without youtube i wouldn't have known the red shirts had taken over Bangkok...the whole thing would have slipped by unnoticed by me except for YouTube and people outside of Thailand urging me to stay safe...