This post is to ask for solidarity and umity in the TEFL world. I have recently read and posted threads on Teflwatch.com and on here. I have seen posts by Bangkok Phil and seen them get slagged off. This is stupid and petty and what is more doing no good in this time of troubles for us teachers. There are teachers in jail and the whole TEFL world is up in the air as this country makes life difficult for us. Now is the time to get together. Are we not all on the same side? So there has been a rift between Ajarn.com and Telfwatch.com but don't you think that over the recent raids and ejections and prison terms that you should get together and see what you can do to help each other through these tough times? We as teachers should stick together and show the powers that be that we are not divided on this one issue. Even if in the future over other issues there is a dividing line let us get together and do something constructive. Not just this site but all the ESl and teachers sites on the web.
While your words are noble, we live in a show me world, where actions speak louder than words.
I feel, personally, as a teacher-to-be, that no one will take any of this kind of talk seriously (especally the particular blend of person that makes up a TEFLer) until someone starts a ball rolling.
You speak of "us" as a collecting doing something constructive... First step of the journey and all that.
Yours,
Norng Citan
Well words are our business so we better be able to take them seriously.Originally Posted by Citan
I applaud barcaman's post, well said.
"We're all very different people. We're not Watusi, we're not Spartans, we're Americans. With a capital "A", huh? And you know what that means? Do you? That means that our forefathers were kicked out of every decent country in the world. We are the wretched refuse. We're the underdog. We're mutts."
PFC J. Winger
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Touche' =D
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I feel, personally, as a teacher-to-be, that no one will take any of this kind of talk seriously (especally the particular blend of person that makes up a TEFLer) until someone starts a ball rolling.
Yours,
Norng Citan[/QUOTE]
Well Citan as a teacher to be I think you should start by reading some of the other sites for teachers and get the drift of what is happening in Thailand right now. What I am trying to say is that it is time that there was solidarity and unity so that we can compare notes and work together. If you do not think that is a good idea right now then tell me what you think when you have stepped out into the real world of teaching. Please do not get me wrong but I feel very strongly when I see one website slagging off another because of personal differences. There are other articles the same as mine on various sites maybe it would be good to read them. Teflwatch has opened the door for negotiations to do something together with this site. I think that we all have respect for this site and teflwatch does a great job too. let us not forget and you in particular will be going forth into the ankle biters with bags of enthusiasm I am sure. It would do you good to know where not to start. Forums all over the web have excellent threads from teachers who have been in this game for a long time. they are knowledgable and mosy of the time helpfull. There is NO reason that I can see why they and US should not work as one.
Barca, you make some good points and solidarity is a desireable thing. There are a couple of logistical issues that make such a proposal fairly unworkable in this country (and many others, for the same reasons).
The number of professionals in this business is vastly outweighed by the number of transients. People work in a country for a year or two, then move on.
Because of the diverse nature of those in the business, it seems difficult to get any singular or unified voice. You can see this in other threads on this site and others about unions or associations. People just a) can't agree, b) don't really care, c) are ok, as long as problems don't affect them or d) aren't in the business for long-term.
Sorry, while I think what you say has merit...I just don't see the practicality of it, or why the powers that be in any country would listen to a bunch of ex-pats, especially in Asia.
Yes, I'd say it's easier to herd cats than get TEFL-qualified teachers to move in one direction. Stretch is right - you can't expect men/women of such varying backgrounds and motivations to speak with one voice.
On another note, I think competition between the boards is good. When a board's management is concerned with losing members, it will be more attentive to its members' needs.
Having solidarity amongst TEFL teachers would be nice in practice, but, Citan points out, the TEFL world attracts some freakish people, especially in Thailand; people who find it difficult maintaining solidarity with themselves, let alone with anyone else.
While there are some people who take their job professionally and seriously, there are a host of others who are fractious, belligerent and aggressive; then there are those who are heavy boozers; then there are those who are here for the pussy; then there are those who are just plain weird.
I've seen more fistfights than I can count break out between TEFLers both in the workplace and out. I've seen people do midnight runs from perfectly decent jobs because they just needed to earn some money to carry on backpacking. I've seen a farang teachers union, which took a few months in organising, fall apart and disband on its first meeting due to bickering over trivial, unimportant points.
Face it. The lot of you are a bunch of dribbling misfits and there are damn good reasons why you don't live in your home countries :p
Unity is a very uphill battle.
Nuts In A Blender
Yes - guilty as charged, although I am back in the home country for a while. But I don't dribble nearly as much as smeg.
I think you'd have a better chance asking for an audience with Him. The MoE or the Migra would laugh in your face.
Nice sentiment in the op.
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Indeed it is. So are The Ten Commandments. Ghandi could have pulled it off. This unity stuff is fertile where people are of one mind. I have to go with Bubba. If your town hall meeting fell on the day after Liverpool creamed Manchester ... well, you know.Nice sentiment in the op.
Quite a lot's being made of this so-called TEFl Watch / Ajarn.com rift, but today's news is tomorrow's fish and chips.
The worst job in Thailand must be the man who has to sit down with a blue marker pen and mark a number two on the two-baht coins to stop people thinking they are one-baht coins.
Suurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrre! (Thai) It just seems as though they have this big beef against BCC. There's not not much else going on IMHO.
DON'T GREEN ME I WANT TO STAY in 1969.-‘Own only what you can carry with you; know language, know countries, know people. Let your memory be your travel bag.' - Alexander Solzhenitsyn-"It's called the American dream, because you have to be asleep to believe it." -George Carlin
Firstly BP I am not in the least bit interested in the war on words going on between you and Teflwatch. I have read your posts and posted in favor of your good self. I know that it is more backroom stuff and sure it involves money and ratings which are as much use as a chocolate fireguard to us teachers, you both do a great job so I will leave it at that. Back to why I wrote this thread. I would just like to see when the chips are down for us teachers a bit of unity between us and the websites to at least show that we do care, Union No out of the question but solidarity yes and it is possible. those that say it isn't are defeatests and I just wonder what they would do if they were put in jail and had nowhere to turn. As for this rubbish below.......
Face it. The lot of you are a bunch of dribbling misfits and there are damn good reasons why you don't live in your home countries :p
I'm sure if this is not tongur in cheek that the fist fight were directed at you Bubba
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