Thread: How to manage foreign staff

If you're a manager of a certain age;

1. Don't wind everyone up with stupid games you can't control
2. Don't flirt with the ferangs it's hideous
3. Take a holiday once in a while

When a male farang arrives at a school, many of the eligible females start flirting with him. He's alive, has a uni degree (supposedly), and makes 25,000 per month. He probably treats a Thai lady better than their ex-husband did. More than once a match-maker pointed out to me, "And this teacher is SINGLE!!" I still think some of the married women were flirting with me, and by then they had some clues that I enjoyed wearing pink on Tuesday.

Yes, it's a good idea to tell them, "You're lucky to have me here. Some foreign teachers can't speak English properly, don't shower in the morning, try to have sex with the students, and don't show proper respect."

I think places should actually follow their hiring practices. If they say they hire people with univ. degrees/CELTA/whatnot, then they should. It seems that those "standards" are often bent to satisfy the pocketbook of someone. Nothing against anyone but when a person happens to have spent the time/energy to get a univ. degree and they've taken a course on how to teach English, they should be paid more than someone who just walked off the street and applies for an English teaching position. Basically, if standards are made known, then adhere to them. True, most Thai's will have no clue if you've got a degree or have taken the time to learn how to teach English. If that's the case, why bother on having minimum requirements for a job? Just hire any idiot who speaks English.

Gluestick, great idea. The new ads can say,

"We need breathing white-skinned bodies to fill worthless positions in what might be loosely called our faculty. If you sound like you speak English, don't worry about buying a phony cert for a uni degree or TEFL on Khao San Road. We won't give you a work permit, anyway. Don't bother to sign a contract - we'll replace you after you leave with another worthless specimen. Oh, and we pay 23K/month for ten months, as if you'd stay that long."

So true...

So we need to qualify and train the Thai employers, and also give them an idea about Western culture and work approach and also make them communicate and give a rat's arse when we do explain things.

Can't see it happening personally!

Brain transplant? Or possibly a country transplant!

I wouldn't say they're as thick as shit (they probably make far more money than I do!), but they do often cut of their nose to spite their face!

Sad to say but true.