"Have any of you people been having the same discipline problems I have had over the past month or so for Mathayom students? These problems include eating in class, excessive loud taking between students when the teacher is speaking, talking on cellphones and listening to music with headphones, boys wearing caps in class, sleeping, horseplay, and doing homework from other classes? Excessive loud talking, horseplay, and sleeping in class are the most chronic problems. Occasionally I raise my voice in English (almost yelling) and then follow it with my best Thai trying to explain why these kinds of behavior are detrimental to the class. Things will be better for a few minutes, but after a short while the chronic misbehavior continues......"
It goes on. That's Thailand. These little monsters routinely do things we would never have even thought of doing in class. And when you fuss at them about it, they just look at you and give you that dumb ass sheepish smile that means they couldn't care less about what you are saying. it was the responses to that teachers letter that made me laugh though. Here's a few....
1. "Heed this warning, its so fucking true. I don't have aproblem with M5 anymore due to losing my rag big time at certain individuals, only had to do it once in each class, not saying this is the correct way to go about things but it worked for me. M1 are more of a problem, losing the plot doesn't do it, especially when u have a class of 60. They talk, I sit down at my desk, after 2minutes of staring at the little fecks they shut up and the lesson commences."
2. "First of all, do not raise your voice but lower it - almost to a whisper! How does this work? The 'good' students will start 'policing' your class with "Shh! Mr prkeuhn is talking!" They seem to take more notice of their peers."
3. "You will always have discipline problems for these two reasons: first, you are a foreigner, therefore you are a lower form of life. Second, all the students know they will pass your class no matter what grade you give them. They also know that, percentage-wise, the class you teach is worth slightly less than the sewing class they had to take last term. Sorry if this sounds mean, but it's reality."
4. "They're all part of the regular scenery for me too. The second dimension to this is the children going to their Thai teacher complaining about the foreign teacher when they get disciplined. The Thai teachers then help the child with the nasty foreigner and take their side.
Result: the children know they can wriggle out of being held accountable for their actions by going to the Thai teacher.
The solution: accept it or move to a school with a support system for teachers and a philosophy that believes in accountability."
This was the best one
5. Teaching in Thailand - "Common sense will prevail in Thailand only when all other options have been exhausted."
It's a hoot here. The administration will not install any sort of disciplinary system, because if they do, then the students parents may pull them out of that school, and the school losses money. (So True!)
