Teaching Application

Teaching  Application

The sales of apples are going to go through the roof!  That’s right, apple farmers around the country are rubbing their hands together at the latest recession themed news, which has seen the number of graduates attempting to enter the teaching profession raise by 10%.  10%, why if I had any sort of a 10% raise there’d be one or two very happy individuals.

This kind of raise is expected to continue as 80% of teachers are in favour of more graudates looking to join the profession and the Training and Development Agency reports that Government initiatives won’t be stopping either.  The golden hand shake and fast track training that was introduced for those training to be a science or maths teacher will continue as it’s triggered a 45% growth in teacher training enquiries.

If you are already a substitute teacher for a particular school, then you already have one foot in the door in terms of establishing contacts. If you know a lot of people, it may help in your favor. If you are a volunteer at the school, then you can also build personal contacts as well.

Prepare Yourself for the Teaching Interview

Put together a little portfolio of a few lesson plans and your resume. If you have copies of your alternative certification eligibility along with your transcripts and test scores, you can put that in as well. That will definitely make you stand out more, especially if you don’t have a lot of teaching experience.

Always send a thank you note to the principal, or department chair who interviewed you. There are many ways to find a teaching job, but keeping it personal and direct is the best thing you can do to maximize your chances.

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One of Mike Fook’s latest helpful guides is, “The Ultimate Guide to Teaching English in Thailand” which appears to be exactly that.

Mike tones down his usual hard-hitting style with this more than 100 page information packed guide for wannabe teachers of English in the “Land of Smiles” as Thailand is often known.

Recent changes have made teaching in Thailand a rather exclusive occupation. Gone are the days of backpackers from Europe or North America popping over to Thailand for a years stay and teaching part-time as they wish.

A number of regulations have been put into place by Thai Ministry of Education authorities which have increased the hoops one needs to jump through in order to teach legally in Thailand. Police background checks from the hopeful teachers home country as well as within Thailand are necessary in most cases.

There is now a Thailand Teaching License that must be awarded for those wishing to teach in Thailand’s government school system. This teaching license requires a Thai culture course be attended by all teaching applicants and has set the expat teaching community reeling. Many teachers have since left the country for what they saw as greener grass in Korea, Japan, and Vietnam to name a few Asian countries that benefitted from the English teachers’ exodus from Thailand.

Mike covers everything would-be teachers need to know starting with tasks teachers need to complete before leaving their home country. Most foreign English teachers do not stay to teach long-term because it just is not what they expected. Mike states that he hopes to give those considering teaching in Thailand a very realistic view of what the job and cultural experience is like, thereby cutting down on the number of people that waste a year of their lives.

Mike relates that there seems to be a certain type of person that is cut out for the task.

• Teachers that go easily with the ‘flow’ are going to do best in the Thai school system because often the schedule changes at a moment’s notice.
• Those that match themselves with an area, a climate, a cultural tempo that fits them are more likely to survive and thrive as a teacher in Thailand – or as a long-term expat.
• Adventurists that come to teach for the pure experience of living in and teaching in another culture across the globe tend to do well. Their reward is everyday that they are teaching something new to Thai children and adults, not when the the school day ends at 4:30 p.m.

Before moving to Thailand five years ago, I spent thirty-dollars or so on four paperback books that were supposed to prepare me for teaching in Thailand. None of these books prepared me much for the reality of living, eating, breathing, and getting along socially in a country so different from my own home in America. Mike’s book is extremely comprehensive and I can highly recommend “The Ultimate Guide to Teaching English in Thailand” as the premiere resource available on the subject.