colonel Kurtz Posted July 3, 2001 Report Share Posted July 3, 2001 Are there any teachers here on the board ,who teach in Phuket? I would be very interested in your comments If you want to keep them private Im on soi8@hotmail.com. .and yes Ive already looked at ajarn.com,but most of the comments were f***ing purile.I know we have a better class of reader here! Thanks ,the colonel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 3, 2001 Report Share Posted July 3, 2001 Nothing has saddened me more than the decline of the ajarn.com discussion board. Ian the webmaster is a great personal friend but I have to admit that I rarely pay more than a couple of visits a week to the site these days. All the great contributors from the past who actually wanted to talk about teaching seem to have drifted away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 3, 2001 Report Share Posted July 3, 2001 Yeah, it sure ain't what it used to be! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 4, 2001 Report Share Posted July 4, 2001 I have to agree with both Phil and the colonel's comments re Ajarn.com. Ian has done a great job putting a very useful site together but the puerile (great word, colonel) drivel that goes on the discussion board has meant my visits have become less and less frequent, Now I only lurk occasionally. It has certainly gone down hill further since you are not there to keep things in reasonable check Phil. Regarding the good colonel's plight - you might want to consider contacting Nava Language. They are a national chain who started to enjoy a pretty good rep amongst the teaching community here. I've heard since that the husband and wife team who were responsible for overhauling their academic side have left so the good rep may no longer be deserved. They have a head office on Soi Aree (Paholyothin Rd Soi 8)about 3 or 4 km north of Victory Monument with branches around the country including Phuket. Check out Ajarn.com for full contact details and maybe Stickman can give you an update on their reputation. Whatever happens - good luck! Arai wa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 4, 2001 Report Share Posted July 4, 2001 The problem with the ajarn board IMHO was that everything that needed to be said was said, and I tuned out a little when we started having long and excruciatingly boring threads about Broocie's TEFL course in Rayong. People just couldn't get it into their heads that a one month TEFL course would not turn you into a teacher - and believe me, I've seen the proof (but refuse to elaborate) - I found it all rather tiring to be honest. What the board really needs are more opinions about the various schools that are large or largish employers of teachers. That I think is what most people want to read. And sorry to disagree with your excellent post arai wai but I wouldn't touch NAVA with a bargepole. 26,000 baht contracts for loads of hours with kids or bounced all over Bangkok doing corporate work - leave me out!!! [ July 03, 2001: Message edited by: Bangkok Phil ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 4, 2001 Report Share Posted July 4, 2001 Hi Phil I have to agree wholeheartedly again with your comments concerning the discussion board at Ajarn.com. I just hope it doesn't put people off from going through the rest of the site which is a goldmine of great info. I couldn't agree with you more about about the stupefyingly tedious and seemingly endless debates along the the lines of - 'Ya Boo Sucks my tefl's better than yours neh neh'. Now it seems to have degenerated further into psuedo-intellectual posturing and vitriolic backbiting of the nastiest kind. Newcomers posting to the board get very short shrift from the established top dogs also. quote: And sorry to disagree with your excellent post arai wai but I wouldn't touch NAVA with a bargepole. 26,000 baht contracts for loads of hours with kids or bounced all over Bangkok doing corporate work - leave me out!!! No need to apologise Phil if my info was wide of the mark. I only suggested Nava because I understood the teachers there got a pretty straight (if poorly paid) deal. However, that was when the American lady, Kate (I forget her surname), was running that side of things. I know Nava had a pretty awful rep under creepie Crowley and that Kate did a lot to turn that around. The main reason I put them forward for the colonels consideration was because they have a Phuket branch. Even so, 26,000 a month is piss poor these days if that's their current rate. Still, it might provide the colonel with a foot in the door until a juicy full-time hotel/resort contract comes up for freelance grabs. Am I right in thinking that Prince of Songkhla University has a campus in Phuket? That might be a better avenue for the colonel to explore. Regards Arai wa [ July 03, 2001: Message edited by: Arai wa ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 4, 2001 Report Share Posted July 4, 2001 Kate and Bob Owens of NAVA were two wonderful people and if the teaching profession in Thailand had more like them, it wouldn't be in the state it's in. The two of them were totally committed to teacher development and it was a sad day when NAVA kicked them out, but as soon as Grammy entertainment took over - the writing was on the wall. You CANNOT have Thais involved in positions such as recruiting of teachers, scheduling of teachers and curriculum development - it only leads to confict between the Thais and the farangs and by god, don't I know it. John Caulfield of Inlingua came out with the best quote I've ever heard in this business 'a happy teacher is a good teacher'. How many schools just totally ignore this simple concept?, and it isn't always about money - it's about giving teachers good materials. Giving teachers groups of students that have been level tested and JUST GIVING THEM A FAIR DEAL. I can't help the colonel at all because I know sod all about teaching in Phuket but I wish him all the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colonel Kurtz Posted July 4, 2001 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2001 kop khun kup for your intelligent comments gentlmen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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