In Vietnam I taught predominantly kids and teenagers. As a whole they were great; respectful, friendly and generally enthusiastic.
For that reason I assumed the same for Thailand and also planned to teach kids and teenagers here. On arrival in Bangkok, which happened to be the middle of Songkran, we were desperate to find work quickly. Nearly all the work available was for kids and teenagers so things seemed to be going according to plan. Being the holiday period it was difficult to get confirmed work and the days started to drift by. When we both got called for an interview we were very happy. The company, which places teachers in public schools, was quite new, terribly dis-organised and didn't really seem to know what was going on. We were both offered Monday to Friday jobs teaching in different schools in out of the way locations. I was asked to teach math and Celine science and PE. The place didn't have a good feel but we tentatively agreed. We had nothing better.
A few days later we landed our current jobs; teaching corporate English. From what I have seen so far this has been a very lucky break. Kids in general in Bangkok I am sure are great but I have already seen clear differences to those in Vietnam, making teaching here more difficult. Other teachers have told me of difficulties in their classes where kids are refusing to listen to the teacher, are bullying other kids, won't answer questions and are uninterested. This is a generality of course as I also know of kids that are incredibly enthusiastic, diligent and courteous. My only problems in close to two years in Vietnam were teenagers who were uninterested in learning and young kids who were near impossible to control when they go over excited. Apart from that they were great.
Recently, I took a local bus to head out to one of my corporate classes. A bunch of school kids jumped on, giggling continuously, when they saw me. Of course this is no problem. Then they stood next to me and bumped me a few times, pretending it was because of bumps in the road, before giggling under their breath. Knowing what kids in Australia are capable of at that age, me included, I smiled it off as harmless fun. That being said, I never experienced anything like that in Vietnam.
On another bus trip, while stopped at a bus stop near a school, some kids outside noticed me. They each had their own little spit gun, haven't we all, that they were shooting each other with. When they saw me they started spit firing their bits of rubber and what not at my window; then pointing and laughing hysterically. This I thought was a bit rude but hey I would be a hypocrite to judge too much. Kids like to have fun so I guess the years of foreigner influence in Thailand has made them more comfortable when it comes to spitting rubber at bald Australians. This is what tourism will do to you. However, I am pretty happy I don't have to teach that bunch English everyday. Teaching adults, which was not the original plan, has worked out perfectly.
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