Some of my initial enthusiasm for teaching has been waning as of late. I started out not wanting the weekend to come, as of now I don’t mind it. Part of it it’s because of the friction I’m facing for volunteering my lunch time to help some of my weaker students. Most of them act like it’s punishment, their classmates tease them about it and I get complaints saying the classroom smells of food. This opposition of the best of my intentions has taken me aback and that leaves me wondering whether I should just do the minimum required of me when facing such indifference. 

And with all my talk about M3, I’ve realize that when I interviewed for this position, how poorly this classes behavior was conveniently left out until I signed the offer. I can’t help but feel got this was intentional lesson learned here:

        Before taking on a position, inquire on who I’m replacing and why they left.       

Ask about length of tenure of employees from people other than the interviewer. 

In hindsight now, it has occurred to me back to school was ready to hire me on the spot which does seem like desperation given my inexperience and youth (which translates into instability). It’s also been mentioned numerous times there are a lack of qualified native English speakers willing to be teachers. I’ve also noticed that the English department head had more criticism than praise when mentioning the teachers that are on the schools payroll.

One is said to spend most of the class sitting and the students looked uninterested. Another one I’ve mentioned when I said I felt she was more respected by students then I was the department had set it was because she would yell at students and that it wasn’t the best solution. And yet another teacher was measured saying his pronunciation is off (I’ve noticed it myself). It was also mentioned that if I left, they would probably have to bring in another Filipino teacher with his tone implying thought it was something they didn’t want to do.
I’ve also noticed punctuality is something not really emphasized in Thai society. I remember a student at my college that studied in Thailand mention this. Now I see it for myself. The casualness of being on time has affected me as well I’ve normally been a couple minutes late for class. I’ve come to realize if I can’t be on time for the class I’m teaching and leading, how can I expect students to be on time. Students take after who is guiding them after all.

So right now I will put it in writing. I will head towards class 5 minutes before it begins.
                                       

Kingston S. Lim                                       

August 25, 2019                                       

Bangkok, Thailand