English teachers and Bean Sprouts – an Unlikely Connection
Did you know that you can pay an English teacher with bean sprouts? Well, not exactly, but under Minor International’s Bean Sprouts programme, Wat Sao Thong Kao School has found a creative way to sustainably fund the salaries for foreign born English teachers. Bean sprouts and English teachers seems like an unusual connection, but Minor […]
Khunying Chodchoy Sophonpanich
All Thais should spend at least the first 10 years of their lives in Thai schools,” according to Khunying Chodchoy Sophonpanich, daughter of the late founder of Bangkok Bank, Chin Sophonpanich. This is a fairly shocking statement considering the proliferation of international schools in Thailand which are largely supported by the elite of Thailand, including […]
Cha Ching – financial management for kids
We all remember having a piggy bank as a kid, tempting us daily to smash it into a hundred pieces and collect what our 10 year old selves were due. Or maybe you had the plastic “cheater” piggy bank where you could just remove the plug and take out your savings whenever you pleased. Perhaps […]
An American’s First Rugby Experience
Compared to its rowdier counterparts in cities like Hong Kong, the Singapore Sevens Rugby Tournament is billed as the “Family 7s”. What a perfect venue for an unwed, childless, American to see their first rugby game; I’m referring to myself in case it wasn’t implied. However, as an American, I love a good sports game […]
Ethiopia with two Bangkok expats and a lot of mutton
Mehal Meda, a small town in rural Ethiopia, is an unlikely place to find a current and former Bangkok expat. But sure enough, in April, I (the current Bangkok expat) journeyed to this small town to visit a close friend whom I taught English with for over two years in Thailand. In 2016, my friend […]
Thai Ministry of Education Pushes for Evidence Based Policy
The Thai Minister of Education, Dr Teerakiat Jareonsettasin, is certainly no stranger to making headlines. Whether it’s exposing the dark reality of Thai English teachers’ language proficiency, speaking out about rampant internal MOE corruption or smashing decades-old practices that are no longer in the best interest of Thai students, Dr T has no plan to back down […]
Coffee Club: Don’t let the name fool you
If you haven’t been, the Coffee Club is a must visit in Bangkok. In fact, I’m writing this as I sit here and enjoy my new favourite drink, shaken passion fruit iced tea. Yum! I have lived here for almost 6 years and I didn’t try Coffee Club until recently, because unbelievably, I have never […]
Steering a Course for Education in Thailand M L Pariyada Diskul Secretary to the Minister of Education
If you ask a Thai person what are the top three things in Thailand that need major reform, education will undoubtedly be included. Plagued by corruption and ever changing leadership, the Ministry of Education has struggled to implement long overdue reforms, until now. I had the opportunity to sit down with M L Pariyada Diskul […]
Dr Teerakiat Jareonsettasin, The Minister of Education in Thailand
Example. Expectation. Consequence”. This is the no-nonsense mantra that the current Minister of Education, Dr Teerakiat Jareonsettasin, has based his approach to reshaping Thai education. The much criticised Thai Ministry of Education is experiencing a level of stability and leadership under Dr Teerakiat that it has not experienced in over 20 years. He was appointed […]
A love for teaching
All you need is love”, according to John Lennon and 65 year old Thai English teacher, Thim. I had the opportunity to sit down recently and chat with Thim about her English teaching career which has spanned over 4 decades. After surviving over an hour of my inquisition, I had one final question for her: […]