Working ‘from home’ in Thailand

I currently work at an international school in Thailand, and we have been working from home for the last 2 weeks. Although it has been an interesting new challenge and one that has brought our team closer, it has been challenging in a range of ways. Firstly, our children and parents mostly have English as an Additional Language. We have catered for this in every way possible, by uploading different guidelines and tips in Thai, Mandarin and Russian, but whether our children are accessing it or not is another issue. Some of the parents are thoroughly engaged and using the material we have uploaded (different videos, sheets that have instructions on how to make funky finger gloop, playdough etc.), and some of the parents have not acknowledged their use of this at all.

Due to the nature of the Early Years Foundation Stage, we cannot make any of the parents or children engage in the material if they do not want to, but there is also pressure from above that all the parents should be engaging with the materials and that can get us down sometimes.

Furthermore, we live in a place where, although the sense of community is strong, there are teachers from EYFS all the way through to Secondary. Our workload is different (and always has been), and challenges us in different ways, but this has come with negative connotations now that we can visibly see what each one of us are doing. I have heard lots of comments like ‘Your work is so easy’ and ‘You don’t have to do as much as us’. I understand that yes, the content of my work may be ‘easier’, but in times like this when solidarity is important I do feel that people have been upset personally and taken it out on others, rather than reflecting upon themselves.

But, with all this being said, I need to reflect upon the positives and thank everyone who has been so kind and supportive towards us! A lot of my parents are reaching out and saying thank you for all the hard work, I have been reconnecting with many people that I have not had the chance to speak to in months/years, and I am grateful that we have educators, people in the medical profession, food and service industry people that help keep us fed everyday, and so on and so forth. We are all working together to fight this, and for that I am eternally grateful!

5 thoughts on “Working ‘from home’ in Thailand

  1. Selamat datang di situs yang akan memberikan informasi seputar permainan togel online, dimana tempat berkumpulnya para Situs togel online terbaik , bandar togel terpercaya dan bo togel terbesar yang bisa membantu seluruh taruhan bettor berjalan lebih lancar dan aman sepanjang tahun 2022 ini.

  2. It was fascinating to read of how your practice has had to change in Thailand.

    It was particularly interesting to read of the relationships you are forming with parents remotely. These will be so important when ‘normal services’ resume.

  3. This is a challenging time for educators everywhere. As Early Years professionals we are not just trying to teach children who are used to the routines and methods that we use everyday, but to teach parents who may have long forgotten how to play.

    It can be so hurtful when people, especially colleagues, fail to see how unique our role is but it sounds as if you are doing an amazing job!

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