Dear Newbie,

It troubles me to see idiots out there who think they are real teachers when in fact, they are nothing more than troubled sex-tourists seeking their next fix while posing as a teacher. My advice: Get a degree and a certificate from either CELTA or TEFL. Does it really matter if the students like you? No. What matters is that your students are learning, and that the hard earned money their parents are spending for their children's education is not going to waste by some fly-by-night, backpacker-drunkard who thinks that just because he can stand erect in front of a classroom and speak English, he can also teach. The truth is, he can't. I've met many a loser teacher in Bangkok and since I now recruit for a private school here,I check degrees...thoroughly. It is educational fraud for presenting a fake degree to your employer in Thailand. We've already fired one employee for trying to deceive the school. I have no regrets spending the money for the 4 week intensive course I took because I still use a lot of the lessons I created and the methodology today at my new school. Get a degree. Get a certificate. Get a decent job.