I have been thinking about how best to approach this blog and have decided to tackle it twofold, as the title suggests. I wanted to create a blog that might appeal to new teachers starting out in their careers here with BFITS Thailand but also write something that might have some resonance with our more experienced teachers.
Finding that balance would prove to be the most difficult aspect of this entry, but please read ahead as I discuss firstly my own training within BFITS Thailand and then what to expect (or hope for) in the ever-so-fast-approaching new academic year ahead.
A Personal Online Training Experience with BFITS Thailand

The good old mask-wearing days. I hated those things, but they were necessary evils at the time.
Any experiences a person has in life are exclusive to them or those they share it with. An individual’s reaction to that experience, whatever it may be, is wholly exclusive to them.
When I started my BFITS journey, things were still quite shaky in Thailand regarding in-person/on-site teaching. I started with BFITS Thailand on August 9th, 2021. Large parts of the world were still gripped by the COVID-19 pandemic and because of this classes were still being conducted largely online and I believe exclusively so in larger cities such as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (Bangkok). My own BFITS induction training would also have to be conducted online and would last about 2 weeks if memory serves me correctly.
I went online with other new BFITS employees, and together, we were greeted by our trainer. He would first talk us through the intricacies of using Google Classroom and then give us questions to answer and some work to do to see if we understood. We were always encouraged to ask questions, and he was always forthcoming with information when we required it. It must be said at this point I had been working as a teacher for approximately 4 years and had previously undertook a TEFL course to compliment my experience so it was not all new to me.
My Advice for BFITS Teachers in Training

This is what we are trained for as teachers, to be in front of a class after all. Here, I am explaining to some Cambodian guests the BFITS Program I work in (EP) and my role in it (Math Teacher).
Some advice I would offer people training now for their first teaching position is not to panic or become overwhelmed. Learn to switch off after your day is done and do whatever it is you like to do for your mental and physical well-being, whether that’s the gym, a walk in the (extremely hot) fresh air, or just chilling out at home. You got this!
What is critically important when you are learning new things or new ways of doing things in any field and any part of the world is not to be afraid to ask questions. A mentor would not be in his or her position if they were not expecting questions from new employees.
During your induction, this is obviously very common, but to be honest, it never stops. I have been teaching since 2016 and still pick the brains of wiser colleagues for advice on how to approach certain situations or handle something that might have happened. Every day is indeed a school day.
My induction with BFITS was relatively straightforward. Because it was online, we wrapped it up quite quickly each day. It was thorough and informative, and my trainer remained available for any help I needed long after we had finished. I bombarded him with system questions for the first few weeks (I had never previously used Google Classroom).
After BFITS Training has been Completed

Observe, observe, observe! If you’re new to the teaching profession, I would see more experienced colleagues as an invaluable source of information, guidance and advice. Everybody was a first-time teacher at some point, and like anything we do in life, we build our confidence as we develop and improve.
My first teaching job was in China in 2016 when I was handed an English book and thrown into a classroom with 50+ students. It was an amazing experience, of course, but very much sink-or-swim territory. I loved my time there, but as I am sure others can attest, I have undoubtedly enjoyed more support within BFITS Thailand.
I believe preparation and organization to be key elements of teaching. You need to know your material inside out and how it is that you want to deliver a particular lesson, be it using images, live materials platforms such as Kahoot, etc., or just using the good old whiteboard, but know your plan and own it. Things will go wrong, and technology will fail; that’s the nature of what we do, but don’t panic and know that with this issue, you will be learning different techniques to handle such issues.
If you have your own classroom (the students come to you), a bit of decoration is always welcome. On my classes have completed some project work, I like to hang it around the room, if possible, to try to inspire my students to take pride in their work. Even subconsciously, I feel this can have a positive effect on my students. And anyway, attention breeds interest, and interest leads to concentration.
It is often noted that classroom management is the most difficult aspect of teaching, and indeed, managing your class so that you can teach effectively and benefit all of your students can be a challenge. However, I find that by building good relationships with my students, classroom management becomes obsolete, and that aspect of teaching takes care of itself.
If you are teaching an average of 30 students per class, that’s 30 different personalities, 30 different issues that may or may not be going on, and 30 different individuals. I think a good teacher should obviously be a good communicator but also a good listener, approachable and friendly, and conscientious of his or her role in the classroom and outside of it.
We may not be Taylor Swift or Lionel Messi but like it or not, we are now role models people!
Becoming a BFITS Teacher in Thailand

Why did you become a teacher? It’s always important to remember your motivation and to have standards in what you do. Without standards in any walk of life, we have nothing. I can genuinely say that the reason I work as a teacher here is twofold: a). I have a great passion and respect for Mathematics, which I teach, and b). I am constantly inspired by my students, many of whom excel under huge demand and stress and show far more potential than I ever did at their age.
It’s humbling in some respects, but I cannot tell you how many times I have allowed myself to smile when I think of what a student may have asked or said to me. You will, and do, encounter some truly gifted students, irrespective of how long you choose to stay here.
I believe we should set high but realistic expectations for our students, and in circumstances where we have classes with varying degrees of level, we should manage it as best we can. These are just my two cents on the matter, but they seem to have served me well so far.
The New Academic Year with BFITS Thailand

So here we are, the dying embers of the school holidays upon us. As I write this it is Songkran weekend, after which it will just be a short couple of weeks until most of us begin teaching again, or for the first time.
For my part, I feel excited, to be honest. I love what I do, and I share an office with like-minded colleagues from all parts of the world (I particularly love the cultural integration aspect of working with different nationalities) where we are comfortable and confident enough in ourselves to share and swap ideas and offer and take advice.
Earlier in this blog, I described teaching as a profession. I had initially used the term ‘teaching sector.’ But this did not feel right. It was too mechanical, too cold, too businesslike. It didn’t do what we do justice. So I retracted that and went with the profession, although I’m still not entirely happy with that, according to its dictionary definition. My point is this is more than a typical 9-5 job.
To the new teachers who will begin this term and to the returning heroes who keep coming back for more punishment, I say this: The year goes by very quickly; there will be laughs, there will be tears, there will be bad days, there will be good days, there will be amazing days, and there will be moments of great satisfaction and some of the disappointment.
Know that you are making a difference. We may not remember all of our students, but they will all remember us. We got this, guys.
Roll on 2024/25.
A Big Shout Out to Our BFITS Training Manager

As an endnote to this blog, I want to give a big shout-out to Mr. James Tovey, our Training Manager here at BFITS. I have followed his training with some of our new teachers over the past couple of weeks, and I am sure everybody is in the best possible position going forward after this experience.
I would encourage anybody inclined towards social media to follow the BFITS Thailand Facebook and LinkedIn pages. There is a plethora of information available on both of these. After all, we are a community, and more connections make that community stronger.
As always, I am happy to meet new people, and if anybody wants to reach out to me, please do. I am living and teaching in Buriram and would be happy to offer advice to anybody who might be moving towards the Isaan area in particular. You can find me under Chris Whearty on the internal email system.
Talk soon.