Be Like Vic: Make a Difference Teaching in Thailand with New School Transfer Opportunities

Teaching in Thailand offers more than just a job—it opens the door to growth, exploration, and unexpected opportunities. Over the past few years, working with BFITS, the journey has become a series of exciting new chapters, each shaped by school transfers, life shifts, and personal transformation.

Rethinking What Flexibility Really Means

Have you ever gotten that feeling where you feel like you have been working somewhere for too long? Or maybe you don’t feel that your work environment and personal values are aligned, regardless of the cause of the misalignment? Or do you want to try something new to give your life a spark? Or would you like to explore another section of Bangkok or another area of Thailand?

Many jobs do not present such opportunities to move around to accommodate the ongoing aspects of our lives. Teaching at BFITS does, though. One of the best parts of teaching in Thailand with BFITS is the flexibility to explore new roles, environments, and schools—all while continuing to grow your career.

Starting Small, Thinking Big

Since I started teaching at BFITS beginning in 2021, I have been able to make these adjustments. Currently, I am a high school or Matayom teacher teaching M3 or the equivalent of grade 9 at a school in Ayutthaya. However, I didn’t start teaching grade 9 or in Ayutthaya.

When I first began teaching with BFITS, I taught at a Prathom in Anuban Pathai Wittaya (APT) Chaipattana Foundation, which is equivalent to an elementary school, in Nakhon Pathom. I taught 3rd and 4th grade in a small city that was 55 km away from Bangkok. I enjoyed teaching there, and I enjoyed living in Nakhon Pathom. It was quiet and relaxing. There were parks to walk in and tranquil cafes; the kids were fun, full of life, and cute.

While I was able to relish these moments, I felt like I was missing something that could only be found in a big, vibrant city with a fast pulse. Another factor also played a part: my partner at the time lived in Bangkok. So, once I finished the school year in Nakhon Pathom, I was able to request a transfer to a new school.

Exploring Options with Support

Now, I couldn’t request any specific school, but I was looking for any school that had open positions for an English teacher. Because BFITS has many partner schools under its umbrella, finding a new school was not a problem. After speaking with my BFITS Program Manager, my request went through, and I was off to Bangkok.

The new school I would be teaching at was a Mathayom, or a high school-middle school, which is at Suankularbwittayalai Rangsit (SKR) School, located in Outer Bangkok. I was getting a new environment and new grade levels to teach. I had three grade levels: M1 (grade 7), M2 (grade 8), and M3 (grade 9). I could handle the kids in elementary school, would I be able to work with the kids in middle and high school? Would I be able to adjust to living in this new location from the easy-going small burgh? I did.

However, I also considered returning to my previous profession, culinary. I made the attempt to follow through with my consideration, preemptively giving my notice for working with BFITS. Finding employment in the higher levels of the culinary field was difficult; also, my mind and soul were not in it anymore.

This led me to revisit BFITS and decide to stay a teacher. Guess what? Since I had given my notice, they had already found a replacement teacher. Looks like I was getting another transfer.

Embracing the Unexpected

This transfer was finally to a school located in Inner Bangkok, specifically in the Khet Dusit section of the city. This time I was not teaching English… I was teaching Math to M1, M2, and M3. I was offered this position due to my qualifications and educational background in Business Administration, so I accepted it.

At the time, I was officially teaching a new subject, which somehow challenged me as I had to relearn some of the topics. What also made this a vastly new trial was the attitude and behavior of some of the students, as I was teaching a complex subject in a second language. This is the perfect recipe for students not paying attention, not completing assignments, and not sitting in their seats (😮‍💨).

Even though I’m the teacher, I’m not the ruler and the absolute authority (as some of us would like to think 😂) in the classroom. There are 30+ students and 1 of me… I had to learn how to pique the kids’ interest in a subject that was initially uninteresting and bothersome.

I was not expecting any of these difficulties when I accepted the position. If I had known to predict those conditions, I don’t know if I would have gone through with teaching. Yet, having to endure that as a result of being transferred forced me to acquire new skills and adapt like I have never adapted before.

Navigating Diverse Teaching Communities

All the previous schools I had taught at had a small English teaching staff. My second most recent transfer with BFITS was to one of their prestigious partner schools, which has a large teaching staff. The prior schools our teaching staff was no more than 4–5 teachers, including me. My next transfer was to a school with a teaching staff of 23, located in a large office with a diverse range of personalities. I returned to teaching English and was assigned to teach M3, M5, and M6, the two school years I spent at the new school. I was pretty much teaching adults, at least that is how I saw it.

Engaging with them was going to be different from engaging with the younger students. I identified two key challenges in my role at this school: engaging older students and finding a balance between treating them as adults and students, and working with a large number of colleagues. Well, I found that I was able to really connect with the older students. I recognized how to walk that line of giving the students the respect they deserve as autonomous adults and also maintaining order within the class without resorting to classroom management techniques designed for children.

I noticed this created an excellent rapport between me and the students, many of whom told me personally and in the teacher evaluations that I was the “best teacher they ever had.” I thought engaging with the older students would provide me with the highest degree of challenge at this new school. Well, I found out it was working within a large staff, which was the most difficult of the latest situations.

Finding Balance in Every Transition

A wide range of personalities were working in that office, which is normal. Some were compatible with my own, while some weren’t. I should also mention that I prefer having company in small groups. So, working with this many people around was not a personal preference, despite my best efforts to make it work. I made an effort to make the environment more conducive to my needs. I tried to find areas where I could work away from the crowd. This just didn’t work.

No stress, though. After two years at this school, despite my reluctance due to the tight-knit relationships I had developed with my students, I was transferred to a new school in a different area with a smaller teaching staff.

Looking Ahead with Optimism

I have met the students at my new school (VRU BFITS Program). I am confident that the diverse wisdom and knowledge I have acquired from multiple schools, various areas of Bangkok and other provinces, multiple grade levels, and diverse work environments will enable me to make a significant impact on my students, new colleagues, and myself.

For those who want to teach English in Thailand and explore beyond the classroom, BFITS offers not only opportunity but mobility. Many teachers in Thailand rarely have the opportunity to advance their careers while relocating or adjusting to their life circumstances. I’m grateful this has been a consistent part of my journey.

Whether you’re looking to start fresh or challenge yourself, it’s an incredible path to take if you want to teach in Thailand with purpose and possibility.