An Attitude That Works in Tefl Teaching

I learned of "the attitude" in part from observing my Spanish educator in High School, Senor Kaska and other mentors over the years, but more specifically from a man in Phoenix, Arizona. This man was a long time sober member of alcoholics anonymous. I met him while doing volunteer work at a salvage home where alcoholics and drug addicts lived together in an effort to get sober and rejoin community in a beneficial way. Many of the residents were just out of jail or had been living on the street and I helped them with resumes and basic life skills. Some of the guys could not even read English and I assisted some men to fetch basic literacy.

Anyway, this man in Phoenix was a "sponsor". I think that meant that he was a mentor for people who were newly sober and he helped guide them straight through the Aa salvage program. I asked him once how he dealt with failure or people who "fell off the wagon", told him to get screwed etc. This is what he told me and it is the attitude I have adopted for teaching English in Thailand.

"You ever notice that after the mailman delivers your mail, he doesn't stick around to see if you read it?", he queried.

"Yeah, I guess that's true.", I responded.

Well sports fans, that's the attitude. It's the attitude that has helped me survive and thrive as an English educator in Thailand. The mailman is not emotionally invested in the response of the recipient...at all. It's not the mailman's job to verify that you opened your mail. The mailman does not care if you like or dislike the mail. It is none of his company in fact and he knows that. The mailman's job is simple: show up every day and the deliver the proper mail to the correct address. As a educator who often encounters Thai students who are uninterested, rude, or disruptive, not taking things personally is significant to my emotional well being.

That's what I do here in Thailand. I deliver the mail. If I am some Thai student's "Mr. Inspiration", that's fine. If the student thinks I'm some long-winded idiot, that's fine, too! I deliver the mail. It is None Of My company what the students think of the mail, as long as they don't disrupt the class. I have knowledge and experience. I deliver the mail. If 90% of the class is daydreaming...cool. I have a 100% responsive audience...cool. I deliver the mail. I don't need recognition from teenagers and I am largely immune from their criticism. I come to class prepared, with a smile, a sense of humor and lay down the law if necessary. I deliver the mail. That's it.

Please don't take this attitude as one of indifference. I care quite a bit about all young learners, particularly those I teach here in Thailand. The worst students can suddenly bloom and I'm all the time open to that possibility. My intent is to originate as appealing a learning environment as potential without taking it personally as to how the students react to it.

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