A typical school day in Thailand will vary by teacher and by school. I’ve worked in two very different schools and locations. Both of these schools were private schools and have the same general schedule.
School Day in Rural Thailand
Ok, so my school is basically in the middle of nowhere in Thailand. VERY rural location. I’m talking 10 foreigners in the whole town. Thailand has three seasons: hot, hotter, and rainy. Right now, I think I’m experiencing the hotter season with a mix of rainy.
Anyway, the school is set up as a very open space without enclosing anything but the actual classrooms. There aren’t any hallways or real glass in the windows. They use shutters with glass as windows. So a lot of construction would have to be done to even put A/C in the school. I arrive at school at 7:15 in the morning and scan my finger to “punch in.” At about 7:45 there is morning lineup where the students will raise the flag and have announcements. The first class is at 8:30 and each class is 50 minutes long.
There are at least three fans in the classrooms that are attached to the wall. Now, most of the time this air doesn’t reach you because you are at the front of the room teaching. So by the end of the class, you are sweating and all the students come up to you to tell you bye. You just want to get to a fan and sit in front of it for ten minutes. Trust me it’s even worse for afternoon classes.
Lunchtime is at 11:30 and just depends on your teaching schedule. Sometimes it’s earlier sometimes later. There are 4 or 5 periods in the morning and then 3 in the afternoon. After every 2 periods, there is a 20-minute recess where the students can play on the playground, get snacks, and socialize.
Classes are finished by 4 pm and I get home at 5 pm. I usually go straight into the shower. My skin is all sticky and my clothes feel damp. I don’t know how people don’t go home and shower. This definitely a downside of working in Thailand. Most of the schools in the cities have A/C or schools with more students. It can get uncomfortable at times and I find myself drinking a lot more water than I usually do.
School in Urban Thailand
Teaching in the city feels like teaching in a whole different country. Why? Simply because there are more students that want to/can speak English. There are also a lot more resources available like projectors, whiteboards, English books, materials, and computers. The typical school day in Thailand in the city has the same general schedule. The only difference is that I teach Kindergarten so my classes are only 40-minutes.
I arrive at school at 7 in the morning and scan my finger to sign in. I head to my classroom and prepare for the day. Students will start arriving at 7:15 and by 7:40 we will have morning lineup. After lineup, we start our first lesson at 8:20. By 11 the students are finished with lessons and head to lunch. I go to lunch on my own in a different section of the school. I come back in an hour while the students are taking their nap.
At 1:30 I wake the students and we clean up the beds and get ready to go home. There is an extra class that I teach for 30-minutes at 3 pm. After that, I can go home at 4 pm.
Thai Teachers
At both schools, there is a Thai teacher to help you manage the class. That person can either be your life saver or worst nightmare. In general, there is usually a divide between the foreign teacher and the Thai teachers. If the foreign teacher can speak Thai, the Thai teachers will end up liking you more.
