Book Review: Experience Preferred…But Not Required
“Would never have seen myself as a teacher when I was at school, and here I am on my way. Right little cunt, I was at school. Always winding up and taking the piss out of teachers, getting into fights and skipping classes. Suppose I’ll have to be on the other side now, but I get the impression that teaching these Thai kids is a piece of piss. A few of my mates do it, and they say that you just have to play games with them and they’re happy as Larry. Suits me fine…”
-excerpt from ‘The Unqualified Teacher’
In the office, I studiously set about checking my lesson plans to ensure optimal performance from myself and optimal performance from my students. They see me as a kind of guru. Even students who I’ve never taught come up to me and say, “Ajarn Gerhard, will you help us? We don’t understand our teacher?” Word has got around of my diligence and willingness to help, so it’s understandable that they seek me out rather than these other impostors who masquerade as teachers. This is not vanity, just reality
-excerpt from the ‘Supreme Educator’
Such are only a few examples to the rich contrast of foreign English Teacher extremes that Paul Murphy via Bangkok Book House publisher has painted for us in ‘Experience Preferred…But Not Required,’ a humorous collection of stories about typical and stereotypical characters in the Thailand English language market.
“Experience Preferred…but not Required” first edition (2004) at 175 pages is a light yet humorous read that might easily seize an afternoon and/or evening, awing the rigorous character development exercises the author has compiled. While the back cover blurb states “[the book is an] essential reading for anyone who has ever taught English in Asia, and those who want to know why they do it.” the sole focus location-setting is Thailand, a grand bulk of the stories based around the capital, Bangkok (one anecdote is based in a Christian Missionary School in Northern Thailand)
From someone who has a few years behind him on the the educator-entertainers’ side of Thai classrooms, I give props to Paul Murphy’s overall results in this one, for he does a decent and mostly-accurate job in recreating and portraying the various angles of both the quality and scum content in certain foreign English teachers that you’re likely to find around Thailand.
Altogether, there are ten different English teacher characters presented in short-story, first person perspective antecdotes, including The Middle Aged Divorce; The Relentlessly Positive Thinker; The Unqualified Teacher; The Reluctant Family Man; The Fun Teacher; The Supreme Educator; The Regular Absentee; The Neglected Wife; The Man of Many Jobs; and the Malcontent–each with their own unique motivations for teaching in Thailand; some driven for extra drink and/or whoaring funds, others for the self fulfillment of truly making a difference, and those in between just filling in time; vulgar, stark and daunting words demanding a constant turning of the page will have the reader frowning, smiling, chuckling, and diligently glaring with the transition to each new character, finally returning to the initial character in the book’s only interconected plot about a fattening, boozing divorced Englishmen engaged to a bar girl half his age.
Particularly impressive and engaging in the book’s climaxing finale-plateau, the author uses creative flashback contrasting which enhances each sip from the glass, every drop of sweat, and every internal dialogue that much more. The book can be found around many of Thailand’s English language novel distribution points (i.e. Asia books, Airport, etc.) or directly from Bangkok Book House website at:
Experience Preferred…but not Required (directly from Bangkok Book House)
Experience Preferred…but not Required (via Asiabooks website)
If the links don’t work/have changed due to IT website restructuring, just go to www.bangkokbooks.com and/or www.asiabooks.com , and conduct a search.
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October 18th, 2009 at 1:39 am
ehh. funny