Life and good times
in 'retirement'
by career teacher Ken Hyde

I have enjoyed a long career as a teacher but I have never been happier or been rewarded with so much job satisfaction as now, working as an English teaching volunteer in Thailand. And lunching at beach restaurants, having plenty of time off, watching the fabulous sunsets through palm trees, loving the sun and being able to afford all I want on my teacher's pension ... they're pretty good too.

It could be your life: a new way of living, a new identity as a respected Teacher (yes, the capital T was deliberate: teaching here is respected and valued that much).

My arrival here was more dramatic than yours will be - I came after the tsunami - but the welcome will be the same and you will be valued just as much.

At first, I worked (like everyone else) whatever hours there were to fill usefully. Now, it is different ... say 20 hours a week on the happy and rewarding teaching sessions plus a couple of hours on lesson preparation on a Monday morning.

And days off, time to explore the area and further away, new people to welcome all the time and our friendly expat community that can be found in our favourite bar or almost anywhere else around the two 'villages' of Khao Lak and Bang Niang.
It is a bit like being on holiday
365 days a year but with the satisfaction
of helping people who really need it. Lovely, too, for anyone you bring or anyone who visits you.

And, as an experienced teacher, you will be helping me run VTT to maximise the good we can do and, at the same time, to have a good life here.

I have spent my working life teaching in the UK and, in my experience, when teachers reach the age where they choose to retire they can sometimes hit a crisis of identity - finding a new, satisfying way of life to replace the ever-familiar, but often burdened, working weeks.

I was fortunate to come and help in Thailand. I came to build houses but they told me they needed teachers because more than 75% of the English speaking Thai people in the area had been killed.

I worked in a high school for 4 weeks. On my last afternoon, 50 16-year-old students stood up and said in unison "Goodbye Teacher Ken".

  I returned to the UK,  quit my college position and came back here to teach. I was 58. My identity has been defined by the villagers, they call me Loong Ken - Respected Uncle Ken. Because they know I am teaching for no wages they reward my efforts with warmth and appreciation.

I've got to say, inspection here is a breeze. No sign of teachers running out of the school in tears, no stressed-out bosses running round collecting 'honking great binders'. The inspectors question the students about their school, not the teachers.

You could be part of this - we would welcome you, the Thais would welcome you. You could stay permanently ... or maybe for just three months at a time (escape the worst months in your home country!) ... or choose any other arrangement that suits you
and can fit in with us.

Your contribution would be very valuable: you would be underpinning our work both in the professional needs and in helping and organising our non-teaching volunteers who consistently turn in exceptional efforts.

And, even more important, you will be using your professional skills for kids and adults who desperately need them.

I can assure you there is a life after retirement. And we can offer you
a place in the sun ... why not try it for a couple of months and then decide if you want to make it part of your life?

If you are interested, please email me: