Trainer
of the month
for August, 2006 is Ted Tucker at our Bangkok Academy. Indeed, in
addition to his outstanding training work, he has been instrumental in
our arranging and organizing our soon-to-be-announced TEFL Advanced
Skills Diploma Course. Ted's excellent hard work, and unrelenting
dedication to making this project possible certainly more than
qualifies him for this issue's Trainer of the Month honor. Well done,
Ted!
A former Peace Corps Volunteer in Botswana, Africa (1989-1991), Ted has
been
teaching EFL since 1992 in Saudi Arabia, Korea, and Taiwan – as well as
Thailand.
His teacher training experience includes teaching courses in Korea and
Thailand –
and he brings all that experience to his TEFL classroom here at
TEXT-AND-TALK.
Ted graduated from the University of Arizona (he’s from Tucson) with
both Bachelor’s
and Master’s degrees in education, and later studied for and gained an
MBA and a
PGCE in TEFL.
He is clearly a fan of continuing to improve yourself throughout
your life. A real believer in TEFL, Ted says, "A
career in TEFL has
changed my life: a 500%
improvement! My life back home was fine, but the ability to see the
world and
actually earn a decent living at the same time, cannot be equaled by
any other
occupation. That’s why you see people from 20 to 65 and up, with
advanced
educations – and no advanced education at all - in our classrooms. I
started in
TEFL in 1992 – but I wish I had started 15 years earlier!”
Before entering the TEFL world, Ted worked as a social worker for many
years, and
also dabbled in the business and investment worlds. While in the Peace
Corps in
Francistown, Botswana, he managed a textile manufacturing company that
was owned
by a women’s cooperative. It was his charge in the volunteer role to
increase the
company’s profits, buy land and build a new factory – all of which was
accomplished within his two years there.
Ted says it was his Peace Corps
experience that led him to TEFL, with a strong desire to see and
experience as much
of the world as possible. Ted comes to TEXT-AND-TALK for a second time,
after he initially opened our new training academy
in Phuket in 2002. Most of his graduates are still around, too, and
earning good incomes!
