Thai children should be thankful
Everyone realizes that the quality of Thai education is very bad, the Thai authorities also know that. The junta wants to implement reforms. One of the first acts of Admiral Narong Pipatanasai, the new Minister of Education, was to order schools to memorize the following twelve core values in education for all students.
Starting next semester, these values must be recited every morning before classes start and after the raising of the Thai flag and singing of the national anthem. These core values have been personally presented by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.
In addition, the names of Thaksin, Yingluck and Pheu Thai party have been removed from a compulsory history textbook for the three highest classes of secondary education.
There are two questions for me:
- Will memorizing these twelve core values promote their application?
- Will the quality of education subsequently improve?
The twelve core values in Thai education
- Upholding the nation, the religions and the Monarchy, the main institution.
- Being honest, sacrificial and patient, with a positive attitude for the common good.
- Be thankful for parents, guardians, and teachers.
- Acquire knowledge and skills, directly and indirectly.
- Cherish the precious Thai tradition.
- Maintain morality, integrity; praise others; give and share.
- Understand and learn the true essence of democratic ideals with the King as Head of State.
- Maintain discipline and the law; respect parents and seniors.
- In all actions, keep in mind the sayings of His Majesty the King.
- To practice His Majesty the King's Sufficiency Economy philosophy. Put money aside for hard times. Moderately deal with profits and surpluses.
- Maintain good physical and psychological health; not giving in to dark forces and desires; being ashamed of sins and guilt according to religious principles.
- Putting the public interest and the national interest ahead of the personal interest.
Tino Kuis
My idea is that the teachers here in Thailand should first look at themselves in the mirror before they start teaching. When I see the classroom and the teacher's desk, Syria is nothing like that. Last
spoke to a German in our village, of which his stepson's teacher had cut the boy's hair with his own hands and unsolicited. The German was furious but can do nothing, because as a farang here in Thailand you still have to watch out for the consequences ( visa revocation, problems with police or worse).
Hair cutting is common in schools.
Often up to the age of 15, after that longer hair is allowed than the military cut.
Thai custom.
You sometimes come across them in Thailand.
Normally, before that time, a warning is given that the student must have his hair cut.
It will only make the uprising Thai's arrogance worse. Only one core value seems enough to me and also takes less time in the morning: 'I will be humble'. They don't have to hoist the flag and there is more time left for meaningful things:
My girlfriend (53) and her daughter (21) didn't know much about digestion. I asked them about biology classes at school. Which lessons? Right yes. Both have had 0 (that is: zero) lessons during the entire high school period.
Please stop with nonsense Mr Prayut. Send minister to Europe. Buy biology books, translate them and get to work!
That'll be it, no biology lessons.
Two cases come to mind of addresses where I once stayed. There was a plant (or a few) in the shower room, but they kept dying over time. They had no idea how that happened. Never learned that a plant needs sunlight…
Brilliant plan!
dear tina,
Have we become better Christians by memorizing the Ten Commandments? No of course. Are the ten commandments therefore nonsense? No of course. These ten commandments demanded explanation and practical examples. I was raised Roman Catholic and in the weekly Sunday church service the pastor or chaplain always told stories. Stories of things that had happened to him that week. Stories about ordinary people who practiced one of the Ten Commandments without being able to recite it.
There is nothing wrong with the twelve core values – in the Thai context. But if they don't get hands and feet, it's just reciting and they have no value for the behavior. In primary education, one could start with a daily group discussion and link the everyday experiences of children to one of the values. So that children learn the meaning, not being taught, prescribed or read to.
I could write a book just about what is wrong with Thai university education.
1. Memorizing it might help its application a little bit, but it is very easy to think that it can really yield a lot of results. Children learn much more by the example of their educators than by learning rules from paper. “Do as I say, don't do as I do” does not work. It is also striking that the head of state is mentioned very often. 2. There seems to me to be no connection whatsoever between the quality of education and the learning of these 12 rules. Couldn't be more un-Dutch and typical of a military dictatorship.
Articles 10 and 12 are the best for me. Just go back to Thailand blog from a few days ago
Where are the amounts of the assets of the administrators. Humility trumps. It would be better to explain how they earned these sums. I didn't make billions or millions through hard work.
The good general, in his busy work to reform the country, must have probably forgotten that children normally see adults as role models. So you can ask yourself whether these twelve core values would not be better learned by heart by the adult part of the population. The last time I encountered a highly corrupt, utterly morally bankrupt twelve-year-old was, let me think… oh, never.
Will memorizing these twelve core values promote their application?
I think that it is not only important to memorize them, but that one must also discuss these core values with the children one by one and provide explanations and substantiation about them.
So it is very important that the teachers are also trained in this and know what they are letting the children learn by heart.
Will the quality of education subsequently improve?
We are not talking about Western education here, but about education in Thailand, so I think it certainly helps to improve the quality of education in Thailand.
There is no point in comparing education to ours in the west, nor should we see these core values as a step in the right direction from a Thai point of view then, who knows what will result. not easy to school children in Thailand they are often very dependent on a good home situation as each of us knows that the children in Thailand often have a very hard time, how many of them do not have to help out at home after school, and then it is still true that many parents are uneducated and unable to support their child.
In any case, these twelve core values are full of respect towards each other and it holds Thai culture in high esteem, given the ideology and thinking of Thaksin and Yingluck that are at odds with many of these core values, it is therefore logical (seen from these core values ) that these have been deleted from the history textbook.
With some of these core values as a handle, education (schools) in Thailand can start working from certain directions such as society-oriented, future-oriented, child-oriented and result-oriented. If you want to work towards this, it is essential that teachers also have the right knowledge and training.
All these12 core values can be used by the teachers to draw attention to the diversity in society and to pay structural attention to norms and values in their education.
But number 10, for example: in the list of core values, you could use a social focus not only from an economic point of view, but also elaborate on this, and make the children aware of social themes such as nature and the environment and sustainability, and by further to respond to social developments, and to stimulate the children in their ambition.
You could use number 4 in the list as a guideline for the child to develop their talents in many ways, cognitively, creatively and socially. Independence and personal responsibility of the children must be paramount.
With these examples it will certainly help to lift education to a higher level and I am convinced that if one starts working with the basis of these 12 core values, it will improve the quality of education.
One has to start somewhere and if you read the reports in recent years, such as those of schools whose students are fighting each other and as a result currently have to go to school without their school uniform because otherwise it is too risky to show yourself on the street, you can There is no harm in introducing these core values. Every child should be able to develop in a safe learning environment, be stimulated from independence and personal responsibility and from an attitude of respect.
Of course this raises the word-BUT-in everyone who reads about these core values, and yes there is still a lot of work to be done when it comes to education in Thailand, but let's assume the positive if this core values contribute to the upbringing, good education, responsibility and tolerance, stimulation and inspiration, development, and therefore form the basis for the actions of the child in Thailand, I think I can answer your two questions…..
1. Will memorizing these twelve core values promote their application?
2.Will the quality of education subsequently improve?…..Can answer yes.
Perhaps this is something for another statement or reader question.
But when reading some reactions in which very negative (rightly or wrongly? I leave that in the middle) about Thai education, the question travels to me, if it is all so badly put, how do the Farang see its Thai partner, his Thai wife, girlfriend, boyfriend, child, family, etc. because with these opinions I think I put a stamp on them, are they all judged as poorly educated, uneducated, perhaps stupid? or everyone except their own loved ones?
Yes education where shall I start the Thai English teacher can't speak to me he doesn't understand English my wife's son is in the first class of high school and gets homework as homework, which is what they do in kindergarten in the Netherlands. After 15 minutes of calculation he comes out 9X9 = 81 and then he is one of the best in the class.
Greetings Cees
About six years ago I was with a teacher at Rajbath University who wanted to take a course to teach English. Talked to the professor after class. How could this man teach, his English was poor and difficult to understand. How can you provide training????
core value 8.
Thai parents allow children 10 years old or slightly older to ride mopeds, well, 110 or 125c motorcycles. Sometimes the four of us on 1 motorcycle. And all without a helmet. Go and have a look in a village when school ends. Is no exception. Also easy if mother cannot drive and can be transported by a child.
The owner of the motorcycle must undoubtedly make his motorcycle available for this.
In the Netherlands it used to be (and still is, I think) simply impossible to ride a moped under the age of 16. And it was very common that it did not happen, was not considered at all. NL society automatically enforced the law.
It just depends on how you as a society abide by the rules and monitor it as parents.
Thai parents don't instill respect for the law in that regard.
For me there is too much emphasis on Thai tradition and the national interest, ie maintaining the hierarchy as it has existed for a few centuries, and that is precisely what needs to change. The equality of fellow human beings must be recognized and respected, that is still not the case.
Funny. Particularly because the majority of the rules are really in conflict with the uprooting of a democratically elected government and then erasing it from the history books (Question: will they also clean up the internet, will they ensure that future students do not have internet access or will they it is assumed that an official history textbook is the only form of information available to the current student?)
Be honest? Acquire knowledge? Integrity? Giving and sharing? Enforce the law?
Ah, 'farang think too much'…
The quality of education will probably not change at all as a result of this, no essential agogic change will be built in.
However, what is much more important than the education itself is the result of that education.
Ergo the question: will better educated people eventually join the social, social and economic structure of Thailand as a result of this measure?
Of course not: after all, these are extremely conservative rules that only imply confirmation of the education that has been organized here for years, and where everything is done to curb critical thinking (both towards yourself and towards your environment).
That way you only teach young people to build a cage around themselves in which they then lock themselves up and chain themselves.
And that in an increasingly rapidly globalizing world situation in which it is especially important to think out of the box as much as possible and to strive for continuous progress and innovation through a (self-)critical approach.
These twelve core values, however, are (once again) exclusively aimed at (out of the self-protection urge of a select group of potentates and other privileged population groups) people mainly to keep “good” and “stupid” (read: ignorant).
And to achieve that goal, you obviously have to eliminate all forms of critical, creative and innovative thinking.
The Roman potentates already knew: give the plebs bread and circuses and divide and rule.
Apparently the real rulers in Thailand are convinced that this ancient principle can also be maintained in a modern society.
If I consider all the political evolutions of recent times, I can only conclude that the now adult Thais may also have had these core values instilled in the past.
And that they comply quite slavishly (at least after the military coup).
Another thing: the Thais are incredibly proud that they have never been occupied / ruled by another power.
I personally wonder if it wouldn't have been much better for people if that had been the case...
In any case, none of the many persons I asked have been able to give me a single relevant example of an advantage of this “geographical virginity”…
I sincerely hope that things will work out (relatively quickly) for the Thais, and that there will be more social equality and justice.
But this “education reform measure” will certainly not contribute to that. On the contrary
kito
I have relatively much contact with a more than intelligent student from Chiang Rai, she tells me the following:
General Prayuth is of the old school and, as is well known, has a military background. He can't and will never make progressive changes simply because he doesn't have it in his system.
You can see that in all the proposals he has proposed so far.
Conservative to the bone.
He will always think that things were better in the past, but he has indeed forgotten that the world around Thailand is changing enormously. The real start of ASEAN will soon make it clear that Thailand has missed the beat for the time being. They are far from ready for ASEA and that is partly due to the education that has been given so far.
As long as the average teacher delivers work of inferior quality (apologies to those whom I wrongly offend here) it will never get better, the 12 values don't help at all. In addition, education is so focused on the whole group that children do not learn at all to rise above something and to do their best. Individual behavior is not stimulated because it is only difficult.
I've heard that kids can't even stay in one class and move on to the next class anyway.
I think that is the biggest problem of Thai education.
Incidentally, the same student tells me that new elections will not bring any relief either. According to her, red stays red and yellow stays yellow.
Thailand needs a visionary, but I expect there isn't one at all.
I actually don't see it that rosy for Thailand.
And that even hurts me.
Hi Paul,
In my opinion you have made it clear with the last line, what is actually the main culprit in Thailand.
Apart from the top who can count well, people have a very simplistic way of thinking.
We're talking about the ins and outs of a country, not how a small clan can survive.
Terrible how all those people have to deal with the water up to their eyebrows year after year.
Terrible how many people are going to die, become severely disabled due to all those train accidents.
Terrible that we then have to read that there is overdue maintenance, the BRAKES AND SOMETHING )ff forgotten) but just a temporary pendulum.
Way of thinking must change.
And certainly unlearn that people absolutely do not think beyond today.
That's one thing I can't reach with my cap.
Just resign and how to feed their 2 children tomorrow, we'll see.
Remove three names from the book?
Fine.
But then also clearly describe the events/wars/revolutions in the edited book which all happened many years ago
And as you say Paul, close your eyes and there's nothing wrong.
Now just turn that ostrich into a thingchok (?)
He sits down on our patio behind something and we see another piece of tail.
feelyum???
But, all in all, we still think it's a wonderful country and we hope for the population itself, that someone will come who sees the light and can actually convey this to the population.
Dear people, enjoy life, because it only lasts a while.
LOUISE
Thai education will remain poor for many years to come, because there are too few places in Thailand that can provide well-trained teachers.
Furthermore – at least outside the big cities – the primary schools are full of older teachers, who themselves have insufficient knowledge of the subject matter of the primary school to be able to teach that knowledge.
It will take many years before there are enough teachers available to provide all primary schools in Thailand with teachers who are able to deliver students at the level of primary school.