What do Thai children learn about the unique Thai culture
I came across an example of three multiple choice questions at a Thai school. It is not clear whether this concerns the upper classes of a primary school or the first years of a secondary school. This is a test on the subject 'applied science of everyday life'.
Below is the Thai text of the three questions and the four choices of answers. The cross in the student's answer, the circle the correct answer according to the teacher. This is the text from 1.
Below this text the Dutch translation and further explanation.
Here is the translation of the questions and the four possible answers:
- Who is the head of the family? A the father B the mother C uncle (mother's younger brother) D older brother
- What is the father's main job? A earning an income B washing clothes C doing dishes D making food
- Who is responsible for household chores? A the father B the mother C older brother or sister C younger brother or sister
The student answered as follows (the cross):
- the mother (head of the family)
- washing clothes (father's main task))
- the father (responsible for household chores)
The correct answers according to the teacher (the circle):
- the father (head of the family)
- earning income (father's main task)
- mother (responsible for household chores)
According to the teacher, the student in question had answered all three questions incorrectly.
I'm not going to comment further on this, maybe later in the comment box.
I am very curious what the readers think of this?
What experiences do you have with Thai education?
How should it be better?
Tino, are you surprised, that red pencil from the teacher? Not me. Was it a man?
The Thai world is patriarchal; the classic house-tree-animal dominates, dad earns the income and mother is allowed to work on the kitchen counter. I wonder if other teachers think the same way, how female teachers view it and whether the 'houseman' or the working couple does not exist in Thailand…
Annoying, something like that.
Thailand is not that patriarchal in 2022, is it? My experience is that women actually look their 'male' and are quite emancipated. Women often work outside the home and if I'm not mistaken Thailand has the highest percentage of companies run by women in the world.
That this teacher has a different opinion, well… very conservative of course. I would like to know if this is the standard in all Thai schools. He will probably be able to participate in one of the strictly Reformed schools in the Netherlands.
It's true what you say Jahris,
That is, if you also count the countless mobile food shops and mamasans.
Tut, tut, dear Erik. The teacher thinks it should be. But you also know that the reality in Thailand is very diverse. Many women earn the income and are the boss in the house.
But doing laundry? A man really doesn't do that! Imagine! I did that in Thailand at the time, much to the hilarity of the family. I remember my mother-in-law telling me to beat out the laundry before hanging it up.
Unfortunately, not all Thai understand this, despite these lessons in how it's done (just kidding). For example, when I stayed with my girlfriend for the first time, she still had to go to work, after all, vacation days are unfortunately rather sparse. On one of those early days, we bought laundry detergent at the 7-11 and I was told to spin and hang out the laundry. I also had to keep the house on the side, I had time for that if I was alone anyway. When I asked if she, as a woman, shouldn't do anything, I was told a clear 'no'. After all, she was at work so I had to do the other work. My reaction that it "isn't supposed to be like this" I was only laughed at! Isn't it a shame that traditions were ignored? 5555
I suspect that if I had refused (which I wouldn't, I'm not a slacker and not a dinosaur), the relationship wouldn't have lasted. She had ended her previous relationship when he was told to choose between his cigarettes or her…
That is why there is a socially stereotyped “correct” answer but no factually correct answer, which just depends on the situation and the person.
Wasn't really different in my youth (50 years) in the Netherlands. Nowadays we see this differently, I think it will also change in Thailand in the coming years.
Fr greetings Mart
(in NL still)
I think the teacher's answers are indeed the most correct. But you clearly would have preferred “woke” answers.
I have once called Thailand the most feminine country in the world. I have to take that back. Although they are friendly to women. Or should I say polite? Well, they don't immediately pull you off your bike.
You are quite right, Rob. Thailand not the most but a pretty feminine country.
This is what Geert Hofstede understands by masculine and feminine.
A society is masculine when emotional gender roles are clearly separated: men are expected to be assertive, tough and focused on material success; women should be modest and tender and above all focused on the quality of life.
A society is feminine when emotional gender roles overlap: both men and women are expected to be modest, tender and focused on the quality of life.
Geert Hofstede's cultural dimensions state that Thailand ranks in terms of masculinity between China (high) and the Netherlands (low), Thailand is one of the most feminine countries in Asia, though. It is always more and less, never absolute.
You can find that out here:
https://www.hofstede-insights.com/product/compare-countries/
Funny, that masculine and feminine. It's like this. If you put your hand in cold water first, lukewarm water will feel warm, if you put your hand in hot water first, lukewarm water will feel cold. So it is with all those cultural differences.
Perhaps it will also be instructive to read this news story from Khaosod.
https://www.khaosodenglish.com/politics/2022/02/07/thammasats-high-school-denies-teaching-distorted-history/
Excellent test! That is, if it had been used more as a survey like this one. Because actually no answer here is wrong. After administering this test, the teacher held a group discussion or debate in class about the various answers and why other answers would also be possible, but not according to others. Say a lesson in critical thinking, respect for other opinions, mutual understanding etc. Missed opportunity for this teacher. Sad for the students.
First of all: strange questions for this time, also in Thailand.
But let me limit myself to question 2, the acquisition of income. I think that in the farming population, both men and women have always provided income. For the well-to-do urban population, making money used to be probably something that the man was responsible for. But in the present time that is clearly different for the generations up to say 60 years. Often both earn money, sometimes the woman earns the most and sometimes the man.
The teacher's answer is, in my opinion, not only outdated, but also limited to a certain social class.
This social studies test can be compared to some integration questions: some civil servants' committee has collected a lot of stereotype images and the answers that would best fit them. For example: “You moved to a new address, what do you do? 1) I do nothing 2) I send the neighbors a card to introduce themselves 3) I make a cake and ring the doorbell at the neighbors to get acquainted”. The correct answer was option two.. Thailand is a country where the high gentlemen (ladies??) like to remind the people how the hierarchy works and who has what role, so no wonder that the man works from high up in that conservative tower and the woman does nothing at home or takes care of the household. The fact that that kite did not or does not apply to everyone anyway does not matter to the author of the test, it is about making it clear to the children how things should go in the ideal situation… No wonder that youth regularly mock the dinosaurs who believe to steer the country in the right direction.
As far as my experience in this country goes, the traditional, calibrated role pattern is much less present in so-called wealthy or high society.
The man often plays the boss, the woman is the boss.
Maybe that student answered their own situation at home…
I feel more than privileged to have been able to grow up in what is called a family with traditional gender roles.
This has been the path to follow for centuries and now suddenly it seems to be diabolical. Just let men be men and women be women.
Well Fred, I come from a large family with 5 boys and 2 girls from the Groningen countryside. The division of roles was that you did what you were told to do, and one learns by doing. The so-called female tasks are merely talked about and are out again within 1 generation. Because why shouldn't the man be able to do the laundry, clean or take care of the children and more, that has long been researched and men can do it just as well. I've been doing it my adult life, my Thai ex had never touched the washing machine, cleaned and more in 20 years. Even now almost 60 I take care of my 4-year-old child, do the laundry and casually clean the house of my other friends (besides my own), arrange everything for the school and so on. And I earn income just like all my partners. The traditional role patterns only emerged after the 2nd world war, I sometimes read, before everyone was expected to work and help each other. As soon as someone talks about men's or women's tasks, I think there is something wrong, often it is laziness and laziness that causes the man not to do something and the woman to take on the tasks for good measure, but then you are dealing with a man who falls short as a person and lacks certain positive qualities. What is decisive is the time you can use, for example, the woman / man works more hours and the other has relatively more time left, it is reasonable that the other therefore takes on more tasks.
Really, Fred? Tell me, what is an 'ordinary man or woman'? I would not know.
But I understand that you were adamantly against the fact that a woman was head of state in the Netherlands from 1890 to 2013! Just to name a few.
Whether those three answers are right or wrong depends on the family.
In one family father earns a living and in the other family he gets drunk every day with his friends.
So the teacher's questions are nonsensical.
The teacher and/or teacher gives the answer that he/she receives from above. But he/she also knows much better. The student shows the real relationship within the family in Thailand (read Isan).
The government still has a lot of work to do.
Exactly, Teech, I heard that a lot from teachers. 'I would rather do it differently (tell more about Pridi Panomyong) but that is not allowed from above'. If they do, and if the director approves, punishment will follow….
I think the proportions are different in every family in Thailand, it's a wide range.
I wonder if this is really so negative. This culture does not prevent Thai women from holding high positions in business and others. affairs in daily life. In MANY households in Thailand, it is precisely the woman who actually determines the lines, while the man gets the bourgeois prestige. So don't look too one-sidedly at this tradition. In Europe, there are many more problems with the so-called “newly manipulated” division of roles. Do not underestimate the role of women in Thai society, but unlike in the West, she knows how to “remain a woman”. Something we can definitely learn from these ladies
The questions are just bad. And then you can go in any direction with the answers.
Pointless discussion.
A question like: What ended in 1945? Student response: 1944.
I like the questions. Why not? Okay, the question couldn't just be, "who?" but 'who with you?'
It is the choice of answers and the right/wrong assessment of the teacher that creates confusion, refers too much to traditional role models and gives the student an unfair mark.
No, the questions are very bad because they are not unequivocal and so the answers cannot be judged by preconceived criteria (the teacher's right/wrong is just as much the student's wrong/right). In addition, the answer categories are not sufficient and contain biases and assumptions that may not be correct:
– what if there is no father and/or no mother in the family; or younger or older uncles?
– what if the child does not know where the money comes from
– what if the household chores are done by more than 1 person
– does it concern the family to which the child belongs? (then all answers are correct except perhaps question 2 if there is no father)
– is it an ideal image of Thai society?
– is it about what the Thai majority or minority think?
– is it about what the majority or minority of Thais do?
In short: nonsense these questions.
The teacher should be reprimanded not for his judgment but for his incompetent questions.
Fine, Chris, you're mostly right, except for the following.
A judgment is implied in the incompetent questions and incomplete answers, and it is that judgment on which the student is fobbed off with right/wrong and a grade. That is the crux of this issue. The teacher believes that the father should be the head of the family, earn the income and the mother should take care of the household chores. The student must agree to this for a good grade.
In my opinion, the teacher should also be reprimanded for his judgement.
These kinds of tests are rarely made by the teacher themselves, but are part of the relevant part of the curriculum. That applies to the questions, that applies to the answer categories and what is considered right or wrong.
If the Dutch civic integration exam contains the same stupid question with a certain assessment of what is right or wrong (just try to do the civic integration exam yourself for fun; it's not easy as a Dutchman), is the teacher liable (does he have to be fingers are tapped) or the person who takes the integration exam?
For several years I have been involved in several local government projects here in Southern Thailand, working with primary and secondary schools, and 2 universities. My personal experience, the level of education in Thailand is simply hallucinatory, the subject matter often raises your eyebrows. Then I'm not going to talk about critical thinking, that is simply nipped in the bud! Most teachers are not motivated. I love this country, but the education is really sad.
The subject this test is about is indeed called 'social studies' in the Netherlands.
It is not clear whether the student taking this test was a boy or a girl. It could very well be that the student gives the answer of his/her family. Or maybe the answer is a big middle finger to 'traditional Thai family values'.
We can discuss the Thai situation long and wide, which is nice and good, but the gist of this test is this:
If the student gives an WRONG answer, he will receive a bad grade. This test is not about knowledge, but about a moral question: what is right or wrong in Thai society. That has consequences.
A teacher would be better off giving an assignment for an essay with a discussion afterwards or a class discussion with the following questions:
How are the tasks divided in your home? Who earns the money, who does the housework? What are the duties of father, mother, children and others? What do you do yourself?
Who is the boss? Do you also talk together?
What does everyone think about that? Is it going well or sometimes wrong?
Please give your own opinion about what it is like at your home.
Then you promote the knowledge of the students and do not impose anything from above.
“How are the tasks divided in your home? Who earns the money, who does the housework? What are the duties of father, mother, children and others? What do you do yourself?
Who is the boss? Do you also talk together?"
Well, my dad ran away from my mom when I was a baby and I've never seen him. My mother works in Bangkok and comes home twice a year. And sends some money every month. She now has a new boyfriend, my stepfather, but he doesn't like children at all because they cost money that he prefers to spend on booze.
I help my grandpa and grandma who are raising me now. My grandfather is ok, earns a little money doing odd jobs in the village, but my grandmother has high blood pressure and diabetes. I think my older brother, 16, is the boss in the house. He does exactly what he likes and doesn't listen to anyone, not even my grandparents. He also argues with them a lot. I think he could be a little less obstinate, but my mother can no longer control him, although she texts him every few days.
Very nice! And let's go around all those different stories! That will make us wiser! No condemnation, but looking for causes and solutions.
Tino,
Is this a recent test? In the Netherlands, except for a few strict Reformed schools, a test with those questions and desired answers should have been at least 65 years ago.
And was this a state school? In rural areas?
I find these test questions illustrative of the level of Thai education. That the compilers of the educational curriculum want to waste class time on this!
I also find the sentence above the questions funny/sad: Sometimes the wrong behavior [of whom? From father and mother?/Of the child?] cause a child to fail the exam/test.
Good questions, TheoB. No, I don't know from which school and I suspect a recent test, but that is nowhere in the tweet.
I think what is meant here is 'the teacher's wrong behaviour'.
This is a progressive school! No uniforms or compulsory hairstyle. But it is attacked. sigh…
https://www.khaosodenglish.com/politics/2022/02/07/thammasats-high-school-denies-teaching-distorted-history/