chonabot

How old are your kids?

This is a big factor in the education issue.

I spent the last 2 years in Thailand and my,now, 14 year old son was in Thai education for that time.

It was an interesting period education-wise to say the least.

I actually taught at the same school, very enlightening.

I'm an English teacher who has a penchant for walnuts...

Pm me the link please - very interested and good luck

Tot Siens

No worries, I thought you meant a sexy view of the room and occupant(s)

I seldom find architecture or city views all that sexy to be honest.

I'm on the wrong forum again - d'oh

Try Heaven on Soi 4 - Funnily enough the taxi drivers only know it as 'Hotel Kevin'

ps A 'Friend' told me this......

A Finnish teacher (15 years experience) averages about 37,500 us a year (3125 a month or over 93,000 Baht). I don't think Thailand has any respect for its teachers because of the very poor compensation that is offered.

Helsinki, and the rest of Finland is a very expensive place to love and work

The day I'll have a child.

Have you invested a similar measure of inquisition into meeting the would-be mother?

Real people make good or bad choices and live with the consequences, but I forgot, this is the age of the internet....back to my cave and sorry for annoying thee

Why should their job choice be an issue with your understanding of Buddha?

Understand the Dhamma first before your naive query

And how did you acquire your bespoke knowledge?

Oh hang on..this is Payak again..same same...carry on oh Muay Thai specialist

The average Joe six pack in 'straya' is as thick as pig pooh. I went back there to study for three years with my wife and son after living here for near to a decade. YES there are some educated Aussies, some that think outside the box but most of the young Uni students I spoke to while there are now products of an 'Americanized' version of education....put people into little groups and make them specialize in that one thing only..don't think outside the box, general knowledge, the humanities are useless as they don't generate enough 'profit'. I had some of the most banal conversations of my life talking with a lot of these so called 'educated' westerners. They just wanted to study there specialization, get out and get the highest salary possible to buy 'stuff' with. All too few of them had any real views or ideas in how the country was being run, it just didn't cross their minds. They really couldn't see that they had any real power, everything was being decided for them by people who 'knew about stuff'. Its pathetic really. The country is being run by thought police controlled by unaccountable corporations, with corrupt governments sucking on their privates and the media is owned by all of the above. What use is the education system when it only churns out drones?

I am happy to be in Thailand with my wife and son. I am not sending him to an international school. I am sending him to a good private school. I am teaching here, my wife is also a teacher. I am taking charge of his education. I am taking charge of showing him the world, how it really works without the skewed perspectives sponsored by Pepsi or the military industrial complex infecting his brain with the lust for material possessions at any cost. YES there are many drones here to but I will make sure as a father that my boy, being fully Bilingual can take advantage of really understanding the world from both perspectives. Luek krueng kids that are smart, speak English fluently can have a good future here, especially with ASEAN around the corner. I would rather my kid be in that boat than be some average Aussie bogan that lives for a house in the boring suburbs, lives for the next game of footy to watch with his bogan mates and thinks that culture is something you get when you make yoghurt.

Was that a rant, hell yes!

After reading that I hope your not teaching English.

They were 2 big ass paragraphs.

Yet again you miss some very good points and focus on an irrelevant one.

Paragraphs can be as large as the author wishes as long as they contain the same theme.

Yes, you are similar in your mindset to the Thai educated people - well done!

I wrote many MA thesis/theses for Thai teachers and all they were concerned about was the font that was used in the finished product.

I was going to make a few more points but they would be wasted, pearls to swine

What makes you think I missed your good points.

If they were only concerned with the font, perhaps that was the only interesting part of your Thesis.

As you said, I am like an educated Thai so change your font and I may focus on you points next time, How did you come to write these for Thai teachers anyway.

.

I agree, very boring essays, but they passed the course.

It was part of my job description - " To help Thai teachers with conversation and research issues"

Many NES speaking teachers have a similar experience, no doubt

OP, the Education System here is worse than you think. I cannot even start thinking how it can be improved without major changes in culture, attitudes, politics, nepotism, corruption etc.

Thai kids are overworked, not stupid, yet their attainment level is low. Not their assessment. The knowledge! This is a result of the whole system discouraging them to think, to question instead of memorizing and repeating.

Critical thinking cannot co-exist with 'wai', keeping one's head low, concept of 'face loss' etc. To change this you must start with the educators of teachers, than teachers, than students and kids. And where to fit the parents???

I was spending 3 hrs at one BKK Uni, waiting for a friend. There were Exams in progress. I had a chance to look at how students learn. Not one book! Not one textbook! Not one handwritten note book! EVERY student had a printed copy of their Reader/Lecturer Notes. This was scary! The subject was Political Economics for crying out loud!

Two years ago I was asked to have a look at a young lady's PhD thesis only from point of view of English. It had something to do with Thai Tourism Economics. I lasted only 3 pages, than apologized. Gibberish! Cows moo-ing in bad English.

I'm sure she got her PhD by now...

My wife's daughter (a lovely kid, just going to Uni) studied English for 9 years! She is a very hard working student. Result? - zero, zelch, nicht, nada... - cannot speak! I have learned English in 3 years at the age of 20-23...

I am sorry...

9 years and cannot speak, and you don't think she is partly to blame, my Wife was fluent in half that time.

Why do you argue against facts? Just egging people on?

This exactly the Op's Modus Operandi.

When I realised who his previous incarnation/username was, then the satang finally dropped

Yep, all par for the course.

At schools with higher socioeconomic background students, their behavior is immaculate and they are very very well motivated.

Some "international program" schools run by Thai management are relatively very good - I've taught at Satit Kaset - but these aren't available to expats, have to register your hi-so kids at birth basically.

My son was accepted at Mahasarakam Satit school, however, the donation that they expected was not accepted by me or my bank manager ( wife)

I wrote many MA thesis/theses for Thai teachers and all they were concerned about was the font that was used in the finished product.

-

Comic Sans being the most popular I assume?

Spot on , although I felt that 'Comic' was more appropriate.

The average Joe six pack in 'straya' is as thick as pig pooh. I went back there to study for three years with my wife and son after living here for near to a decade. YES there are some educated Aussies, some that think outside the box but most of the young Uni students I spoke to while there are now products of an 'Americanized' version of education....put people into little groups and make them specialize in that one thing only..don't think outside the box, general knowledge, the humanities are useless as they don't generate enough 'profit'. I had some of the most banal conversations of my life talking with a lot of these so called 'educated' westerners. They just wanted to study there specialization, get out and get the highest salary possible to buy 'stuff' with. All too few of them had any real views or ideas in how the country was being run, it just didn't cross their minds. They really couldn't see that they had any real power, everything was being decided for them by people who 'knew about stuff'. Its pathetic really. The country is being run by thought police controlled by unaccountable corporations, with corrupt governments sucking on their privates and the media is owned by all of the above. What use is the education system when it only churns out drones?

I am happy to be in Thailand with my wife and son. I am not sending him to an international school. I am sending him to a good private school. I am teaching here, my wife is also a teacher. I am taking charge of his education. I am taking charge of showing him the world, how it really works without the skewed perspectives sponsored by Pepsi or the military industrial complex infecting his brain with the lust for material possessions at any cost. YES there are many drones here to but I will make sure as a father that my boy, being fully Bilingual can take advantage of really understanding the world from both perspectives. Luek krueng kids that are smart, speak English fluently can have a good future here, especially with ASEAN around the corner. I would rather my kid be in that boat than be some average Aussie bogan that lives for a house in the boring suburbs, lives for the next game of footy to watch with his bogan mates and thinks that culture is something you get when you make yoghurt.

Was that a rant, hell yes!

After reading that I hope your not teaching English.

They were 2 big ass paragraphs.

Yet again you miss some very good points and focus on an irrelevant one.

Paragraphs can be as large as the author wishes as long as they contain the same theme.

Yes, you are similar in your mindset to the Thai educated people - well done!

I wrote many MA thesis/theses for Thai teachers and all they were concerned about was the font that was used in the finished product.

I was going to make a few more points but they would be wasted, pearls to swine

It seems you started a thread and are not really liking the responses, some of them from educators with experience in both camps.

I ended my 'Sarcastic' remark with a smiley, having used this board since 2003 I believe that means no offense meant.

I like the responses and believe they are correct, just don't like smart ass remarks.

Why did you include the school dinner reference in the first place?

well to most it would be obvious that was one of many points, you just tried to make it look like I was saying it's all about the dinners, you new full well that's not what I meant.

It's hard to talk to people when they do that, leads to many BS posts.

Perhaps you could be so good as to read my original post?

I merely referred to it at the end of a post that included 3 valid points.

You chose to ignore those and focus on a smiley laden quip - your loss

It seems you started a thread and are not really liking the responses, some of them from educators with experience in both camps.

I ended my 'Sarcastic' remark with a smiley, having used this board since 2003 I believe that means no offense meant.

I like the responses and believe they are correct, just don't like smart ass remarks.

Why did you include the school dinner reference in the first place?

Total bullxxxx. Australian literacy rate is 98% (source UNESCO http://www.unesco.org/uil/litbase/?menu=9&programme=133). Thailand is 94% (source UNESCO http://www.unesco.org/uil/litbase/?menu=9&programme=98).

Literacy can be high but the country's productivity and level of innovation can still be low. A country with a good education system creates critical thinkers rather than textbook regurgitate-rs. Students in Thailand are in a culture where challenging the teacher and asking questions is frowned upon and the students simply take in everything they hear. If Thailand's education system isn't bad then why is Thailand no where near the level of Singapore or Japan? Neither country has any resources and their extremely well educated workforce is their prime resource and they make use if it very well.

or do you just pic pieces out of peoples posts without reading all.

Oh the irony....Too funny...I'm done contributing with actual facts and references

It seems you started a thread and are not really liking the responses, some of them from educators with experience in both camps.

I ended my 'Sarcastic' remark with a smiley, having used this board since 2003 I believe that means no offense meant.

I think you really need to teach in a Government Thai School before you can make an accurate comparison.

The Thai teachers at my school did not even follow the correct curriculum and were often giving extra marks to their favourite students.

These were the ones that bought the teacher's Amway products, usually

My son (14) also attended such a school for one year and is now back in a Western School - a world of difference IMO.

These are just a few of the areas that there are huge differences in, you need a real close look at the Thai education system before you can make a valid comment along those lines.

There is more to education than school dinners

I wear trousers, a long-sleeved cotton shirt, top button done up and a tie, just as I would in the UK. Luckily, I sweat very little.

Heat?? what heat?!

Simon

Perhaps you have a hydration problem

It hits over 50 celsius in a class room without a/c and fans, plus the active little buggers running around in close proximity.

When I teach I put a fair bit of energy into the lesson and walk around the class a lot.

Even the lazy Thai teachers sweat in these classrooms

I think sweating in that heat is healthy and 'lucky'

A set of slacks ( hate that word ) and a long or short sleeved shirt, smart shoes.

One tip I picked up to avoid sweating is to wear a very thin white T shirt under the shirt.

It may raise your body temp, but it stops the sweat patches nicely.

This worked for me in a class with no fans and 60 kids, so it must be good!

"Vestiges of Military Rule"

Wouldn't it be nice if the schools would have the Royal Anthem instead, swear allegiance to the King, and the teachers would look and feel like mentors instead of guards?

Most of them do , mine did anyway....