Bkk Brian

All part of the plan, run out of ATK's already............ ATK test kits out of stock, groups call for an end to student testing Antigen Test Kits (ATKs) are running out of stock, the Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO) said on Wednesday, leading to concerns over the high price of second hand markets and hoarding issues. The GPO announced earlier that 3.5 million ATKs will be sold to members of the public at a price of 35 baht per kit starting from January 14. It has since sold out. The shortage of ATK test kits at times when case numbers are rising due to Omicron has caused concern among members of the public over price increases and hoarding issues. https://www.thaienquirer.com/36680/atk-test-kits-out-of-stock-groups-call-for-an-end-to-student-testing/

Ok so you assume what he meant and I will do the same. As for kids being dumbed down, well thats your opinion but I would agree in Thailand government schools it certainly seems that way

The topic of the thread is more than the headline, perhaps you missed my points on funding on the OP article and Thailand's world educational rankings in the article. Then giving an example from an international school on how better outcomes can achieved. However you stick to the blackboard and chalk.

Got you and agree on most points. There is also the other aspect of teaching styles and how a teacher engages with the students which I have always found very important. The more a teacher invests in educational outcomes through lesson planning and being attentive to individual needs the better the outcomes. Treat the students with respect and you gain respect in return. Returning to my points on tech, I've experienced both, when I was at school with no meaningful technology to facilitate and the here and now when there is. Following my daughters recent years progression in education, tech has certainly helped in all subjects including Maths with some excellent interactive programmes that are indiviually set to a persons level of achievement and challenge them in an investigation based comprehensive curriculum that assists all students levels, its an excellent add on to the normal 4 times a week school lessons. Moving on some of the projects that have been carried out by her in other subjects are dependent on her own investigation. For example a recent history project was the "Black Death" The only guidance given was the length of essay needed, bullet points covered and guidance on possible websites to visit. This approach relied on the students ability to be independent in investigation, engage with the subject achieving a real interest in the outcome. End results a piece of work they can call their own and be proud of. However wishful thinking for a Thai government school as everybody needs their own laptop and internet but still something to aspire to if they ever get round to overhauling the whole sorry state of affairs including the rife corruption.

Don't assume what we are discussing are the same things, my responses have been tailored to one specific post which I find to be nonsense: "Technology is generally a distraction from education. All you need to educate children is decent text books for the kids and a blackboard with chalk for the teachers." However my discussions with you have come to an end from my side

Yes whats also variable is the stage of the outbreak, South Africa's peak of over 20,000 a day was over a month ago and has been declining rapidly since then. Malaysia and South Korea's testing are all far better per capita than Thailand's so figures can be a little more trust worthy.

PCR test positive cases, total of 7,122 official new infections. 12 official covid deaths recorded. Rapid tests positive cases, 1,999 bringing the total of PCR and ATK results to 9,121 https://ddc.moph.go.th/covid19-dashboard/ Rolling 7 day average chart not included as it has not been updated since the 14th Jan, almost as if the statisticians at Our world in Data have given up on Thailand! https://ourworldindata.org/coronavirus/country/thailand

That's like trying to say that there is no need to move with the times because we can ignore all other developments as how we do it now will always be the best way. So can I but I was never disputing that its not possible, read my post again. Thailand actually has a very good Education budget, in fact its 5% of GDP and 20% of the country's fiscal budget had been allocated, far more than many countries. However budget allocations to local authorities in Thailand came to merely 16% of the total. More than enough to move on from a blackboard and chalk. Where does all this money go? Because instead of being used effectively Thailand's inequality in education and its standing in world comparisons will always be dismal.

My response was not about wheeling out a TV.

no it was about the comment made by a poster that all that was needed to provide education in Thailand is a blackboard , chalk and books. That may have been enough years ago and can continue to be for third world countries. it is not enough in this day and age for Thailand. It’s as simple as that. If you believe it is and accept it as such, then you are part of the problem as to why Thailand performs so badly in educating its own children as proved in the link I provided.

Don't believe a word of it. If they go ahead and withdraw the operating licence of Amnesty International Thailand along with their media ethics draft law its "nothing short of a declaration of war against press freedom in Thailand & the public’s right to be informed with diverse news,views and transparency"

Hardly a theory in my head but a proven evidence based curriculum, in this case for many international schools here, the Cambridge curriculum. This comprises of international standard teaching in the core subjects of Maths, Science, English, Computer Science, in fact the whole range to ICGSE standard external tests followed by A level external tests and entry to some of the best Universities in the world. I've had one daughter in the UK who went through it a doing very well and one son who moved here and is now an accounts manager for a large company here in Phuket already go down this route. My younger daughter is now in year 9 here learning the core subjects as well as the more advanced tech ones. Like I said if Thailand wants to aspire to being a developed country their education currently sucks, a blackboard, chalk and books are not enough. "The shortcomings of Thailand's education system have again been exposed by international education rankings, with Thai students scoring well below global averages in core subjects, namely mathematics, science and literacy." https://www.cola.kku.ac.th/colakkuarticle/index.php/101-global-tests-expose-reality-of-thai-schools-daniel-maxwell-peerasit-kamnuansilpa

You missed the string of my point which is that tech is essential to prepare a student for real life. A blackboard and books alone can teach the basic core subjects especially in a third or developing world. However if Thailand is aspiring for developed world status then they need the tools to do that. I.T. provides and facilitates that process. As for you learning coding on a blackboard with no computer to test the process....lol. A bit like learning to ride a bike with no bike to try out the results.

How long ago was that and how long before you had to actually demonstrate your new found learning on a computer rather than a blackboard.

Agree. For just one example. There is a national shortage of coders in the UK. My daughter here in an International school has carried out many robotic coding projects and developed some basic apps. Most good International schools provide these basic introductions into real world benefits. Not something that can be achieved with chalk and a blackboard.

Very sad state of affairs As many as 1.2 million school-age children have dropped out of school, an equivalent of 16 out of every 100 school children, said Attapol Sangkwasi, secretary general of the Education Council on Tuesday. Factors include poverty, being made orphan following parents who have to migrate to seek work and lack of equipment to engage in online education as required during COVID-19 pandemic. "What's more, a Unicef report states that the abilities of students to read and write have dropped by 30 percent," said Attapol.

That article is dated 17th Jan however it was originally published on the 29th Dec, not sure why the Express is re hashing it as the original looks the same as this one. The WHO report it refers too is also the one held back in Dec and a lot has happened since then with its updates and deaths. However I agree, Omicron is certainly milder than delta and hopefully is the end in the making. https://web.archive.org/web/20220101031550/https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/1531607/How-deadly-is-Omicron-variant-WHO-report-evg

PCR test positive cases, total of 6,397 official new infections. 18 official covid deaths recorded. Rapid tests positive cases, 1,880 bringing the total of PCR and ATK results to 8,277 https://ddc.moph.go.th/covid19-dashboard/ Rolling 7 day average chart (up to 14th Jan) not updated for 4 days which is unusual, other countries have been updated. https://ourworldindata.org/coronavirus/country/thailand

Well apparently one of the 9 reasons Thailand has combated the Omicron wave over other countries is because people here have daily showers unlike those from the west? ???? Thailand’s Omicron wave ‘stabilising’ despite global surge Chalermchai said Thailand’s success in preventing a sharp rise in cases came from a combination of nine measures. These were: the work-from-home policy, ATK screening for employees who had to go into work, mandatory face masks for police and the public, eating meals separately, avoiding crowded or poorly ventilated areas, faster mass vaccination, tighter disease controls, taking daily showers and not hugging one another like Westerners, and warm weather compared to winter in Western nations. https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40011198

Not true that all covid positive deaths are reported this way within 28 days unless there is a genuine reason to do so by the medical examiners. For instance its totally false that a road traffic death is labelled as a covid death just because they were found to be positive beforehand. Plenty of links to give full explanations on how covid deaths are reported in the UK and the 2 different lists they use, however you'll need to do some reading up on it. Then you'll see why what you are stating is incorrect unless you give the required context s well. Deaths that have covid on the death certificate as one of the causes of death are generally higher daily than those within 28 days because of the lag in reporting. You can view this for yourself here https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/deaths For information on headline contexts: "If someone dies from a non-Covid-19 related cause e.g. Car crash, heart attack, cancer but has received a positive test result within 28 days prior to the death occurring, will that death then be included in the coronavirus daily figures?" https://www.ons.gov.uk/aboutus/transparencyandgovernance/freedomofinformationfoi/whetherthosewhohavediedfromacaraccidentwithcovid19willbecountedinonsstatistics Or: Behind the headlines: Counting COVID-19 deaths https://ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2020/08/12/behind-the-headlines-counting-covid-19-deaths/

The second was an 84-year-old terminal cancer patient from Udon Thani. She was unvaccinated. https://twitter.com/ThaiEnquirer/status/1482952907800838145

However if they had deliberately left that information out then people here would be questioning how a bedridden woman got covid in the first place, who visited her? Possibly coming up with all sorts of speculation. This report provided all the facts needed on that question and also shows the reality of what can happen when visitors come to see you even if you yourself are isolated due to health.

I'm waiting for comments from international experts or WHO to explain why Thailand has been so successful in obliterating the highly transmissible Omicron wave. I suspect they are just rolling their eyes, or as WHO mentioned in a press briefing a few days ago that many countries were finding challenges in testing.. ????

PCR test positive cases, total of 6,929 official new infections. 13 official covid deaths recorded. Rapid tests positive cases, 1,740 bringing the total of PCR and ATK results to 8,669 https://ddc.moph.go.th/covid19-dashboard/ Rolling 7 day average chart (up to 14th Jan) https://ourworldindata.org/coronavirus/country/thailand

The more important aspect that this raises for me is how this was handled with the grandson depending on how old he is and his understanding. Hopefully plenty of consideration will have been given to avoid him feeling guilt for the rest of his life. The debate on the victim ie Omicron the cause and her obvious age and health status is a very poor secondary consideration. If she had been involved in a car accident ended up fighting for her life in ICU and died she would have been classified as a road traffic victim, despite her age possibly contributing to her death. Omicron was the trigger for this and so Omicron is to blame for her earlier than anticipated death.