Parents urged to get more involved in educating their kids

By THE NATION

 

 

SCHOOLS should educate parents about child-raising, child development and the proper support for children’s learning, the Thailand Education Partnership (TEP) has recommended.

 

 “Parents should be educated about the significance of their role and how to play it,” Thailand Development Research Institute president Dr Somkiat Tangkitvanich said. “Parents, after all, can bolster children’s learning by as much as 40 per cent.” 

 

He was speaking at the TEP’s two-day forum last weekend, which addressed how to improve Thailand’s educational sector. 

Many prominent figures attended the forum, including former prime minister Anand Panyarachun.

 

Anand said everyone had a role to play in the country’s education and all parties must stop thinking that the government was solely responsible for education issues. 

 

“Parents should recognise that they are the first persons to take care of their children’s education,” he said. 

 

Anand, the son of a school executive, added that the civil sector and the private sector must also contribute to the improvement of Thailand’s educational quality. 

 

“Only after all parties involved recognise and do their duty, can positive changes happen. Without a change in mindset, no blueprint can alter Thai education for the better,” he said. 

 

He added that while educators should be eager to learn, “parents, meanwhile, should provide support and create learning opportunities for their children”. 

 

Anand said parents should encourage their children to learn based on their potential and interests. 

 

“Schools should ensure they are inspiring places for children,” he said. “Teachers should help children identify their potential and boost it.” 

 

Communities and the society should also help provide safe after-school learning spaces. 

 

 

Somkiat said children should have at least six qualities: morality, self-knowledge, a sense of belonging, embrace teamwork, citizen participation and be savvy with technology. 

 

“A learning environment should prepare children well for the challenging world and upcoming change,” he said. 

 

Somkiat said children should learn to socialise and constantly improve themselves. They must be keen to learn new things and have the courage to handle reality.

 

“Train children to think and be practical. Give them the necessary skills such as discipline and the ability to work with others,” Somkiat said. 

 

He said to provide children with such skills, relevant parties should encourage children’s curiosity, train them to ask the right questions and teach them how to find answers. 

 

He said the TEP had recently surveyed 1,142 people in 15 provinces regarding what qualities children of the new generation should have. 

 

Ninety-one per cent of those asked said that children should be IT-adept. About 87 per cent said that children should have good learning abilities and 86 per cent said children must know themselves and should be able to work with others. About 84 per cent said children should be good citizens and 82 per cent expected them to uphold good values. 

 

TEP has proposed that all relevant parties should organise activities for children so they can identify their aptitude and interests.

 

“Also, we believe school directors and school executives should receive leadership development support,” Somkiat said. 

 

He added that the TEP would work with the Office of Higher Education Commission to improve teachers. 

 

“We will also identify prime movers and engage them in education-development efforts,” he said.

 

He said that the TEP also hoped to encourage the government to give greater independence to schools.

 

“We will also try to help upgrade schools and their networks.” 

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30345290

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-05-14

1 hour ago, webfact said:

 “Parents should be educated about the significance of their role and how to play it,” Thailand Development Research Institute president Dr Somkiat Tangkitvanich said. “Parents, after all, can bolster children’s learning by as much as 40 per cent.” 

parents should be told they are parents ? given the low effectiveness of the thai education system, 40 per cent sounds very low

2 hours ago, webfact said:

“Teachers should help children identify their potential and boost it.” 

But we see almost the opposite. Kids made to look alike, dress alike, march to the tune and stand exactly in line.

With the education system being as it is I do understand though that parents need to do more because if they dont the place will end up a total mess. They need to teach responsibility, the consequences that follow bad behavior, responsible road use, correct disposal of rubbish and prepare them for a life of work, probably with low pay that they need to manage correctly. One look at the underage kids racing through the village on motorbikes, chucking their plastic bags on the roadside and still looking at their i-phones when they come out of school leaves me wondering just what they have been learning all day. 

Sadly, most parents are not interested in what their children do at school! My daughter has attended a college for dramatic arts for the last 4 years as a boarder! Every time there is a concert or event of any description we make the 160km round trip to support it. Apart from a French guy and his Thai wife who is also a teacher at the college, plus another British guy, there are no other parents! Usually these events involve around 100+ students. Where is the support from parents?

Sent from my Lenovo A3000-H using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

I would never trust my child's education to an institution. Not in any country. 

Why would I give the responsibility of something so essential to my child's growth to a stranger ?

Most will end up with a masters degree in embezzlement with not to much effort. 

It's about time Thai schools got more involved in educating their kids.

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Anand said everyone had a role to play in the country’s education and all parties must stop thinking that the government was solely responsible for education issues. 

Seems like they already start shifting blame for even lower results on the next international comparison charts.

That is really the biggest joke I ever read, my house is next to two schools, one Buddhist school, and one government school, what I see is that the teachers need to be educated how to teach and about behavior.

2 hours ago, Lungstib said:

They need to teach responsibility, the consequences that follow bad behavior,

If only ‘responsibilty’ and ‘concequences’ for actions were taught. Who will teach them for a start?   Is there even a Thai translation?

 

11 minutes ago, peperobi said:

That is really the biggest joke I ever read, my house is next to two schools, one Buddhist school, and one government school, what I see is that the teachers need to be educated how to teach and about behavior.

I've seen the same. Doesn't really give one hope. Any attempt by whitey to point out what might be done to improve things is considered cultural imperialism. What you might call a catch-22.

Normally I would agree, but here in Thailand it’s rather the opposite. The more Thai kids listens to their family, the more likely they are to become illogical, impatient, uneducated, planless, moneywasting woowooers themselves, just like their family.


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

5 hours ago, webfact said:

"SCHOOLS should educate parents about child-raising, child development and the proper support for children’s learning...."

A well meaning statement but the education system and schools haven't yet learned how to educate children. How on earth are they going to educate parents?  

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Somkiat said children should have at least six qualities: morality, self-knowledge, a sense of belonging, embrace teamwork, citizen participation and be savvy with technology. 

I have to agree, fine qualities indeed. Who are they going to learn morality from? Not the schools surely? Next to the RTP the education system is one of the most corrupt institutions in Thailand.

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Anand said parents should encourage their children to learn based on their potential and interests.

Most parents already do; not hard considering their children's zero potential and interests in computer games, mobile phones, riding motorcycles like lunatics and tv!

 

Then there are the parents who think their little Somchais and Somchaiesses are going to be doctors, rocket scientists, lawyers, etc, that push their children so hard, with after school and weekend classes. 

 

But, on the whole, most parents don't give a toss, as long as their free-time isn't interupted.

 

As far as the education system is concerned, as long as there's the "Every student will pass" attitude, most students have no incentive to learn, leading the way to zero potential, and a daily routine of computer games, etc, because that's all they can do.

 

Sure,  parents need to take a more active role.  But instead of laying the blame on the parents, the education system needs to be brought up to the 21st century, where students can realise that there's a light at the end of the tunnel.

How can Thai parents educate their children when they received such appallingly poor education themselves, both at home and at school ?   It's just one generation of 'Monkey see, Monkey do' clones after another.

 

Just be involved with any Thai Woman and watch how her family live and act as a family in the broadest sense and one will see that it will take another Century to 'hopefully' change things for the better.

 

 

Sad to read the comments in here and in particular from many of you who are already embedded in families here.

 

Unless the behavioural change happens, the poor education situation is never going to be any different.

7 hours ago, webfact said:

children should have at least six qualities: morality, self-knowledge, a sense of belonging, embrace teamwork, citizen participation and be savvy with technology. 

Being a pessimist in the Thai educational system, I'm tempted to expand on these qualities:

1. morality - Buddhist morality that seems to lend itself to corruption and deception
2. self-knowledge - what you need to know to make Bt320 per day
3. sense of belonging - you belong to the State
4. teamwork - you all achieve the same level of ignorance
5. citizen participation - obey the unelected government
6. technology savvy - keeping Facebook and LINE accounts current

What a BS.

The reality is different. In most cases the kids are "educated" by Grand parents. And the kids "learn" from the old ancient people not living in 2018 really, not living in an century of digitalization and globalization.

The reality is that Thailand's education system cannot compete with those in their neighboring countries.....Singapore, CHINA. 

It make no sense to address the parents but move into 2018 and not, as I see, 50 years back.

Sadly, until you get rid of the Thai school mindset that under no circumstances do you ever question a teacher, whose word is law, nothing will change.

When parents need to be told they should be more involved in educating their kids... It's like asking the lad to go check on the lock of the box after the horse has already bolted: too bloody late! But 'permissive' education, with all the accompanying false reasons and excuses used by parents simply not caring for their off-spring, is a major pest in current society, and will rather get worse than better, ...in most countries (far from only in Thailand, where the problem rather seems to be a lack of demonstrative parental authority, IMO finding its origin more in lazyness than in an approval of the concept).

Shifting the blame for Thailand's poor education system onto parents. Incredible.

 

I wonder how he explains the huge industry of after school private tutoring classes that are sourced and paid for by said apathetic parents.

Great suggestion but unfortunately the average Thai parent doesn't know anything about being a parent in its basic sense and they just don't care

A good move, but will a majority of parents plus guardians make the effort..?

 

More pro -activness to educate the young should  be demonstrated by the media, civil servants, and so on, from all walks of life from all societies.

 

Respect seems to be lacking, 

 

Having taught here for 10 years ( now stopped ). I can tell you that schools lie to parents almost daily , the test results are manipulated and any extra curricular activity paid fopr by the parents is certainly non-educational. 

teachers hold a perceived status which is erroneously given as many do not in my book even deserve the respect they demand and often get.

 

Teachers teach educational  subjects, parents should teach the rest, unfortunately here parents often know less and it is grand-parents who teach the children and they are 30-40 years out of date apart from CULTURE which will NEVER give you an education . 

Edited May 14, 20188 yr by Khun Paul
minor changes

9 hours ago, Bob12345 said:

Seems like they already start shifting blame for even lower results on the next international comparison charts.

Its all the fault of the bad Falang teachers, in Thailand. 

It can't be the governments fault or the crap Thai teachers . 

 

This is Mum and Dads contribution to there child's education.

well done. 

 

Edited May 14, 20188 yr by stanleycoin

Even educated parents have a hard time helping in their childrens education as they are at

least 10 years out of touch with the latest ways. The Grand parents are 30 to 40 years out of

date. The Thai schools are not as advanced either so even if the teacher is doing a good job

the children do not get the top world standard education.  If the dumb students who do not

try to learn keep getting passed to the next grade they can and will drag the quality of the

class down in the following grades until they finally give up and go out and work, at some

job that only needs physical skills. So good luck to all who have children going to school in

Thailand, Asia, and the USA. I believe that there are even some big cities in Canada that have

substandard schools, colleges, and even Universities. I am just glad that I am not a parent. I have watched

my sisters and brothers children and feel bad enough.

Geezer

Edited May 14, 20188 yr by Stargrazer9889
error

Current  Thai method of educating kid  =...............mainly because they are bone idle, they dont deserve to have any children, unfortunately it doesnt  take much intelligence to get one!!

Edited May 14, 20188 yr by kannot