Saturday School brings real-world skills to children

By SANDY LEEGUMJORN 
THE NATION 

 

 

THE SATURDAY SCHOOL project is now back – to educate children, inspire its volunteers and benefit the public. Under the project, children can attend various extracurricular activities.

 

“Our lives should not revolve only around school classes. After going to school from Monday to Friday, let’s learn about the real world and related skills on Saturdays,” said Athapol Anunthavorasakul, an academic from Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Education and an adviser of this project.

 

He said teachers at this special school were volunteers who could be “change-makers”. 

 

“Volunteers are here to make a difference in the children’s lives,” he said at the launch of the Saturday School Season 6.5 on July 21.

The project gathers volunteers with the same goal: to bring out the children’s talents. Each season will last up to eight weeks. There are various activities and games such as acting, creating art, playing instruments, playing board games and more.

 

“I like the feeling of going to school on Saturdays, when I see these kids running up to me and asking what we are going to learn. It feels amazing to know that these kids were waiting for me and this makes me feel valuable, even when I’m just an ordinary salary earner,” said Sarada Chokewaree, a volunteer from Saturday School season 5. “Volunteering for this campaign is one of the best decisions in my life, which has changed me for the better.”

 

The Saturday School project is now in its third year, pursuing the goal of teaching skills and bringing out the children’s talents, which worked really well in the past seasons. Volunteers were able to pass their knowledge on to these children and soon they became like a family. 

 

“What we have learned from school might not be enough for future jobs. Sometimes we have to learn life-skills to function effectively in the future,” said Worapon Tanpoonkiat, during a volunteer talk.

 

“We were surprised how talented these children were. We believe that they will grow up to become a tower of strength for this country,” said Athapol.

 

What the volunteers have learned from these children will be used to further improve and teach other children in future seasons.

“These volunteers are people who have not abandoned learning outside classrooms. We believe that what we are doing has great meaning for the children and our lives,” Athapol said.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30351027

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-07-30

 

3 minutes ago, webfact said:

The Saturday School project is now in its third year, pursuing the goal of teaching skills and bringing out the children’s talents, which worked really well in the past seasons. Volunteers were able to pass their knowledge on to these children and soon they became like a family. 

“What we have learned from school might not be enough for future jobs. Sometimes we have to learn life-skills to function effectively in the future,” said Worapon Tanpoonkiat, during a volunteer talk.

 

This sounds like a nice program, but one really needs to ask...

 

If the purpose is "teaching skills" and "bringing out children's talents", what is it that they are doing during the week?

 

"...Sometimes we have to learn life-skills to function effectively in the future..." 

 

Again, a worthy and noble goal, but do these kinds of things not appear during the week in a normal school setting? Why is a Saturday required for this?

 

Perhaps the lesson from this type of program is that the regular school isn't doing its job properly? And if that is the case, perhaps regular school should be reformed?

 

Just askin'...

 

54 minutes ago, Samui Bodoh said:

the regular school isn't doing its job properly?

 

If the teachers taught during class time, there would be no need for them to force parents to pay for extra curriculum sessions, in which case their debts would definitely never be paid off !!!!

 

Kids here never have a chance to be kids... Weekends should be for learning life skills through interaction with other kids, in a non-classroom environment.. 

 

Of course, that's just my opinion and not fact ?

A great idea in more ways than one,

 

Motivation Activity  Information Critical thinking, Education  Socializing Team Work etc plus, it gets young people off the streets and out of the shopping malls plus homes, and so on, but will the true ways and events, past and present, really be taught?

 

Thailand is renowned for indoctrination, falsification and frabrication.

 

I'm all for education, for the betterment of both man and nature alike in a positive way, I just hope this is not just another way to generate money, as is the case with most schools and establishments here in paradise...?

 

 

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Each season will last up to eight weeks. There are various activities and games such as acting, creating art, playing instruments, playing board games and more.

Wow, that is innovative.

 

How about this as a counter solution:
- limit school time and teach them what they need to know efficiently

- send them home on time and do these freaking things at home!

 

Or is this another "the parents always work and don't have time for their kids so the government/school has to raise them completely" scheme going on?

 

Shame on the parents for not playing games, acting, creating art, playing instruments, and playing board games with their kids. What the F are you doing with your kids?

Front row top. Some real world skills going on there. "Damn this game is hard". 

Edited July 30, 20187 yr by dinsdale

Nothing new, we used to do all these activities when I was a kid. It was called scouts. Then it was cadets and then I did a duke of Edinburgh award.

The thing with Thailand that traps kids inside is the hot weather and parent power over school policy.

What really sickens me is the treatment of kindergarten kids. Forced to sit at a desk for most of the day and not allowed to play with toys. The toys or educational toys they call them are only brought out when the parents arrive.

Another disappointing part of schooling in Los is P.E
(Cones, laundrey baskets and small sized footballs)
No one exercises or breaks into a sweat. My P.E teacher in high school would make us all run 3-4 miles cross country for our classes. Here it's like a gypsy fairground game. Toss the hoop on the cone. Toss the ball in the basket.

So with no exercise and shoved behind a desk all day, people wonder why the kids play up or aren't interested in learning.

They should replace the outdated scouting activities with something like this. And replace those dreadful uniforms at the same time.

 

However, it won't happen as the Thai scouts were founded by Rama VI and have Royal patronage, though how relevant are 100 year old practices (and uniforms!) in 2018?

6 hours ago, webfact said:

This picture is annoying on so many levels, let me point out why with the help of some questions:

1. why does it look like a middle-level manager talking to its employees?

2. why is he on stage?

3. why is he using a microphone?

4. why is he dressed like that?

5. why is there a backdrop with ads?

6. why did he bring slides?

7. why are all the kids seated on chairs?

 

I have kids, and I would never send them to a meeting like this which only has the purpose of boosting the ego of the talker (and raking in money).

Same as school directors starting every school day with half an hour of unbridled talk about everything and nothing while their voice is blasted around on a speaker system. Nobody benefits, but he just wants to exercise his power.

 

How about this:

- make a classroom for kids, with smaller tables and chairs

- make small islands with tables instead of all pointed to the front in straight rows

- let them do stuff to learn, instead of look at slides

- turn the material you want to teach into a game

- let them work together and help each other

- praise their efforts, not the outcome

- let them present their results to each other at the end

 

 

Again, looking at the picture above, I wonder which of the following activities was on the schedule for that day?

 There are various activities and games such as acting, creating art, playing instruments, playing board games and more.

Bob12345.  Agree with what you say.  When teaching English in Thailand, none of my classes were the staid, "sit down and do as you are told."  They talked, they played, they interacted, they drew, they listened, they questioned, etc.  Most of all they learned to learn.  Many parents were amazed, and that it what they told me, that their children enjoyed my classes because they were doing things and Thai teachers should learn to do the same as I did.  Unfortunately, at one school in Sri Ratcha, run by the Catholics, after working there for several months I was asked to leave, by the director, because the other teachers had said that my classes were too noisy.  I was used as a support instructor but when I asked what the teacher wanted me to tech the answer was always the same, "It is up to you."  They never gave any direction or help. Also,not one of the teachers who had complained said anything about how the noisy students were better linguistically from being allowed a freer atmosphere than that provided by them.  Short-sighted every one of them.  Sometimes I would meet students when shopping, and sometimes I would be with some Thai teachers, and would meet students.  Without fail, the students would run and talk with me, sometimes telling me about about what had been happening in their lives, their hopes, etc., and the Thai teachers would just walk away.  Jealous?  Of course because they never received the same attention, and that was the main reason for being fired, not the noisy classes.

1 hour ago, Bob12345 said:

This picture is annoying on so many levels, let me point out why with the help of some questions:

1. why does it look like a middle-level manager talking to its employees?

2. why is he on stage?

3. why is he using a microphone?

4. why is he dressed like that?

5. why is there a backdrop with ads?

6. why did he bring slides?

7. why are all the kids seated on chairs?

 

I have kids, and I would never send them to a meeting like this which only has the purpose of boosting the ego of the talker (and raking in money).

Same as school directors starting every school day with half an hour of unbridled talk about everything and nothing while their voice is blasted around on a speaker system. Nobody benefits, but he just wants to exercise his power.

 

How about this:

- make a classroom for kids, with smaller tables and chairs

- make small islands with tables instead of all pointed to the front in straight rows

- let them do stuff to learn, instead of look at slides

- turn the material you want to teach into a game

- let them work together and help each other

- praise their efforts, not the outcome

- let them present their results to each other at the end

 

 

Again, looking at the picture above, I wonder which of the following activities was on the schedule for that day?

 There are various activities and games such as acting, creating art, playing instruments, playing board games and more.

Yep, and look at the phones 'at the ready' too. In fact, if done right sport taught at w/e or evenings is great way to teach the kids very basic physics and math but in a non-rigorous, and fun way. Even fat children can be helped this way (that is helped to lose weight) by teaching what happens to fat vs muscle...can control the muscles but not fat. You are right, board games can be intellectual, acting is a good way to expression and so on. But of course, as you know, this requires good organizing, so I have my doubts.

time spent in the classroom is not the issue,this is just more brainwashing...fill the days with quality education instead of thainess and buhdism..

22 minutes ago, mok199 said:

time spent in the classroom is not the issue,this is just more brainwashing...fill the days with quality education instead of thainess and buhdism..

Thainess and Buddhism poses minimal criticism of anyone 'higher socially' than the kids - from teachers all the way through to government.

Therefore it's the centuries-old weapon of choice.

 

Err and for whose benefit were these classes ?

 

Quote

“I like the feeling of going to school on Saturdays, when I see these kids running up to me and asking what we are going to learn. It feels amazing to know that these kids were waiting for me and this makes me feel valuable, even when I’m just an ordinary salary earner,” said Sarada Chokewaree, a volunteer from Saturday School season 5

Well this is great , children are put there to give the volunteers a sense of self worth.

 

Quote

“We were surprised how talented these children were. We believe that they will grow up to become a tower of strength for this country,” said Athapol.

 

Quote

What the volunteers have learned from these children will be used to further improve and teach other children in future seasons.

Children are teaching the volunteers or being used as guinea pigs??

It all sounds a little vague and just as vague on their website.

Siam Innovation

 

I am not a fan of the "uniform" especially when the subject is innovation, although on second thoughts I guess uniform is "real life" for Thailand !

...sounds more like...'a feather in someone's cap'....once again...

 

...can't seem to get pure, true versions of anything...

I teach animal science at an agricultural college.
I was teaching my students about FAO and their standards but the Thai teachers here complained that they didn't like the FAO "world standards" as they are "not Thai standard". So, I "the foreigner", started teaching the students about the Thai Agricultural Standards set by National Bureau of Agricultural Commodity and Food Standards, the Thai teachers was really surprised when I started doing that as most of them didn't even know that they existed and teach the students to do some things that contradict those standards?!

I'm also the only one in the school that tutor students (for free) outside teaching hours... so it has turned in to that I tutor in all subjects the students needs help as long as it can be done in English.

So yeah... the Thai educational system really need to change it's standards!