The week that was in Thailand news: Thailand's been an education - just don't expect me to do my homework!

[rooster59]

The week that was in Thailand news: Thailand's been an education - just don't expect me to do my homework!

 

 

One way or another Rooster's life in Thailand has been inextricably linked to education.

 

Arriving on my third visit in 1985 - and intending to stay for a minimum of six months - I enrolled at the AUA's "Natural Approach" Thai course. Thus I embarked on my Thai education that continues to this day.

 

Every morning for several months I trooped to the classroom on Rajdamri Road and joined about 20 other farangs, to listen to two Thai teachers doing activities in front of the class.

 

We were told not to try and speak, just to absorb, like children. I broke the rules by poring over the word lists they gave us with a friendly Thai lady I'd met in the street near the Malaysia Hotel.....

 

In bed before lights out I would say things like "ngaan sop" and if she understood my pronunciation she would indicate I had got it right. In this instance she said "party dead". Yes, it means funeral.

 

I made many friends in the class but my overriding feeling was that I was the most likely to succeed. I sensed that some were resigned to failure and others just couldn't understand what was going on! Subsequent life in Thailand bears this out as foreigners who get to grips with the language are still in the minority.

 

After class each day I walked to a sub-soi near Patpong in Silom where there was a place called the Brit-Am Academy. They gave me a job after a brief interview. I earned 90 baht an hour and when I received my first pay packet of 1,980 baht (rounded up to 2,000 by a grateful owner!) it was and remains one of my proudest moments.

 

I was earning in Thailand - where could this new found wealth lead?

 

Most of it lead back to Patpong and further extra-curricular lessons.

 

Brit-Am was fun but after the AUA course ended, and I started teaching myself to read and write from a Linguaphone manual, I began a job at a school called "Time" run by an Australian and a Liverpudlian. I wrote their teaching materials and taught classes of beautiful ladies at places like the Regent, Hilton, Big Bell department store and Robinson's.

 

Unfortunately time was called on "Time" when we were raided by immigration and almost everybody was arrested except me. An English guy who had a similar first name sufficed instead. He was on overstay, was later deported but returned to Thailand and eventually became a citizen. We met again in 2018 after being reunited through Thaivisa, one of many reasons I have to thank the "education" I have received through TV.

 

After the closure of the school I taught Japanese mums in the mornings, their children in the afternoons and their salaryman husbands at night, going door to door. I was driven around Sukhumvit by a policemen moonlighting as a motorcycle taxi guy. He would deliver me to "Tsubaki-san" in Soi 24 and return to pick me up after an hour and take me to Izumi in Soi Lang Suan. I paid him 120 baht a day - I could afford to. From 1986 I was earning 35-40,000 baht a month having carved up the Japanese private market. Few learned English, but I learned Japanese.

 

But after my first daughter came along in 1992, and I completed eight years with the Japanese families, I was getting worried about her education so I applied for a job as a Thai teacher at Bangkok Patana School. I was there for nearly four years. My two children enjoyed a fabulous free education as part of the package. But after being relieved of my employment - and getting a quarter of a million in compensation - I was made Head of Thai Language and Culture at Harrow International School that started in a converted car park in Sathupradit.

 

My salary more than doubled but so did the responsibilities. This lasted for 15 years until I quit. Over the years I taught thousands of Thais and foreigners their language and culture. All that's left these days in my capacity as an educator is this column and explanations about Thai life in my daily translations on Thaivisa.

 

And of course educating my 7 and 3 year old girls at home because if there is one thing I have learned from all those years in education is that learning begins at home, parents need to be responsible. And not rely on schools! My grown up kids ended up at universities in England after going through their international school education. My new brood are obliged to go to Thai school and a whole new set of circumstances are upon me.

 

The school has a good English program and is thankfully a fraction of the cost of an international school. The little ones' Thai language is already better than the grown ones' will ever be. They are more Thai, but I endeavor to give them the Best of British with a cultural training at home and I ALWAYS speak in English even when they don't.

 

I think their school is a friendly and pleasant place and I don't expect much. But one thing I absolutely hate and disagree with is the amount of homework they get. Not just that. It has caused so many arguments at home between myself and Mrs R - more arguments than even money!

 

It was ill thought out, confusing for the child, confusing for us, ridiculously time consuming when we could have been having family time. Mrs R, remembering the angst from her own cut-short childhood days in up-country Loei, insisted it had to be done or our five year old would "get behind". Me spouting rebellion and quoting studies from Finland....we almost came to blows as she suggested I knew nothing about Thailand.

 

This was resolved by my daughter joining a 6,000 baht a term homework club. In effect her teacher does her homework for her instead of us. Nonsensical, yes, but at least the arguments have stopped and when the kids come home we can swim, make things out of cardboard boxes, learn Scrabble words like SEQUOIA and cook spaghetti. All things we did this week.

 

At Harrow I frequently had run-ins with the management in my opposition to giving homework. The parents demanded it, they said, I was to toe the line. I smiled in my best Thai way then connived with the willing students - already overloaded with Maths and Geography -  to keep Thai homework to an absolute bare minimum.

 

When it came to writing reports I would invariably say " 'Pear' always completes her homework assignments" when I hadn't set her any. 'Pear' smiles at that when I meet her at alumni events these days.

 

This week it was, therefore, very interesting to read that one of the nation's oldest secondary schools - Wat Bowonniwet in Banglampu founded in the reign of Rama V - has decided to ban homework from the start of the next academic year. This was met with glee by the boys, incredulity by the wider public and some trepidation by Khun Phor and Khun Mae perhaps fearing they would have to get their parental fingers out after school.

 

While I commend the director for his action and appreciate that he has studied what happens in Finland, where virtually no homework is given even to sixth-formers and where standards for most subjects are among the highest in the world, one is aware that the devil is in the details.

 

There is no doubt that students in Finland are happy and that raising the happiness of Thai kids and lowering their stress levels is a good thing. But the two countries' education systems are as similar as chalk and cheese. As was pointed out in Michael Moore's excellent "Where to Invade Next", everyone in Finland is at the same kind of state school, you can't buy a place in a private one.

 

And all Finnish teachers are extensively trained in the art of teaching, something that unfortunately a great deal of Thais are not. In addition will the teachers or parents be either willing or able to provide the extra activities that the director espouses? Or will the student revert to downtime in front of Facebook or Instagram? Rhetorical questions.

 

As parents, we all know the temptations to put a screen in front of a child. I'm no different though I endeavor to limit it. The issue of homework is thus like a lot of major issues in both the Thai education system and wider society. New ideas are all very well but is there the knowledge or the infrastructure to enable them to flourish?

 

In many cases there is not. The road carnage will not improve because no one is willing to train the people in driving or even in becoming law abiding citizens. And plod only enforces the law when it pleases them. Society in general claims to want democracy and free-thinking and yet the systems in place all promote feudalism alongside absurd and ill-deserved reverence for elders and elites who set appalling examples.

 

For Thailand to really change it needs to be stripped from top to bottom. And if the banning of homework is to work then teachers will need to be better trained in what they do in class and what they do to promote stimulating activities out of it. And parents need a kick up the rear to appreciate that they can't dump their kids on the education system and expect money to give them results. They need to step up to the plate too and realize parenting equals educating.

 

This was all too evident in appalling stories where two children aged 4 and 2 died in separate accidents after being on the lap of parents on the front seat. The government needs to scrap the massive tax on safety products like car seats and the people need to accept that holding onto a child on any seat on any moving vehicle is tantamount to child abuse.

 

It is another area where Thais need better education. I learned. My first two kids were just strapped in normally when I got my first car. I accept I was wrong. Nowadays my nippers have car seats and I never take no for an answer when it comes to sitting in them or adults of my acquaintance saying it's only a short journey and it doesn't matter.

 

And so to other news.

 

Down in Pattaya, a tourism business leader pointed out that the effect of Covid-19 on the resort is much, much worse than expected. In an ultimate doom and gloom fest Ekkasit Ngampichet painted a dark picture for at least the next six months in an interview with 77kaoded. On Koh Lanta a meeting was told that the effects of the epidemic were worse than the Boxing Day 2004 Asian tsunami.

 

Dire crime continued to plague the kingdom. In Bangkok a spurned lover walked into a beauty clinic and shot his ex. Danusorn was soon arrested in Petchaburi. On Koh Phangan a flamboyant Israeli/UK drug dealer tried to bribe his way out with a million bucks. We were asked to believe that the constabulary rejected this offer. Methinks they knew he didn't have it despite living in a 30 million baht house on the island. Elsewhere a Belgian mad died after an argument over a noisy pump.

 

Elderly westerners in a pick-up and on a motorcycle died in Pattaya. The first drove into a frangipani tree on the way to Sattahip and the second was killed in Soi Khao Talo late at night. A Thai man was assaulted in London supposedly because he looked Chinese and so probably had a nasty virus. Comments from posters on Thaivisa, who should know better, reveled in the "boot being on the other foot".

 

Please stop this unhelpful claptrap and stop hiding behind ridiculous claims that "Thais" started it.

 

In Chonburi, a nasty Thai man threatened a traditional massage shop owner and a masseuse after he didn't get a happy ending. He came out with the very unoriginal line that his relative is high up in the army. Also behaving badly were a drunk professor and his foul mouthed sister who claimed that plod laid the long arms of the law on her. Please lock them both up - that'll give them an education they won't forget.

 

Better news came on the visa front. Foreigners now no longer need to report a change of address when they go elsewhere for 24 hours (TM 28). This seemed simple enough to comprehend but was followed by page after page of comments going round in circles as many on the forum failed to grasp the eminently graspable.

 

Hapless tourism minister Pipat - surely now destined for a deserved sacking - suggested scrapping visas all together for Chinese and Indians. There are none of the former and even the latter are reportedly staying in Delhi for the duration.

 

Sensibly, Uncle Too rejected the minister's notion of boosting tourism by extending Songkran to nine days. Without a hint of irony he apparently poured cold water on the idea.

 

In Chiang Mai, the authorities believed they could alleviate the smog crisis by turning on fountains on all sides of the moat creating a "Curtain of Water" that would save the "Rose of the North". A rose by any other name if you ask me - that once lovely town now makes Bangkok look clean, ordered and quiet.

 

The forum almost went into meltdown over a story about a Thai/Canadian couple who had a million baht in cash stolen from a bedroom in their "expensive" house while they went to Pattaya. They were apparently waiting for the exchange rate to improve and furious about police inactivity!

 

Every theory was expounded, every avenue of mischief and malice explored as the couple were dragged over the coals and ridiculed on the forum. If you are foreign and you're robbed it might be better to keep it to yourself!

 

There was also good news of sorts for the family of Netherlands man Jules Odekerken who was brutally murdered for his inheritance in Chonburi in 2003. Anupong, a former councilor from Lang Suan was picked up in Phrae. He was somehow given bail but inevitably skipped it and was sentenced to death in absentia by the Pattaya court in 2007. He connived with the victim's wife and her brother to murder Mr Odekerken. The others are already serving life sentences.

 

In Chachoengsao a group of Chinese found out what making donations to a Thai temple means. They gave 200,000 eggs to the image of Phor Luang Sothon to help solve the virus crisis. To compound their naivety they imagined the eggs would be given to the needy.

 

Er...no. An online advert soon appeared offering the "khai gai" for sale.....

 

Finally, potential car owners were flocking to Chevrolet dealerships this week after the company announced they were selling up and laying off 1,500 workers in Thailand. Advertisements appeared offering their vehicles at 500,000 baht discounts.

 

Rooster is pretty loyal to Honda so it's unlikely I would buy one. Besides, given the ongoing drought crisis I am sure if I drove my Chevy to the levee I'd probably find it dry.

 

Along with a bunch of good old locals drinking lao khao.

 

Rooster.
 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2020-02-22

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[FarFlungFalang]

Are you singing "This'll be the day that I die"?After all you are close to the endangered (age) list for the beer virut.I had the good fortune to spend 2 years in a school called the A.M.E. (Advance Modern Education) which I suspect was another way of saying "to hard basket" No uniforms no cane and no homework!I must say I turned out alright but I suspect others beg to differ.Good piece.Peace!That's with two fingers not three as three seems to be against the law.

P.S '61 was a very good year!

[Samui Bodoh]

Interesting read... I have virtually given up posting on the Forum for various reasons, but I just can't resist the topic of Education.

 

I am of two minds regarding the issue of homework, but absolutely agree on the idea that parents need to be much more involved than they currently are in their children's education. And, that is something that is true in Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Togo, Trinidad and all points in between. 

 

However, I do not see the issue of homework as the main problem in Thailand, rather I see it as the Ministry of Education. In short, if Thailand is ever going to progress out of its current state and into something better, the Ministry of Education needs to be reformed with both a Chain Saw and a Flame-Thrower.

 

A Chain Saw and a Flame-Thrower? 

 

Yes, a Chain Saw and a Flame-Thrower.

 

Simply put, the Thai Education system is awful (we all know that), and the first step to reform it requires a Chain Saw and a Flame-Thrower to be used at the Ministry's Head Office. Of course, I speak figuratively, but the Minister should enter the building where the leadership team is housed and fire every single person who works there. Every single one of them. In a nutshell, the Thai Education system is beyond tweaking at the edges and needs to be re-done from top to bottom, and the people who work there now either caused the problem and/or were mentored by the people who caused the problem; they can not fix it. So, out the door. Today. With either sawed off or singed clothing...

 

Next, enter the Provincial Office(s) of Education and fire the top ten people. Today. With a (figurative) Chain Saw and/or Flame-Thrower. Again, in a nut shell, these people have not done their jobs and need to go. Today. With either sawed off or singed clothing...

 

At the school level, Principals/Head Masters need to be given responsibility for the output of their school (as well as the authority to make changes), and those in the bottom 10% of annual, national, performance reviews get the Chain Saw and Flame-Thrower treatment and tossed out with either sawed off or singed clothing. Rinse and repeat for several years, then evaluate. 

 

Yes, this is a radical plan. That said, massive, long-standing, deeply entrenched, nation-threatening problems call for radical solutions.

 

A Chain Saw and a Flame-Thrower.

 

Oh, and an Audit. By people holding a Chain Saw and/or Flame-Thrower. Or both.

 

Lock and Load, Baby!

 

 

 

[Jane Dough]

6 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

Interesting read... I have virtually given up posting on the Forum for various reasons, but I just can't resist the topic of Education.

 

I am of two minds regarding the issue of homework, but absolutely agree on the idea that parents need to be much more involved than they currently are in their children's education. And, that is something that is true in Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Togo, Trinidad and all points in between. 

 

However, I do not see the issue of homework as the main problem in Thailand, rather I see it as the Ministry of Education. In short, if Thailand is ever going to progress out of its current state and into something better, the Ministry of Education needs to be reformed with both a Chain Saw and a Flame-Thrower.

 

A Chain Saw and a Flame-Thrower? 

 

Yes, a Chain Saw and a Flame-Thrower.

 

Simply put, the Thai Education system is awful (we all know that), and the first step to reform it requires a Chain Saw and a Flame-Thrower to be used at the Ministry's Head Office. Of course, I speak figuratively, but the Minister should enter the building where the leadership team is housed and fire every single person who works there. Every single one of them. In a nutshell, the Thai Education system is beyond tweaking at the edges and needs to be re-done from top to bottom, and the people who work there now either caused the problem and/or were mentored by the people who caused the problem; they can not fix it. So, out the door. Today. With either sawed off or singed clothing...

 

Next, enter the Provincial Office(s) of Education and fire the top ten people. Today. With a (figurative) Chain Saw and/or Flame-Thrower. Again, in a nut shell, these people have not done their jobs and need to go. Today. With either sawed off or singed clothing...

 

At the school level, Principals/Head Masters need to be given responsibility for the output of their school (as well as the authority to make changes), and those in the bottom 10% of annual, national, performance reviews get the Chain Saw and Flame-Thrower treatment and tossed out with either sawed off or singed clothing. Rinse and repeat for several years, then evaluate. 

 

Yes, this is a radical plan. That said, massive, long-standing, deeply entrenched, nation-threatening problems call for radical solutions.

 

A Chain Saw and a Flame-Thrower.

 

Oh, and an Audit. By people holding a Chain Saw and/or Flame-Thrower. Or both.

 

Lock and Load, Baby!

 

 

 

I worry about the maintenance on the chain saw and flame thrower, and possible corruption in the procurement of gasoline.

 

Rooster

[chickenslegs]

 

7 hours ago, rooster59 said:

 ... one thing I absolutely hate and disagree with is the amount of homework they get <snip>

This was resolved by my daughter joining a 6,000 baht a term homework club. In effect her teacher does her homework for her instead of us. Nonsensical, yes, but at least the arguments have stopped and when the kids come home we can swim, make things out of cardboard boxes, learn Scrabble words like SEQUOIA and cook spaghetti. All things we did this week.

I could not agree more.

 

8 hours ago, rooster59 said:

 ... potential car owners were flocking to Chevrolet dealerships this week after the company announced they were selling up and laying off 1,500 workers in Thailand. Advertisements appeared offering their vehicles at 500,000 baht discounts.

 

Rooster is pretty loyal to Honda so it's unlikely I would buy one. Besides, given the ongoing drought crisis I am sure if I drove my Chevy to the levee I'd probably find it dry.

Ha ha! There is a "Worst Jokes" sub-forum for this type of humour.

 

Thanks for a great read this week Rooster. I always enjoy your column, and this is one of the best IMHO.

[Jane Dough]

15 minutes ago, chickenslegs said:

 

I could not agree more.

 

Ha ha! There is a "Worst Jokes" sub-forum for this type of humour.

 

Thanks for a great read this week Rooster. I always enjoy your column, and this is one of the best IMHO.

Cheers. Thanks for the positivity and thanks for reading.

 

Rooster

[Jane Dough]

29 minutes ago, chickenslegs said:

 

I could not agree more.

 

Ha ha! There is a "Worst Jokes" sub-forum for this type of humour.

 

Thanks for a great read this week Rooster. I always enjoy your column, and this is one of the best IMHO.

Talking of "this type of humor"......I am still childishly chuckling to myself about a headline I wrote on a story that came too late for the column ......the one about the guy stealing coins from washing machines in Samui....Attila the Hungarian.

 

I can't help myself.

 

Rooster

[chickenslegs]

30 minutes ago, Jane Dough said:

Talking of "this type of humor"......I am still childishly chuckling to myself about a headline I wrote on a story that came too late for the column ......the one about the guy stealing coins from washing machines in Samui....Attila the Hungarian.

 

I can't help myself.

 

Rooster

Going completely off topic now, but referring to childish chuckles; almost 40 years ago, my ex wife and I were driving somewhere in the UK and heard on the radio that film director Cubby Broccoli had suffered a stroke. Some wag on the air said "He could end up in a vegetative state".

We laughed so hard that I had to pull over so that we could calm down.

Even now, all those years later, if one of us mentions Cubby Broccoli (which, of course, we do deliberately) we can't breathe. Our kids and grandkids and new partners think we're mental.

 

[Jane Dough]

7 minutes ago, chickenslegs said:

Going completely off topic now, but referring to childish chuckles; almost 40 years ago, my ex wife and I were driving somewhere in the UK and heard on the radio that film director Cubby Broccoli had suffered a stroke. Some wag on the air said "He could end up in a vegetative state".

We laughed so hard that I had to pull over so that we could calm down.

Even now, all those years later, if one of us mentions Cubby Broccoli (which, of course, we do deliberately) we can't breathe. Our kids and grandkids and new partners think we're mental.

 

It's brilliant!

 

Reminds me of the one about the potato who had a serious accident. He survived but was a vegetable for the rest of his life.

 

Rooster

[bluesofa]

16 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Elsewhere a Belgian mad died after an argument over a noisy pump.

I'm still trying to work out what he was mad about.

[sawadee1947]

Wow, what an interesting story, true or not? 

I was missing stories about your cousins, your wives, and other people related to you,  what they were earning and eating and sure about the weather...... ????

 

[StevieAus]

Totally agree on the subject of homework, our three and a half year old daughter goes to a private school here in Northern Chiang Mai Province, mainly because they have a heavy emphasis on learning English and so she has access to other kids.Yet she comes home with homework which mainly is coloring in exercises, beggars belief.

 

On the subject of speaking English at home fortunately because my Thai is abysmal that’s all that occurs between my daughter and myself, her Thai mother speaks excellent English so they rotate between Thai, Lana and English often leaving me in the

dark.

 

I wonder if this is part of the problem with the low standard of English here, they learn at school but don’t or can’t practice at home ?

 

Finally on the subject of car safety I see kids leaving school standing up on the front seat of the car, I have suggested to the junior school principal that they educate both the parents and the kids on the dangers.

 

Unfortunately it seems to have fallen on deaf ears.

A great article by the way.

[Jane Dough]

1 hour ago, sawadee1947 said:

Wow, what an interesting story, true or not? 

I was missing stories about your cousins, your wives, and other people related to you,  what they were earning and eating and sure about the weather...... ????

 

That's all coming next week. Stay tuned and thanks awfully for reading.

 

Rooster

[Jane Dough]

56 minutes ago, StevieAus said:

Totally agree on the subject of homework, our three and a half year old daughter goes to a private school here in Northern Chiang Mai Province, mainly because they have a heavy emphasis on learning English and so she has access to other kids.Yet she comes home with homework which mainly is coloring in exercises, beggars belief.

 

On the subject of speaking English at home fortunately because my Thai is abysmal that’s all that occurs between my daughter and myself, her Thai mother speaks excellent English so they rotate between Thai, Lana and English often leaving me in the

dark.

 

I wonder if this is part of the problem with the low standard of English here, they learn at school but don’t or can’t practice at home ?

 

Finally on the subject of car safety I see kids leaving school standing up on the front seat of the car, I have suggested to the junior school principal that they educate both the parents and the kids on the dangers.

 

Unfortunately it seems to have fallen on deaf ears.

A great article by the way.

Press on with educating about car safety. You may save a life one day, let that be your motivation. Do it yourself if the school won't help - how about online via the school's website? I make suggestions about my kids' school like that...gently!

 

Kids who live in a dual language background have many advantages. It's hilarious in my house!

 

Thanks for reading.

 

Rooster

[George Aylesham]

Rooster - I have long admired the courage (and indeed the humour) of your writings - but how have you managed to avoid sessions of 'attitude adjustment?'

[Marpa47]

18 hours ago, Jane Dough said:

It's brilliant!

 

Reminds me of the one about the potato who had a serious accident. He survived but was a vegetable for the rest of his life.

 

Rooster

Reminds me of the tragic accident on a local army base after a large popcorn spill.  A passing Jeep ran over two kernals.    Thanks for the memories.  Almost always enjoy reading your articles and learning a few things.  

[Jane Dough]

1 hour ago, George Aylesham said:

Rooster - I have long admired the courage (and indeed the humour) of your writings - but how have you managed to avoid sessions of 'attitude adjustment?'

I haven't.

 

These sessions have been provided down the years by my wives.

 

They are entitled "Being in the Dog House".

 

Thanks for reading.

 

Rooster

[pl1jns]

Quote

learning begins at home, parents need to be responsible. And not rely on schools!

excellent point......neglected by millions

[villagefarang]

I always enjoy a well written stroll down memory lane by another old-timer.  I too studied at AUA, and taught there as well, in the late 70s but I seem to remember I started off at 50 baht an hour and got my visa from an army school.  Later, when a work permit was required they provided that too.  

 

I also inherited some Japanese housewives when a friend of mine moved to the Philippines but I taught them in my apartment.  My friend had been providing additional services to these lonely women but I found them a bit old and unattractive for my taste.

 

I only taught for a few years and never had any interest in education, other than my own, after that.  Even much later in life when my wife was getting her university degree, I provided little more than emotional support.  I wanted her to know she had done it all on her own.  When she graduated at the top of her class she was justifiably proud of her achievement.

 

Patpong was an excellent place to practice ones language skills in the old days while sipping on a 20 baht orange juice, even when the town shut down at midnight due to the lates coup or attempt.  During those early years I probably spoke Thai 90% of the time and watched double features on lazy afternoons at some pretty disgusting old theaters, which helped with listening and vocabulary.  I have zero interest, or ability, in translation but my spoken Thai is still pretty good, and I must agree that those of us with a better than average grasp of Thai are still in the minority here in Thailand.????

[Jane Dough]

1 hour ago, villagefarang said:

I always enjoy a well written stroll down memory lane by another old-timer.  I too studied at AUA, and taught there as well, in the late 70s but I seem to remember I started off at 50 baht an hour and got my visa from an army school.  Later, when a work permit was required they provided that too.  

 

I also inherited some Japanese housewives when a friend of mine moved to the Philippines but I taught them in my apartment.  My friend had been providing additional services to these lonely women but I found them a bit old and unattractive for my taste.

 

I only taught for a few years and never had any interest in education, other than my own, after that.  Even much later in life when my wife was getting her university degree, I provided little more than emotional support.  I wanted her to know she had done it all on her own.  When she graduated at the top of her class she was justifiably proud of her achievement.

 

Patpong was an excellent place to practice ones language skills in the old days while sipping on a 20 baht orange juice, even when the town shut down at midnight due to the lates coup or attempt.  During those early years I probably spoke Thai 90% of the time and watched double features on lazy afternoons at some pretty disgusting old theaters, which helped with listening and vocabulary.  I have zero interest, or ability, in translation but my spoken Thai is still pretty good, and I must agree that those of us with a better than average grasp of Thai are still in the minority here in Thailand.????

Nice.

 

I always stuck to Departures and Connections when teaching the Japanese! (popular EFL books at the time). Though I did teach two ladies to play Snooker.

 

I remember a Kloster being 25 baht at happy hour, 40 thereafter. I noticed a bottle of suds was 190 in regular hours at Soi Cowboy on a visit a few months ago.

 

Rooster

[GarryP]

1 hour ago, Jane Dough said:

Nice.

 

I always stuck to Departures and Connections when teaching the Japanese! (popular EFL books at the time). Though I did teach two ladies to play Snooker.

 

I remember a Kloster being 25 baht at happy hour, 40 thereafter. I noticed a bottle of suds was 190 in regular hours at Soi Cowboy on a visit a few months ago.

 

Rooster

I had forgotten that you also taught at Brit-Am (perhaps I never knew). Wasn't the boss Mr. Manit and one of the Thai English teachers called Lamduan (I remember the name because it is more commonly a woman's name, but he was definitely a man)? I too worked there for a while - a bit obvious. And working at T.I.M.E. ended up with me serving time, or a at least a couple of weeks in the immigration detention center.

 

One of my favorite beers back in the day was Amarit. There was another one that was good, but I can't remember its name. Long since gone to the brewery in the sky - both my memory and the name of the beer. 

 

Great article that brings back memories. 

[Kalasin Jo]

Great read this week. And in a nutshell yes as you succinctly put it ????‍♂️arenting does equal education. Good parenting exceeds it in many cases, anywhere not just Thailand. Not claiming so myself and both my kids were also educated privately and well at their schools on being good,  responsible citizens, looking out for others as well as themslves, not just reading, writing and arithmetic and more advanced academic subject as they grew up, encouraged at home as much as possible. Both my now adult children are mature, sane, sensible people with a great sense of humour despite their mother and I divorcing when they were still in their early teens.

 

Up here in the sticks caring parents let their kids ride unrestrained in front and back, especially the back of the pick up, along with assorted family members. Never seen a car seat for kids fitted, although they are on sale. This is only exceeded in lunacy by under tens happily riding motorcycles, often with younger kids on board. And of course the full family of  baby in arms, toddlers, teens, Mum and Dad on a motorbike is a common sight. Helmets? You gotta be kidding. Licenced? Nah.

 

But up here it's always been so. Very hard to change such ingrained habits unless plod get serious, very serious about this and compel offenders, children and parents, to attend road safety courses complete with gruesome videos of the consequences of these habits. But this won't happen. Last year I believe even the PM endorsed riding in the back of the pick up for Songran.

 

Keep up the good, entertaining and sometimes downright scary weekly musings and news review Rooster!

[Jane Dough]

30 minutes ago, GarryP said:

I had forgotten that you also taught at Brit-Am (perhaps I never knew). Wasn't the boss Mr. Manit and one of the Thai English teachers called Lamduan (I remember the name because it is more commonly a woman's name, but he was definitely a man)? I too worked there for a while - a bit obvious. And working at T.I.M.E. ended up with me serving time, or a at least a couple of weeks in the immigration detention center.

 

One of my favorite beers back in the day was Amarit. There was another one that was good, but I can't remember its name. Long since gone to the brewery in the sky - both my memory and the name of the beer. 

 

Great article that brings back memories. 

Yes, Manit. I dont remember you being there. One of the ladies from my AUA course did some teaching there too after me. Can't remember her name......like you some of the details are a blur. But I'll never forget you lighting my fag through the bars of the detention center when me and John visited on Xmas day.

 

My first student at Brit-Am became a great friend. I had hopes of marrying her sister who was a sharpshooter on the SEA Thai team. Perhaps just as well I didn't.

 

Cheers,

 

Rooster

[Jane Dough]

37 minutes ago, Kalasin Jo said:

Great read this week. And in a nutshell yes as you succinctly put it ????‍♂️arenting does equal education. Good parenting exceeds it in many cases, anywhere not just Thailand. Not claiming so myself and both my kids were also educated privately and well at their schools on being good,  responsible citizens, looking out for others as well as themslves, not just reading, writing and arithmetic and more advanced academic subject as they grew up, encouraged at home as much as possible. Both my now adult children are mature, sane, sensible people with a great sense of humour despite their mother and I divorcing when they were still in their early teens.

 

Up here in the sticks caring parents let their kids ride unrestrained in front and back, especially the back of the pick up, along with assorted family members. Never seen a car seat for kids fitted, although they are on sale. This is only exceeded in lunacy by under tens happily riding motorcycles, often with younger kids on board. And of course the full family of  baby in arms, toddlers, teens, Mum and Dad on a motorbike is a common sight. Helmets? You gotta be kidding. Licenced? Nah.

 

But up here it's always been so. Very hard to change such ingrained habits unless plod get serious, very serious about this and compel offenders, children and parents, to attend road safety courses complete with gruesome videos of the consequences of these habits. But this won't happen. Last year I believe even the PM endorsed riding in the back of the pick up for Songran.

 

Keep up the good, entertaining and sometimes downright scary weekly musings and news review Rooster!

Pertinent observations.

 

Thanks for reading.

 

Rooster

[TPI]

Well said Mr Rooster, everyone agrees although it would be nice if our "suntanned brothers" took it to heart!!

[Andre0720]

On ‎2‎/‎22‎/‎2020 at 2:01 PM, Samui Bodoh said:

Interesting read... I have virtually given up posting on the Forum for various reasons, but I just can't resist the topic of Education.

 

I am of two minds regarding the issue of homework, but absolutely agree on the idea that parents need to be much more involved than they currently are in their children's education. And, that is something that is true in Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Togo, Trinidad and all points in between. 

 

However, I do not see the issue of homework as the main problem in Thailand, rather I see it as the Ministry of Education. In short, if Thailand is ever going to progress out of its current state and into something better, the Ministry of Education needs to be reformed with both a Chain Saw and a Flame-Thrower.

 

A Chain Saw and a Flame-Thrower? 

 

Yes, a Chain Saw and a Flame-Thrower.

 

Simply put, the Thai Education system is awful (we all know that), and the first step to reform it requires a Chain Saw and a Flame-Thrower to be used at the Ministry's Head Office. Of course, I speak figuratively, but the Minister should enter the building where the leadership team is housed and fire every single person who works there. Every single one of them. In a nutshell, the Thai Education system is beyond tweaking at the edges and needs to be re-done from top to bottom, and the people who work there now either caused the problem and/or were mentored by the people who caused the problem; they can not fix it. So, out the door. Today. With either sawed off or singed clothing...

 

Next, enter the Provincial Office(s) of Education and fire the top ten people. Today. With a (figurative) Chain Saw and/or Flame-Thrower. Again, in a nut shell, these people have not done their jobs and need to go. Today. With either sawed off or singed clothing...

 

At the school level, Principals/Head Masters need to be given responsibility for the output of their school (as well as the authority to make changes), and those in the bottom 10% of annual, national, performance reviews get the Chain Saw and Flame-Thrower treatment and tossed out with either sawed off or singed clothing. Rinse and repeat for several years, then evaluate. 

 

Yes, this is a radical plan. That said, massive, long-standing, deeply entrenched, nation-threatening problems call for radical solutions.

 

A Chain Saw and a Flame-Thrower.

 

Oh, and an Audit. By people holding a Chain Saw and/or Flame-Thrower. Or both.

 

Lock and Load, Baby!

 

 

 

I would think that all of these people just cannot do their job, because that would mean having to change something, and this something has been approved by someone in the hierarchy who has gained authority and power, not necessarily knowledge.

 

CHANGING anything in Thailand means that someone in a position of authority will 'LOSE FACE'.

 

No way.

 

The culture has to change before any other changes could ever even be considered...

[RocketDog]

18 hours ago, Jane Dough said:

Press on with educating about car safety. You may save a life one day, let that be your motivation. Do it yourself if the school won't help - how about online via the school's website?

This brings to mind an idea I had only months after coming to the Kingdom and grasping, in graphic detail, the true state of driver education here. 

 

A video style driving game  with situations that present themselves every single day, or several times an hours. Wide U turns by large trucks, overtaking on the left, motorcycles magically appearing from between divided highways, vehicles without lights, and all the other lethal situations peculiar to this country. 

 

If nothing else this could serve as a training tool for people planning a visit here. Maybe used in Thai schools, maybe required instead of/in addition to the horrifying videos now required? Posted on the school's website ????

 

I am deadly serious! 

Any game developers out there looking for the next 'killer' app?