New Thai education law will kill kids’ creativity, warn critics

[cardinalblue]

Windmills in Thailand? Image is more like vehicles benching dirty black carbon fumes…

[bikerlou47]

Thai education system leaves a lot to be desired, kids spend too much time in school and too much time with homework. When my daughter was 12 I pulled her out of school so she could have a chance at a successful life in the world. She turned 21 yesterday she speaks German and English at a C1 level has lived and worked in Europe for 2 years now she has returned to Thailand for a bachelors that she will finish in Europe.

I understand this is a very unique situation but a student in the Thai system k-12 will have a difficult time to assimilate into the western world. Not to mention how they look down on Women in this country.

 

[robertson468]

7 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Realistically speaking, can education get any worse in Thailand? When students are not allowed to question their teachers, who are pathologically afraid of losing face, how will the kids learn and keep open minds and get the creative juices flowing?

 

Rather than so called reform, it would be better to admit total failure, and rebuild the system from scratch, using outside help, from the top rated nations in the world for education. 

 

Unless they are simply trying to avoid reform, and a creative and vibrant youth. That is more likely. The army is despised like never before, despite their attempts to oppress. 

The problem is that those in authority do not wish to be questioned.........on anything.  I can remember well as my two lovely Daughters were growing up, my Wife and Self were hit with a barrage of questions as their minds developed....Daddy, what is this and what is that and why is this and why is that?  One is now doing her Masters and succeeding very well as a member of society.   

[Walker88]

A common refrain I hear when speaking with Thai people is: "We Thais believe that.....(followed by some absolute nonsense)." It's incredibly uniform and ubiquitous. Much of these 'beliefs' involve superstition and myth, but all of it stems from the same process involved in general education: there is one and only one answer; you will learn it and never question its veracity. Everybody has to be on the same page.

 

I suppose every culture and society has absurd beliefs, but I cannot think of any other place where there are so many covering almost every aspect of everything.

 

Maybe it works for them, but having been raised with a few more choices, I would find such forced conformity stifling.

 

 

 

 

Edited November 15, 2021 by Walker88

[ericbj]

Maybe  the Thai education authorities should study education in Finland :

https://leverageedu.com/blog/finland-education-system/

[LivinLOS]

7 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Realistically speaking, can education get any worse in Thailand? When students are not allowed to question their teachers, who are pathologically afraid of losing face, how will the kids learn and keep open minds and get the creative juices flowing?

 

Rather than so called reform, it would be better to admit total failure, and rebuild the system from scratch, using outside help, from the top rated nations in the world for education. 

 

Unless they are simply trying to avoid reform, and a creative and vibrant youth. That is more likely. The army is despised like never before, despite their attempts to oppress. 

They are doubling down on what doesnt work.. They hit rock bottom, and started digging. 

[LivinLOS]

Quote

For instance, the new legislation dictates that students aged from six to 12 learn about their rights and duties; pride in their nation, religion, monarchy and constitutional monarchy

Is this any surprise how an authoritarian military government would try to reconfigure the society ??

Remember the farangs that cheered on the whistle crew ?? Who supported the removal of elected governance by force ?? When the sane among us warned of where that can lead. 

Yeah they are not quite as vocal now are they ?? 

[michael888]

"Kill Creativity?!"  Was it ever alive here ?  Lolz

[bougnat]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

73 / 5000

 

 

 

Résultats de traduction

The thai school trains very creative citizens, especially on the roads ...

[Eric Loh]

Thailand youths will have another good reasons to take to the streets. Students are rejecting uniforms, standing for the national flags and defying royalist traditions. Protest on Saturday was a warning by the youths to the establishment not to step back to the past. This new educational law is just that to bring Thailand backwards. 

[SunsetT]

Jeez! Surely not more narrow-minded Nationalistic brainwashing blinkered to the outside World. It is bad enough as it is.

 

Thais have good brains like everyone else but they are not taught to use them in the current Thai state education system; they are not even taught to think let alone think creatively!

 

But this has been ongoing and is obviously deliberate on the part of the Thai State; Easier to control. Easier to manipulate. Easier to exploit as cheap labour.

[malibukid]

8 hours ago, Granet said:

The State educates for the growth of The State.

this kids will never have a chance as global players.  between the monks, the State they well never learn to think critically and will only learn one way.  the Thai way.  they will never become problem solvers which requires critical thinking.  very sad.  toe the party line.  i alway thought that is was odd that all the schools here require uniforms like church or military schools back home.  seems like there is little division between church and State here and individuality is suppressed  like China.

Edited November 15, 2021 by malibukid

[malibukid]

8 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Realistically speaking, can education get any worse in Thailand? When students are not allowed to question their teachers, who are pathologically afraid of losing face, how will the kids learn and keep open minds and get the creative juices flowing?

 

Rather than so called reform, it would be better to admit total failure, and rebuild the system from scratch, using outside help, from the top rated nations in the world for education. 

 

Unless they are simply trying to avoid reform, and a creative and vibrant youth. That is more likely. The army is despised like never before, despite their attempts to oppress. 

the wealthy ones are sent abroad for school.

[CLW]

Democracy in Thailand? Just spilled my morning coffee...

[ericbj]

12 minutes ago, malibukid said:

the wealthy ones are sent abroad for school.

True.  Some of them went to the same prep school in England as myself in the 1950s, and one of them later became governor of Bangkok.  
 And in 1967 on my way by train from Bangkok to Singapore, I travelled between Haadyai and KL in the company of a Thai army general and his son.  He was taking his son to school in Kuala Lumpur.

[Granet]

7 hours ago, NanaSomchai said:

Sinothai Propaganda account with 4 posts created 3 days ago. We see you.

My account was not created three days ago.  Buddy...   Friend... Guy...  

Thanks for the entertainment though.

[Granet]

8 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

When students are not allowed to question their teachers, who are pathologically afraid of losing face, how will the kids learn and keep open minds and get the creative juices flowing?

Sounds just like education in the West.  

[Sydebolle]

There is nothing more to kill as long as the institutions are given absolutely useless teaching material and teachers are being considered semi-divine.

Middle class sends kids to private school with the usual little envelopes to enroll or to move onto the next grade, the richer fellows who can afford international schools chose this.

I sent my kids to international schools in Bangkok at great expenses and personal sacrifies, my kids luckily follow suit with my grandkids. 

As long as education costs money, a country is doomed and parents also have to understand, that schools provide knowledge; education, social values etc. are the responsibility of the parents....

[dinsdale]

2 hours ago, huangnon said:

Yep. I've been here nearly 30 years, and as far as I remember education has always been the last issue on any political priority or budget list..

Education gets the biggest budget if I'm correct. Mostly gone when it comes to actual education though.

[zaZa9]

Im a retired teacher.

I wasnt aware of any 'creativity' being encouraged/ enhanced by the Thai School System  as it exists now anyway.

[Dexxter]

5 hours ago, jackdd said:

Did you explore career choices from 6 to 12?

I didn't, and I also didn't know what I wanted to do when I left school. Maybe exploring career choices since 6 would have helped, who knows?

When I was in primary school I wanted to be a fireman just like half the class. I ended up having a career as a computer programmer, network engineer and web designer. I lost interest in fighting fires by the time I was 8 and then did not even think about careers for years. In high school I had several interests, all science and engineering related, and when I finished high school I ended up in a career not related to anything that interested me in school.

Student's interests change many times while growing up. You cannot steer them in a direction from such an early age unless they are exceptionally brilliant at something like music or sports.

[Dexxter]

4 hours ago, Bkk Brian said:

Thailand has an education system that forces teachers to  pass students even when they have failed, lacks adequate teacher training, funding riddled with corruption, huge class sizes. Students who show little motivation as they are deprived of critical thinking asking questions.

 

While this continues Thailand will always fail its population from the very beginning.

 

 

You forgot to mention wholesale cheating by students to pass exams. There was even a movie about it recently.

[Chongalulu]

3 hours ago, Mayhem11 said:

As per usual the arm chair experts knowledge of education is based on their experience when they went to school.

I expect ,given the coherence of that comment, you don’t have that experience to base a view on…

[Will B Good]

10 hours ago, webfact said:

“Today’s youngsters enjoy freedom, independence, democracy, diversity, and active citizenship.

That needs stamping out straight away.

Edited November 15, 2021 by Will B Good

[gvrixtel]

8 hours ago, Granet said:

Western style.  For those that wish for governmental parenting.  

I don't know in what country this would be western style. Western style allows freedom of religion, political beliefs and gender identity. Western style promotes individual growth, creative thoughts, critical thinking. None of the things I see reflected in either bill.

[Chongalulu]

54 minutes ago, Granet said:

9 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

When students are not allowed to question their teachers, who are pathologically afraid of losing face, how will the kids learn and keep open minds and get the creative juices flowing?

Sounds just like education in the West.  

All that comment demonstrates is your own lack of education.

[gejohesch]

9 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Realistically speaking, can education get any worse in Thailand? When students are not allowed to question their teachers, who are pathologically afraid of losing face, how will the kids learn and keep open minds and get the creative juices flowing?

 

Rather than so called reform, it would be better to admit total failure, and rebuild the system from scratch, using outside help, from the top rated nations in the world for education. 

 

Unless they are simply trying to avoid reform, and a creative and vibrant youth. That is more likely. The army is despised like never before, despite their attempts to oppress. 

Good suggestion, but flies in the face (!) of the Thai culture which is to avoid to the maximum criticism and "keeping face", hence near impossibility to admit failure. Corollary of which being resistance to outside advice. The Thai culture is admirable in many ways. But as the proverbial coin has a good side and a bad side (or a bad face?), so for any culture. I have always thought that the Thais are prisoners of their own culture.

 

And even if they would look at education models outside Thailand, my guess is that they would look at the most intensive Asian systems  first (Japan, China, South Korea) which put a lot of pressure on students. Not at more balanced systems where more thinking space is given to the students. Saying that, I'm not an education pro, this is just my impression. 

Edited November 15, 2021 by gejohesch
adding a line

[BritManToo]

8 minutes ago, gejohesch said:

I have always thought that the Thais are prisoners of their own culture.

And we arrive here as voluntary inmates.

If their system is so bad, and out system is so great ......... why are we all living here?

My daughter went through Thai government school, followed by Thai government university, graduated earlier this year and walked straight into a job. I couldn't be happier with the Thai government education system.

 

She now earns enough money to buy her own home, how many western new graduates can do that? My kids back in the UK are still renting & house sharing 10 years after graduation. All this talk about poor Thai education is just more nonsense from people who appear to hate Thailand.

Edited November 15, 2021 by BritManToo

[gejohesch]

3 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

And we arrive here as voluntary inmates.

If their system is so bad, and out system is so great ......... why are we all living here?

I don't think "we" come to Thailand because of the qualities (or lack of) of its education system. ????

[Dexxter]

5 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

And we arrive here as voluntary inmates.

If their system is so bad, and out system is so great ......... why are we all living here?

Their women? LOL