Thailand reduces school hours in major curriculum overhaul

[BangkokReady]

10 hours ago, dinsdale said:

Maybe you can explain how reducing the hours of a school day equals to taking money out of the education system to be used elsewhere.

 

Loss of one period a day would be five a week.  A school with 100 classes would lose 500 lessons per week.  If there are ten subjects, that's 50 fewer lessons per subject per week.  That's got to be enough to lay off a few teachers per school.

[john donson]

my kids went to government school for their last 3 years... school was done at 2 or 3 pm. but were forced , peer pressure, to stay for stupid non related activities like dancing or singing for school play...

[bob smith]

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

I used to teach in those UK council estate schools, and they were worse than the Thai government schools I've encountered.

worse in what way?

 

don't thai teachers still beat kids senseless for not paying attention?

 

bob.

[MarkBR]

2 hours ago, Surasak said:

100% agree. Find out what the child is interested in doing and teach them accordingly. That system would cost more due to specialist teachers being required. The end result would be brighter and happier students/adults with a more knowledgeable workforce. The country can only gain.   

But it will never happen.

[dinsdale]

58 minutes ago, BangkokReady said:

 

Loss of one period a day would be five a week.  A school with 100 classes would lose 500 lessons per week.  If there are ten subjects, that's 50 fewer lessons per subject per week.  That's got to be enough to lay off a few teachers per school.

A 45 min lesson (in reality 40 min or a bit less) is a good lesson length. This way you don't miss a lesson. They're just a bit shorter. The OP doesn't mention anything about how this will happen (IF IT DOES?) but I think six 45 minute lessons a day. Shortens the average 6 lesson per day school day for students by an hour whilst retaining the six lessons a day.

Edited June 27 by dinsdale

[dinsdale]

2 hours ago, Surasak said:

100% agree. Find out what the child is interested in doing and teach them accordingly. That system would cost more due to specialist teachers being required. The end result would be brighter and happier students/adults with a more knowledgeable workforce. The country can only gain.   

Facebook, Tik Tok and games. As for individual teaching that's all well and good if there are 10 or less students in the class but try that with 40 students in a class. 4 classes of 40 students a day all being taught what THEY want to learn would be around 200 individual lesson plans per day. 1000 lesson plans a week? This is obviously impossible..

[tomazbodner]

12 hours ago, webfact said:

Those in Mathayom 1 to 3 (grades seven to nine) face no fewer than 1,200 hours a year. For Mathayom 4 to 6 (grades 10 to 12), the total amounts to over 3,600 hours across three years.

So what's mathematical difference between grade 7-9 and 10-12?

[BangkokReady]

36 minutes ago, tomazbodner said:

So what's mathematical difference between grade 7-9 and 10-12?

 

Nothing?  Probably a blip in the AI.

[dinsdale]

41 minutes ago, tomazbodner said:

So what's mathematical difference between grade 7-9 and 10-12?

If age is a mathematical difference then I guess you've got your answer.

[chondan]

I taught M1-1, to M1-7 all boys 12 years old.  Smallest class 47 students largest classes M1-5, M1-6, M1-7 was 68 students.  900 students I would say  maybe 90 students  passed.  However (every student passed.)  One kid M1-7  weakest class, one student scored the highest grade in the school.  I had never met him once.  Thai Senators son.  Amazing.   Two years was enough.  I also taught Univ. Senior English majors.  I had to use a 4th grade text book. they said it was difficult.  Later on I taught in Danang, VN.  Kids 6-8 years old in a language school 10 kids per class we finished the book in 2 weeks.  I have a masters in English and Educ.  I have taught many years.  The reason I taught in Thailand was because I had a farm and kids there.  I wish I had known about VN sooner.   The kids were eager and the pay was double what I got in Thailand.

[Peabody]

14 hours ago, webfact said:

Initially set at 7.6 billion baht (US$ 205.5 million), the budget was reduced to 4.1 billion baht (US$ 110 million).

Honey, call your brother and cancel that new

BMW.

[MrJ2U]

That's a start.

 

Our kids are at school for 8 hours not including lunch.

 

They need to start later also.

 

"Later school times promote adolescent well-being"

https://www.apa.org/topics/children/school-start-times

 

 

 

[TPI]

14 hours ago, webfact said:

Initially set at 7.6 billion baht (US$ 205.5 million), the budget was reduced to 4.1 billion baht (US$ 110 million).

 

 

14 hours ago, dinsdale said:

Maybe you can explain how reducing the hours of a school day equals to taking money out of the education system to be used elsewhere. Not mentioned in the article but I would think a reduction in the time of one study period from one hour to forty five minutes may be one thing they are considering or a reduction from six in class hours a day to five or maybe both. How on earth does this equate to taking money away from the budget.

It's a matter of spreading largess in other directions...the money had to come from somewhere, why not education? The money is wasted on the children anyway!

[Bundooman]

Goody, Goody! Cry the students. 

More spare time to stick our noses into our phones,iPads and Tablets, never looking up to see who we are walking into or where we are going..

And we'll still be able to use them in the classroom, won't we?

More time for us to do our homework or write our essays using ChatGPT!

[Bundooman]

10 hours ago, bob smith said:

worse in what way?

 

don't thai teachers still beat kids senseless for not paying attention?

 

bob.

No, they don't! Dumb-ar&e statement. The same as saying all teachers, men and women, shag their students.

Only the few!

[Franky0815]

Is there still beating in Thai schools? How do Thai students perform in the PISA study? How good are Thai students in English and geography? Is the problem a budget problem or a system problem? I know a Thai doctor (30 years old) who doesn't speak English.

[Surasak]

11 hours ago, dinsdale said:

Facebook, Tik Tok and games. As for individual teaching that's all well and good if there are 10 or less students in the class but try that with 40 students in a class. 4 classes of 40 students a day all being taught what THEY want to learn would be around 200 individual lesson plans per day. 1000 lesson plans a week? This is obviously impossible..

OK Norman. Never look on the bright, it may disrupt your negative outlook on life.

[Purdey]

15 hours ago, wensiensheng said:

15 students to a class is impractical. The U.K. doesn’t have that few students to a class. Even international schools usually cap them at 20.

You are correct that 20 is the average in a good school today but I was thinking about 15 being recommended. 

According to the NEA, a good number to target is 15, which lies in the middle of their studies based on the 13-17 students per classroom. 

https://www.raymondgeddes.com/blogs/news/determining-the-best-classroom-size

 

[dinsdale]

34 minutes ago, Surasak said:

OK Norman. Never look on the bright, it may disrupt your negative outlook on life.

There's nothing bright about having to plan 1000's of individualised lesson plans a month. It's simply impossible. No negative outlook here just common sense and an understanding of how teaching and learning works. As I said it's a good idea but only when practicable. Classes of 40+ it's most definitely not practical.

[Surasak]

8 minutes ago, dinsdale said:

There's nothing bright about having to plan 1000's of individualised lesson plans a month. It's simply impossible. No negative outlook here just common sense and an understanding of how teaching and learning works. As I said it's a good idea but only when practicable. Classes of 40+ it's most definitely not practical.

A 'teacher' I guess, so being practical? Tram lines, I suppose.

[BangkokReady]

10 hours ago, MrJ2U said:

That's a start.

 

Our kids are at school for 8 hours not including lunch.

 

They need to start later also.

 

"Later school times promote adolescent well-being"

https://www.apa.org/topics/children/school-start-times

 

Agreed. There's absolutely no need for students to be at school for 6:30am. 

 

Start later and be done by 4pm.

[BangkokReady]

4 hours ago, Franky0815 said:

How do Thai students perform in the PISA study?

 

Worst scores since records began in Thailand.

Edited June 28 by BangkokReady

[MrJ2U]

3 hours ago, BangkokReady said:

 

Agreed. There's absolutely no need for students to be at school for 6:30am. 

 

Start later and be done by 4pm.

I think the kids brains get saturated and then cant absorb anymore.

 

Luckily our kids school has Aircon.  I can't imagine learning in 38-44 C weather.

[trainman34014]

On 6/27/2024 at 8:53 AM, dinsdale said:

It doesn't mean a cut back in education. What it's about is trying to drag the education system here out of the mid 20thC into the 21stC.

Funny; i thought it was still in the 19th Century !

[JustThisOnePostOnly]

Decreasing school hours means increasing the amount of time kids spend unsupervised.

 

If you're trying to reduce underage drug use, this is exactly the wrong way to go.
 

[Chris Daley]

UK schools study for 6 hours from 9 to 3.  Thai schools study 12 hours from 6 to 5.

 

Yes the first hour is for the flag and the Thai song.  Then they have an hour of announcements.

 

But its worse than that because students have to leave the house at 5am.  Then there is the traffic jam, school vans and busses.  It is common now to have students living at the school 24/7 in condos and accomodation supplied by the school.

 

So there we have it.  Many students as young as 14 live at school.  I have personally seen this.  These freaks live at the school.  Some of them go home for the weekend.

 

I see kids sleeping in the classroom

  Some sitting upright but their eyes closed.  Some have headaches.

 

The Thai education hours are child abuse.  Walking into school with a megaphone screaming you are late in your ears.  Not to mention the worthless crap they learn.  How to be a soldier and march in the heat for 4 hours.  How to hold a sign up for the crowd art photos in the baking sun 6 hours.  How to give money to a monk 3 days.  How to sweep a floor (girls only). 

Edited June 28 by Chris Daley

[Speedhump]

An undereducated underclass is best for an undemocratic government. Teach them only work-related skills and keep them submissive.

[JulioSaphire]

With Thailand reducing school hours, parents might be looking for additional resources to help kids keep up or even excel in certain subjects. A flexible option could be incorporating online resources, especially for subjects like music where scheduling and traveling to lessons can be a challenge. For instance, there are platforms offering music lessons online that can be a great supplement to traditional classroom learning. These lessons can be accessed from home at any time, which makes it easy to fit into your new routine. They also offer a variety of instruments and styles, making it easy to find something that resonates with each student's interests.

Edited August 23 by JulioSaphire

[Chris Daley]

I sometimes have to arrive early.  So I turn up at 5am.  The students are already there in the canteen getting break fast.  Not just a few but hundreds of them.  The hours are child abuse.

 

In England we do a 6 hour day and leave at 3.  These freaks do a 12 hour day.

 

5 - wake up, get into a traffic jam

7:00 - morning ceremony and attendance / period 0 class

8:00 - national song, school song, meditation, 12 values of a student, announcements

8:30 - period 1

12:00 - lunch time, teacher asks you to come to the office / no lunch

16:30 - most students go home. arrive home 6:30

16:30 - more ''duties''

20:00 - go home

 

So counting the traffic jams it could easily amount to a 12 hour day.  Then they have the students in on the weekends as well.  This is just a scam so that the teachers get some over time.

 

I would suggest they remove the entire morning ceremony as it is useless.  Remove the Thai bull<deleted> like ''how to walk'' ''marching''  ''how a woman should sweep the floor''.  Remove all Thai English teachers and replace them with natives.  Reduce the supreme officer lieutenant executive's salary by 90 percent.  And fire 50 percent of the staff that are not actually teaching.  If they don't teach in a classroom fire them.  I really can't begin the describe the corruption in Thai schools.  Hundreds of millions of baht is diverted every year.  We don't have wifi in the classroom but they give out free cars to other staff.

Edited August 24 by Chris Daley

[Antonynguyen]

Totally agree with cutting school hours, I want children's childhood to be less full of numbers and more filled with fun.