Mobile Phone Vidoes Thai Teacher Beating Kid

[Somtamnication]

Oh Judas. Please read posts on university student lies and rampant cheating. Some of my tests come back almost identical complete with identical misspells, etc etc. Do you teach? Where is that perfect school again?

The carrot and stick method is what I use. Sometimes it works, other times it simply doesn't. That is due to either a cultural faux pas on my part or just plain hard hardheadedness on the part of the student.

As the teacher in my class, I chose to be a dictator. If you are not, they will run all over you. Notebooks missing? Forgotten at home too many times? So how do they study for tests and homework if they have 30 loose sheets of paper and a half filled book?

I reward with stickers, candy and sometimes, if I confiscated too many of those dam_n brown trading cards they all gamble with at school, I return some of them if their work is good and are behaved.

Back on topic. Nothing on what they do that is against my rules in my classroom would justify the videos I have seen, nor the actions from Thai teachers that I have witnessed. Bugger all I can do about it if I see it. But I have taken pics and videos and some are posted in my blogs, but talking to admin is like talking to a wall.

[Scott]

Let's be civil towards one another. I think we have to remember that what works for one person may not work for another person. People, including teachers, have different 'comfort zones' of what is tolerable. Some people are very structured in their approach to teaching and life in general. Some are much more laid back. People work best in their comfort zone and trying to make them do something that feels quite unnatural or takes them away from that zone will fail.

The other thing to keep in mind is that we have a very WIDE age range of students being referred to in this forum. A 2nd grader needs to be dealt with differently than a University student. We also have a wide range of class sizes and support systems, such as a Thai Teacher in the room. We have teachers who see the same students everyday. We have teachers who see the students once a week. We have teachers who know their names and we have teachers who wouldn't recognize them in or out of a classroom. We have new teachers, we have experienced teachers. We have teachers teaching the children of the wealthy and we have teachers teaching the children of the very poor.

[piercefilmlid]

I can tell you that when physical punishment was removed in the UK many boys eyes lit up. I saw the most arrogant and quite frankly criminally inclined boys (As it turned out they became) would square up to teachers face to face with the "what you gonna do about it" attitude. the fact is the fear of a good thrashing dissappeared. Boys will often push the boundaries in school as far as they can and when you move that boundary back you are in retreat. I talk from experience and there are some boys in Thai schools who I have dragged down to the discipline room to get what they deserve.

Rubbish.

I have 2 kids in school in the UK at the moment. I visited one of the schools a couple of weeks ago. It was far more disciplined and the students were much better behaved than kids were when I was at school in the 1970s/1980s.

The first 2 schools that I attended in my education dished out physical punishment on a regular basis, with very little effect, other than fostering hatred of staff and a deep suspicion that one or two of them got a sexual kick out of it (which I now realise they clearly did).

By contrast, the second senior school which I attended did not have physical punishment and there was much better discipline and mutual respect between students and staff - hence a much more relaxed and better learning environment.

If you cannot handle and discipline kids without beating them, then you should question your skills as a parent or a teacher. Do not replace weakness in your character with the use of violence.

And, no, I am not a bleeding-heart liberal. I believe that in many Western countries we are too soft in dealing with anti-social and criminal acts - but there are more effective ways to modify and correct behaviours.

Edited October 12, 2009 by PeaceBlondie
edited nested quotes. PB

[Credo]

Discipline is not easy. A lot of people who believe in physical punishment DO NOT believe that anyone else should deliver it to their children. Therein lies the problem.

[exe]

I don't do punishments anymore.

I feel better for it, and so do my students.

I praise and reward for good behaviour (generally NOT for good work because that excludes the less able students)

The students who are bad don't get punished, they just don't get quite as much praise and reward. After a while, they yearn for it. I've seen it and done it countless times.

I do agree with you. Praising and rewarding are in some cases enough, especially if you teach in a govt school in the city. Try to go somewhere else.

Problems (of tardiness/forgetting notebooks/chatting in Thai etc) are only problems if you recognize them as such.

Scott is quite right. Forget a notebook? Then share or use paper.

Chatting in Thai? No worries - please do it quietly.

Late? Big deal. Just come in will ya - glad you could make it.

Have you seen the buffalo fighting they do in Isaan where two of the beasts butt heads and try to push the other one back?

Try to make sure that isnt you and a student.

You may win the push, but you will end up unhappy, unfulfilled and with an ulcer.

First, teachers should show integrity. They should follow rules set by the MoE/school and eventually set their own rules, which must be based on Thai culture. I hope you know what the principal Thai values are. Disobeying to an authority, such as a teacher, is almost a sin.

I don't discuss your way of teaching. Every teacher is free to follow what they believe it's the best way of teaching: such as fun สนุก and เคร่ง. But either ways, this doesn't include setting behavioural rules.

Quick example: Wai (ไหว้). Most of foreign teacher tell their students no to ไหว้ at them, but to say hello. This is completely wrong. What the kids understand is that they don't need to ไหว้ at farang. And in fact they don't. ไหว้ is a form of respect, and farang should be happy when Thai people ไหว้ at them. The same goes for teachers: saying "hello" doesn't show any respect. It's just an informal greeting. ไหว้, in other hands, it's really formal and has a deeper meaning. They are not interchangeable.

Please remember, we are still in Thailand. You can teach English language and culture, but there are limits. Showing and teaching students to greet people according to English culture: OK. Asking students to greet you outside the classroom with "hello": completely different.

[Ijustwannateach]

[ryladie99]

There's a report of the incident on this Australian news link

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0...5003402,00.html

The BK post reported that the school would not dismiss the teacher because they had no one to fill his classes before the upcoming exams.

They also said the boy concerned was not 'angry' at the teacher and that he 'had deserved it'. Draw your own conclusions about why he might say that.

The 'best' part of it was the teacher's reaction on being questioned; he said 'yes it was wrong, but kids get hurt a lot worse in playground fights'. That was the bit that astounded me the most. I think its fairly safe to assume that he would have got away with this action and attitude, but the publicity around the story should ensure he gets binned. (I note another poster says he's voluntarily resigned...any confirmations?).

As a 'farang' teacher in a state institution I do witness unruly behaviour, but if you can't handle kids being kids you shouldn't be in the job. To any who may sympathise with the teacher, just ask yourself whether you would want your own kids to study in his class (apparently all the kid did was not bring his books to class, then give a smart-ass reply when told off about it. This happens almost daily to me; my answer is - "OK, good luck in the exams".).

Hello you are the best teacher of the year..I am so honor to meet you on line..Keep posting and educating Farangs for teachers. Thai students need all of you..Farangs

You all make your difference. They will be able to read, write and speak English when they have a good teacher like you..( outstanding, nice and compassion )

Thank you for sharing...and please do not discourage..keep it going...

[Scott]

Thank you. It's always good to hear something nice once in a while. It's appreciated.