Thai Communities Can Play A Bigger Role In Education

[webfact]

EDITORIAL

Communities can play a bigger role in education

By The Nation

Temples, once the educational centres of the nation, should be brought back with a grassroots schooling role in support of the formal system

Progressive thinkers in the West may not like the idea of linking the State with religion, but in Thailand the debate over the extent of the role of religion in public life and policy has always been there. At times it gives the political establishment some serious pause for thought.

This debate also takes place in the West - such as prayer in American schools - although in the developed world it is generally agreed that mixing the two ideas is not a good thing.

Thai society, on the other hand, sees nothing wrong with incorporating morality into the debate, if the end result is a good thing. Our rites and ceremonies, including those in political life, are often attended by monks, and everybody goes along for the ride as one big happy family, although that "reality" is not always the case, especially for non-Buddhist Thais.

In Thailand, perhaps the area where Buddhism is most welcomed is in the realm of education. In the past, temples played a direct role in providing education for our children. But since modern education was introduced, students no longer need to go to the temple for their lessons. The teaching of Buddhism has always been important, but eventually religious studies have had to take a back seat to language, mathematics and science as the country required an educated workforce to meet the demands and challenges of the modern world.

But having laymen teach morality doesn't quite work the same way. With the monks it was different. At least a monk has, or is supposed to have, the moral authority to impart theological ideas. We Thai people like to tell our children about the value of education and that we should respect our educators, but in reality we treat them, professionally, as third-grade. Think of teachers' pay and the little effort the state puts into educating, training and recruiting qualified teachers. It has become a profession that is "uncool", and people who go to teachers' training college are seen as those who couldn't get into a good university.

While improving the public school system and the teacher corps is a challenge in itself, perhaps it's time for Buddhist temples to rethink their place and role in educating the youngsters of today.

While not all temples get what they want, many receive a great deal of money through donations and other activities. Why not re-channel this money into educating youngsters in their respective communities? With the huge amount of money the temples generate, surely they can make a difference. If only they knew how to spend it wisely.

The idea here is not to turn the clock back to the old days when temples were the only place for folk in rural communities to send their children for schooling. The idea is to make use of the temples' resources in the area of education. At this juncture, the private sector, as well as the authorities, could enter the picture and provide their expertise. Education is no longer a one-way street, and all of us, regardless of income and background, can play a role.

Besides channelling money from temples into education, perhaps some sort of education fund and grant system could be set up to help needy students who have the grades but not the budget to further their education. We often think big and come up with big projects, but we should instead look for ways for people at the community level to help in shaping children's education.

As it stands, it appears that religion and the community, especially the youngsters, are drifting further and further apart. Modernity has taken its toll and so have the social vices that come with it.

But it's never too late to begin to rectify problems. Again, the idea here is not to bring religion into the public and political spheres. The relationship has always been there, so why not improve certain aspects of it to benefit communities? In this case, the debate should be centred on how to make the best use of the temples' idle cash.

Buddhists believe that they make merit, or boon, when they donate money to temples. Just think how happy they would be if their money went to help improving the livelihoods and futures of needy children in the form of educational funds.

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[sirchai]

Buddhists believe that they make merit, or boon, when they donate money to temples. Just think how happy they would be if their money went to help improving the livelihoods and futures of needy children in the form of educational funds.

Holy buffalo shit. They do make merits, some of them are so superficial that they're even asking for the upcoming lottery numbers. Please ask Thai students who Siddhartha Gautama was and you'll see how much they know about their religion. :jap:

[wackysleet]

It seems the government wants someone else to pay to educate the uneducated.

[Route21]

The banner headline is: "Communities can play a bigger role in education."

Whilst I would have no problem with the local Wat instilling a decent sense of morailty into local Bhuddist kids at an early age, I believe the "community" is bigger than that.

In local rural areas that don't have any access to "Native English Speakers" in their schools, there must be many expats who would be happy to spend some of their "retirement" time helping such kids with their English (possibly in return for an approrpiate relaxation of the residency requirements?).

Unfortunately, they may be prevented from doing so, even for free, due to the work permit rules, that could, I understand, result in them being permanently deported!

What a waste of a talent pool!

Any chance of ThaiVisa/The Nation's support

Rgds

R21

[truethailand]

Buddhists believe that they make merit, or boon, when they donate money to temples. Just think how happy they would be if their money went to help improving the livelihoods and futures of needy children in the form of educational funds.

Holy buffalo shit. They do make merits, some of them are so superficial that they're even asking for the upcoming lottery numbers. Please ask Thai students who Siddhartha Gautama was and you'll see how much they know about their religion. :jap:

Dont worry about

Siddhartha Gautama

I have shown the picture of Nelson Mandela to 2 teachers I chat too online both had no idea who he was. I gave one the clue 'He was the most important black man anywhere in the world over the last 30 years' expecting the answer Michael Jackson I was totally shocked when the reply came on my screen....'I dont know I dont teach history'. I kid you not if it was not so important I would p1ss myself. The same teacher told me she had been to the River Kwai, to the bridge so I asked her did she know who built it and she told me the Japanese soldiers built it. Its not funny these teachers are able to vote and they breed. As for the monks one visited my sons school every friday and the english teacher could not see the point of him being there as for two lessons he just showed videos of people dying of aids. My son was 4 at the time. FUBAR does not fully explain the incompetence of the Thai State Education system.

I have been using an English curriculum from my old primary school which was sent to me after I explain the dire state of things here. Thinking I would fill in the blanks with this curriculum I soon found everything I was teaching him he had not done at school. Only today he showed me some homework about addition something we covered over 10 months ago (now hes six). When you consider the English schools program allows for 190 -1 days (dependant on if the school is to be used for election purposes) for teaching 38 weeks with 5 hours teaching per day = 25 a week. A child in England will receive aprox 950 hours per year plus sporting activities.

In Thailand officially you get less than 160 days per year. When you take out their nap allowance and the time they sit watching cartoons, preparation for religious festivals and all the other arse kissing crap they go thru. the reality is they dont even get half the schooling of a westerner. The bell rings at 15.40 and all the kids pile out only for half of them to go back in 15 mins later for private tuition. What the f##k they teaching between 08.00 and 15.40. Can anybody on this forum remember going to a state school and going back after 16.00 for private lessons about core subjects. Now her indoors thinks my youngest should attend summer school while she should be on holiday, shes another product of the same system and believes she will learn more. If that were not bad enough the quality of most of western teachers in Europe and America are so much superior to most of the teachers here your child will likely be getting nearer a third of the education.

The only upside I see is my sons social skills have improved no end at his present school and I am extremely thankful to his friends and teachers for that. All I can say is thank god for youtube because there is some excellent learning material on there.

Rant about education over..... only for now because the veins are protruding from my temples. Education my ricker

Edited February 8, 2011 by truethailand

[SICHONSTEVE]

It seems the government wants someone else to pay to educate the uneducated.

Hang about!! Why do you say that the government wants someone else to pay to educate the uneducated???? Unless of course you think that the 'Nations editor' who wrote this editorial piece is a policy spokesperson for the government!!!

[elshaheen]

Well, the old saying is true. "If you can't work, become a teacher."