This Time, Let's Not Let Down Our Children Again: Thai Opinion

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EDITORIAL

This time, let's not let down our children again

The Nation

Each year we fail to live up to the promises made on Children's Day; it's time we began to deliver on pledges to improve education and opportunity

It is a tradition that the prime minister offers a motto to celebrate National Children's Day. This year's motto reads: Unity with Knowledge, Preserve the Thai Identity, Pay Attention to Technology.

Unfortunately, it is also a tradition that the National Children's Day motto is usually forgotten shortly after the occasion. Nevertheless, adults can still make this special date for children more meaningful if they can set an example for them to follow - by adhering to the guidelines set out by the motto this year.

Children are our most valuable asset because they are the future of our nation. Therefore, it's worth examining whether we, the adults, have done our part to support our children. Have we helped them to achieve the three components that are written in this year's Children's Day's motto. The answer is not really satisfactory.

First, we have failed in the first part of the motto, which is "Unity with Knowledge". Our children are growing up in a divided society that has been polarised because of our inability to listen to other voices and reconcile with each other.

Nobody can deny that we have not set a good example for our children. We certainly have not shown them how to accommodate differences via constructive reasoning and the sharing of knowledge. The ongoing arguments over several contentious issues have led nowhere because we have used emotion rather than knowledge or reason to try to gain the advantage. There has been little effort to bridge the differences.

"Preserve the Thai Identity" is also a tricky phrase and goal to live up to because we have done a bad job in defining for the younger generations what exactly the "Thai identity" is.

Young people perhaps would feel the urge to preserve a Thai identity if they learned to appreciate and value the Thai way of life. But what children learn these days, in school and from the media, does not provide an environment in which they can appreciate who they are. The younger generations grow up aspiring to be like certain personalities, or aspiring to a certain "lifestyle", because that's what their parents have shown them to do.

We have not shown future generations the true meaning of "Pay Attention to Technology", except for populist promises to give them free computer tablets. Pay Attention to Technology should be an encouragement to students to reach out for possibilities and strive for goals that they have envisioned by using technology as a tool. But the government's campaign to promote technology in schools is corrupted by the promise of gadget handouts to students rather than the promise of a good education that would enable them to use these tools to realise their potential.

The late Steve Jobs suggested that good liberal arts studies programmes encourage children to innovate and think differently. However, the school curriculum here has failed to provide an environment to enhance students' creativity.

While many institutions are preparing events and activities to celebrate this special occasion for children, we should take the opportunity to reflect on what we have done - or rather, what we haven't done - for our children. After all, children are entitled to the right to grow up in a healthy environment that will make them quality citizens of the future. And we have the duty to provide this supportive environment. If we cannot do so, we should be ashamed of ourselves for violating our children's rights.

We can start by paying special attention to the promises made in the annual motto. Children nation-wide are excited about their day, and they will take these promises for granted.

If we fail to deliver on our promises to nurture our children in the kind of environment we have promised them, how can we ever show them that we are good role models and responsible adults?

-- The Nation 2012-01-14

[David48]

Humm … if wonder if The Nation could release their source of the photo because the ethnicity of the people photographed here look more Indian then Thai ! Certainly not the ‘Thai Identity’ mentioned in the article.

Plus … if the ‘children’ in the photo were of school age, would they have the prerequisite school shoulder length hair cut?

Looks more like they are praying to Allah!

Oh ... don’t let the sarcasm put you off … the children of the world are our future and we should invest a lot of time in their, and subsequently our future.

[BigJohnnyBKK]

They are doing stretching exercises based on Yoga, very popular now among the haves of Bangkok, including ethnic Thais/Chinese-Thais/Indian-Thais.

I think you're right about these not being ethnic Thais, more likely from one of the Indian-dominated so-called International Schools.

[7by7]

Looks more like they are praying to Allah!

They are doing stretching exercises based on Yoga, very popular now among the haves of Bangkok, including ethnic Thais/Chinese-Thais/Indian-Thais.

Indeed; when Muslims pray they don't lie on their stomachs and stretch up, they kneel and bend forward to touch their forehead to the ground.

[ludditeman]

Good point about girls hair length, these children are not at a Thai government school.

All the kids at my local government school were given 210bht today, to buy educational supplies.

[TheWalkingMan]

Unity with Knowledge = Never question what the teacher tells you. Just believe it and everything will be fine.

Pay Attention to Technology = Did you get the latest iphone or Samsung?

[sirchai]

Children are our most valuable asset because they are the future of our nation.

Very true statement indeed. First: Fire all teachers at primary schools who hit the kids with bamboo sticks or anything else.

2. Educate teachers that they do not think they come right after Buddha.

3. Send Thai/English teachers to an English speaking country to actually speak and understand the language.

4. Stop always testing kids.

5. Change O-Net tests into tests in proper English.

6. Let kids fail if they don't get it. More teachers would have a job and kids would take it more serious to learn.

7. Divide them in groups from beginners to a kind of advanced. Can't have 50+ kids in a classroom and one hour of English per week.

8. Let children think critical and enable them to ask questions. Thai kids are not used to ask questions, what they should do.

9. Focus on other ways to educate them. Kids are not stupid, just some educators are.

10. Give them proper food at schools, don't allow speed for kids in form of candies that makes them to hyperactive zombies.

11. Forget the idea to give all Prathomsuksa one students a free tablet PC, it won't work. Has anybody really thought about charging batteries and the right software?

​12. Fire all pedophiles at Thai schools who are abusing students, even if it's the principal.

13. Educate parents that education also takes place at home.

14.. Let them go home earlier and teach them not so much bla bla bla they'll never need. Let them be kids. This could go on and on and on....

Edited January 14, 2012 by sirchai

[moe666]

Crap, children are always being let down by adults. Having a childrens day will not change that.

[TAWP]

How about changing the other 364 days to be children's day too - if that means just making sure that some basic thought is thrown in their direction, such as this day is about. Apart from the extra bad food and candy. Which something is the opposite of thinking of the children, long-term...but I digress.

[geriatrickid]

Birth control.

It is the only effective means of preventing child abuse. Spay and neuter unfit parents and those not mentally comptent. That's my modest proposal.

Discuss amongst yourself. I'm going down to the Jon Swift Pub for some delicious bebe tartare only available at this time of year........

[lannarebirth]

Birth control.

It is the only effective means of preventing child abuse. Spay and neuter unfit parents and those not mentally comptent. That's my modest proposal.

Discuss amongst yourself. I'm going down to the Jon Swift Pub for some delicious bebe tartare only available at this time of year........

Who gets to decide who is unfit or mentally incompetent? You? Or someone like you? No thanks.

[Thaddeus]

Whitney Houston was wrong.

[Thaddeus]

Birth control.

It is the only effective means of preventing child abuse. Spay and neuter unfit parents and those not mentally comptent. That's my modest proposal.

Discuss amongst yourself. I'm going down to the Jon Swift Pub for some delicious bebe tartare only available at this time of year........

A shining example of who should not be allowed to make any contribution to society.

I really hope that your sperm are lazy.

[letitbe]

sorry no chance ive lived here for 16+ years mostly with our 2 children and sorry to say the Thai education system and schools are total rubbish except some very good private ones and its been getting worse. As far as chidrens day is concerned we are usually in CM at this time of year for a holiday to visit friends with young children even though it means taking our children out of their normal excellent Thai private school for a few days. This year has been a very sad affair compared with previous years with hardly any of previous generosity and spirit displayed before. In previous years many places gave little gifts to kids free and had some great free children's shows and rides. This meant even poor children had a nice time. This year its all been about money money and the meanness of spirit means we left normal places early and took kids swimming instead. At swimming pool which is in a very expensive gated moo ban one of our friends children was watching the tennis courts and wanted to go in. A very aggressive and rude Thai lady shouted get out she cant come in here. Not a nice pleasant experience and that on children's day. She could have simply said please we have a serious game here or something. What a lovely end of a bad day for the kids who in previous years had great fun. Talking to some others later about this incident who lived in CM they said they knew exactly who that would be and she was normally at tennis court most days and many considered her to be one of rudest nastiest people around. We were appalled but our friend said CM had a lot of so called hiso Thai ladies who had no manners mostly married to forang and she did her best to avoid them totally and that it was getting worse. Luckily where we live in a part of Thailand that still mostly shows genuine thai kindness and sprit as in old way. I put it all down to total greed and corruption that nice man Taksin has made an accepted way of things here. Although their has always been bad corruption in 16+ years it seems to get worse and like schools and Thai government education it does not improve. Anyone expecting this government to do anything better not hold their breath.

[letitbe]

Good point about girls hair length, these children are not at a Thai government school.

All the kids at my local government school were given 210bht today, to buy educational supplies.

Good point about girls hair length, these children are not at a Thai government school.

All the kids at my local government school were given 210bht today, to buy educational supplies.

thats cheap bribe money typical Taksin type ploy use government money to buy popularity instead of providing decent education give them a measly crumb ot spend on sweets and mugs fall for it every time so get what they deserve I dont even believe you

[sirchai]

Birth control.

It is the only effective means of preventing child abuse. Spay and neuter unfit parents and those not mentally comptent. That's my modest proposal.

Discuss amongst yourself. I'm going down to the Jon Swift Pub for some delicious bebe tartare only available at this time of year........

Sounds like Dr. Mengele had left children....

[sirchai]

Birth control.

It is the only effective means of preventing child abuse. Spay and neuter unfit parents and those not mentally comptent. That's my modest proposal.

Discuss amongst yourself. I'm going down to the Jon Swift Pub for some delicious bebe tartare only available at this time of year........

Hope you had your bebe tartare already. How can Birth Control prevent child abuse? Discuss this with yourself.

Edited January 15, 2012 by sirchai

[phiphidon]

Good point about girls hair length, these children are not at a Thai government school.

All the kids at my local government school were given 210bht today, to buy educational supplies.

Good point about girls hair length, these children are not at a Thai government school.

All the kids at my local government school were given 210bht today, to buy educational supplies.

thats cheap bribe money typical Taksin type ploy use government money to buy popularity instead of providing decent education give them a measly crumb ot spend on sweets and mugs fall for it every time so get what they deserve I dont even believe you

It's a good job you can afford private schools for your children so you can get some decent education for them. Wouldn't want them bribed with sweets,eh?Nice to see you gave the poor kids a thought whilst your kids swim in an exclusive gated community but their friends couldn't play tennis - and it's all down to that nasty man Thaksin. Any luck with leaving the country yet?