The Quality Of Teaching Is What Really Matters

[lungmi]

All the important current and past leaders in Thailand were educated outside of the country going back more than a century. What did they learn? Apparently not enough to want a quality education system for Thailand. I would blame the problem on Oxford, Harvard and Kentucky State.

Missed it by a mile.

I would blame the elitist attitudes of the minority which prefer to keep the bulk of the educationally-disadvantaged population in ignorance. Easier to rule, control and mislead.

I would blame the elitist attitudes of the "majority" of the PTP and red ammats which prefer to keep the bulk of the educationally-disadvantaged population in ignorance that they have their votes.. Easier to rule, control and mislead.

[Jumper]

I think there's another point that's been missed here.

I put my son in a private high school in the US, but later changed my mind (I didn't like the elitist attitudes that were developing) and put him in our local public high school where he received a very good eduction.

Even in good schools, some students fail. Even in poor schools, some students succeed. I feel the biggest determining factor in the success of a student is the level of importance his parents place on education. Education is very much a partnership between teachers and parents.

If the parents do not think education is important, generally their children do not do well in school.

[bigbamboo]

Thai education never fail to amaze. Whether it's the school sports day where ninety per cent of the kids sit around and eat whilst the rest attempt to get around the track and more emphasis is put on the cheerleaders than the competitors or the incredible quote from an ex Thai PM claiming that Thai universities were the best as every student left with a degree!

[chrisinth]

Above posters are spot on. With experience in several levels of Thai education to the MBA level, I can attest to the massive educational problems. Firstly, it's always been about money and materialism, at least back to 1972 when I first came to Thailand.

I have had 3rd and 4th year students in English taught business management programs that continually disrupt the class with their talking, lack of any reading of textbooks, no preparation for their classes, and able to do nothing but use their cellphones with wi-fi. They constantly cause disruptions for those who want to learn in the class.

Many do not want to be in their programs their taking, but parents force them to go. They are not interested in any of the business subjects their taking and never ever read any business news in journals, papers, books, etc.

Given a simple amount of homework to bring home the business theory, many never bother to do it, but come to class and just copy the answers when you go over the homework for the other students. You have a difficult time assigning any work at home for points because a few students do the work and rest copy from their classmates. Cheating is common in the classrooms if they can get away with it.

Many students who do not possess the English language to be entered in an English taught, so called International Business Program, are allowed to enter many programs without any testing for qualifications in English. Today its about money made off the students without any genuine caring for the students success.

In one vocaational Business school, the students were passed thru by making the teachers give them some irrelevant little project before passing them on to the next level. I have walked by some classrooms at these schools where the Thai teachers with 50 students are teaching to a handfull while the rest are talking and doing other things that has nothing to do with the class. For the girls and its, there more cosmetic and fashion books be read than school books.

Can not answer for the Thai teachers, but I do know that most of the foreign teachers are trying to do their utmost to give the students a good program. They are made to do the lesson plans by the administrations and program heads, which are used for show, while at the same time putting pressure on teachers to pass the students thru.

Knowledge can be taught by the teachers ( think they are hardworking and skilled), but if the students do not apply themselves at all levels to learn or put in any effort, knowledge will not be absorbed. It's time to quit blaming all the teachers and put more of the responsibility on the students and parents.

Future leaders come from the abilities and knowledge learned by the young students, and then the young adults having some desire to take over and lead the Thai people when the time comes.

Good post Lifer, that just about covers all the points I have observed and information from teachers I have known.

[chainarong]

As it has been said before, all the leaders, the upper crust and the blue blood set etc, have mostly been educated outside of Thailand, one way or another, so this leaves me with a sad realisation , that the level of education is deliberate, we don't want the peasants running the country, heaven forbid.

[Reasonableman]

Perhaps if they were educated, they might no longer be "peasants", however you understand that term (urban-rural poor?). A lot of people here are fighting for access to the best educational opportunities for the most talented, not the most wealthy. Is that not a democratic principle worth supporting? Why do others argue against it? Go figure.

As it has been said before, all the leaders, the upper crust and the blue blood set etc, have mostly been educated outside of Thailand, one way or another, so this leaves me with a sad realisation , that the level of education is deliberate, we don't want the peasants running the country, heaven forbid.

[Unkomoncents]

Changes in US education policy are very recent and many have been controversial, to say the least. There is a lot of conflicting evidence out there to suggest that New York State's teacher evaluation programs will not improve American students' standardized test results. There are a multitude of problems with education in the United States. One of them is that the states control education budgets and local taxes (property taxes, to be specific) often dictate what resources a particular school district has available to it. This is one reason that education is so unequal in America; if you can afford property (and the taxes) in a wealthy district, your kids will go to excellent schools (see California and suburban New York school reputations). Also, teachers have comparatively low salaries and social standing (while public school positions continue to require expensive post-secondary educational tracks), so most of the best, most competitive individuals seek jobs with private schools or in other careers entirely. In addition, American educational culture has devolved with the advent of self-esteem-oriented policies and the social acceptance of parents and students demanding the "right" grade for themselves from teachers. This is part and parcel of the related problem of grade inflation in America (the "C" grade is no longer accepted as average and many parents and students are will to practically claw faces until they get exactly the marks they believe they are entitled to). I know many angry American teachers who are sick and tired of lazy, entitled, arrogant American brats forcing the hands of those who are rightly supposed to be doing the evaluating.

Thailand has many of the same problems. Teacher salaries in Thailand are absurdly low and there is no centralized, standardized curriculum or monitoring body to help ensure quality in Thai classrooms. Anyone who's interests extend beyond the sex industry and slow-paced lifestyle in Thailand almost immediately finds the country completely unpalatable as a career destination. There are so many problems with standards, honesty, integrity, commitment and proper intent within the Thai educational administrative structure, that most serious teachers pack up and leave Thailand almost immediately after arriving (within one to two years). The best teachers in Thailand are the ones who stay either because of family or a genuine love for the country and culture. Unfortunately, these are few and far between, as most teachers I've come across squarely have emotional/psychological problems, addictions, and other factors which prevented them from adequately assimilating in their own respective cultures. They find refuge in Thailand, as it's such a tolerant country. Ultimately, there are so many things that would need to change before, in a competitive marketplace, Thailand could even begin seriously hiring qualified, quality teachers that it's hard to take these editorials seriously. They seem content to take ideas from America, and, as an American, I can say that's a serious problem because America is hemorrhaging as a result of its insistence on playing the short-game (politically) with regard to progress, infrastructure, and self-improvement.

Edited February 19, 2012 by Unkomoncents

[lungmi]

All the important current and past leaders in Thailand were educated outside of the country going back more than a century. What did they learn?

How to be better thieves.

You are included as one of the SS Oberkommando. It's your job in Thailand?

[lungmi]

I'm outside the discussion and a little bit outside Thailand.

I'm teacher for mountain gypsies (Hmong, Karen, Lisu)

I'm happy.

What I hear for normal thai students in your posts , I can agree.

In my hilltribe school we are far away from curriculum and other BS coming from Bangkok.

We have fish-farm, bio-rice farming, music and dancing group -you can forget Las Vegas,

One of the students (orphan) we supported from a help organisation in Germany now comes back as a teacher.

Growing up by the roots.......

[toenail]

Thailand can look at other countries and observe what works and what doesn't work in public education. For example, in the United States it spends an estimated $91,000 per student only second to Switzerland; meanwhile the test scores compared to other countries are basically "in the middle" or poor when comparing to other developed countries. True, back 40 -50 years ago, the US rank as one of the higest in quality of education. There are varioius factors which has made the American students less "academic". Some of the factors have to do with attitude. Back 40-50 years ago, the family structure was more stable and the parents supported the teacher in the classroom. Now, the attitude is "It's the teacher's fault". Next, there are the latest "fads" that hit the various school systems, from the open classroom, the no graded system, to giving the child choices of what HE wants to use as an evaluation tool, to being more computer centered than teaching the three R's. Along with this is the constant state testing which takes up teaching time and may be a poor evalutation tool for indicating a child's progress. There is also the tenure that a teacher receives after a couple years teaching which makes it harder to dismiss a poor teacher. The positive aspect of schools in the USA is that they have made great progress in educating all students with learning "issues" (disabilities) ; the handicap; and minorities. Also, the classroom encourages creative thinking rather than purely memorizing facts. Asian schools may test better in math and science scores, but can the student come up with his own ideas and do problem solving? The whole point with Thai schools is that the family is the most imporant part of a child's success and also well managed schools. Give a child an i-Pad will not make him better in school. After all, you need trained teachers to show the students how to use the new learning tool successfully and which websites to use for research.