Rote Learning To Be Eradicated From Thai Educational System

[george]

Rote learning to be eradicated from Thai educational system

BANGKOK: -- Rote learning will be eradicated from the Thai education system in 2006--right from kindergaten to PhD levels, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra announced here on Saturday.

Speaking during his weekly radio address, Mr. Thaksin said he had ordered the Education Ministry to overhaul the national education system within this year, whereby both students and teachers must work together.

Currently, rote learning is being practised in the system and it does not allow students to use imaginations, preventing them from creating and analyzing new ideas, he said.

"This’s a weakness in the Thai education system,” said Mr. Thaksin.

"Those who are able to create imaginations are not rote learners, but rather thinkers and if they could posses both knowledge and imaginations, then it is superb and they will be able to survive in the changing world," he added.

Citing scientist Albert Eistien’s popular saying that “Imagination is more important than knowledge”, the prime minister noted that most of the rote learners would end up being employees as they are unable to think further and are capable only to take orders.

--TNA 2006-01-21

[ovenman]

BANGKOK: -- Rote learning will be eradicated from the Thai education system in 2006--right from kindergaten to PhD levels, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra announced here on Saturday.

And thus with a snap of Mr. Big's fingers, it was done... Anybody wanna take bets on this?

[udon]

Nope, but it's the only sound idea he has put fwd in 5 years.

I was going to quote Einstein but the bugger beat me to it..... Oh well.

Imagination is more important than knowledge

[MyNameIsFarang]

When pigs fly...

[marquess]

You have more chance of being eaten by a dragon in Chaing Mai, than that happening. Think about it, wasn't it this week, when we heard the great man tell his Ministers, that there was no need for them to think!

[stumonster]

Think about it, wasn't it this week, when we heard the great man tell his Ministers, that there was no need for them to think!

not if they are expected to emulate ceo 't'

[stevesbigtrip]

interesting I was always wondering why my Thai employee's seemed to lack common sense. It appears that the education system has programmed them like that

[sierra01]

interesting I was always wondering why my Thai employee's seemed to lack common sense. It appears that the education system has programmed them like that

An ex g/f once had her teakwood floor revarnished, I thought they had done a good job until I realised they had only painted round the furniture instead of removing it from the room first. When questioned about it blank stares ruled, it just didn't occur to them. I've also seen the same thing on walls as well.

[udon]

interesting I was always wondering why my Thai employee's seemed to lack common sense. It appears that the education system has programmed them like that

An ex g/f once had her teakwood floor revarnished, I thought they had done a good job until I realised they had only painted round the furniture instead of removing it from the room first. When questioned about it blank stares ruled, it just didn't occur to them. I've also seen the same thing on walls as well.

Too true!

:D

[Thetyim]

"Rote learning will be eradicated from the Thai education system "

Now repeat after me

"Rote learning will be eradicated from the Thai education system "

And one last time again

"Rote learning will be eradicated from the Thai education system "

There I think the ministers have got it now

[sierra01]

During my early days out here I thought they were just being lazy, or skiving, but I soon learnt that it wasn't that at all.

[marquess]

During my early days out here I thought they were just being lazy, or skiving, but I soon learnt that it wasn't that at all.

It's innate! Which is even more worrying!

[phuketsiam]

A friend has his office refurnished, after it was done he asked for a couple of extra electrical outlets on the wall, after the 'chang' had done he went to test them and saw the boxes were in place, but no poer supply to them, The 'chang' replied that he never asked for them to be wired in, so he didn't do it.

[simon43]

Thailand...hub of stupidity....

Simon

[Ricardo]

"Rote learning will be eradicated from the Thai education system "

Now repeat after me

"Rote learning will be eradicated from the Thai education system "

And one last time again

"Rote learning will be eradicated from the Thai education system "

There I think the ministers have got it now

Rats ... someone beat me to it !

Rats ... someone beat me to it !!

Rats ... someone beat me to it !!!

Thailand, now hub of crackdowns on rote learning

[sierra01]

And Mr T thinks he can almost instantly change an aspect of Thailand that has been entrenched since long before the first blackboard appeared here?

Mr T, Thailands answer to Frank carson

[Plus]

Not conected to rote learing - it was an open university - my ex-gf once sat the same exam two times - and she didn't even notice until after results came out.

[penzman]

And exactly how do you ask people who became teachers by rote learning to stop teaching that way?

I used to hate the machine-gun sound of yard sticks hitting the blackboards in the local school eeeevery morning, the kids repeating on and on like robots.

[helitool]

End of last year I was in Thailand for 3 months to construct a very complex computer controled plasma cutting table for my brother-in-law who is a machinist in Chiang Mai. I brought the electronic moduals over in my suitcase but everything else was supplied by local firms and the work was all done by Thais except for the electronics wiring and calibration which I had to do.

Not once did I encounter any form of incompitance on the part of any of our suppliers or any of the many metal fabricators who supplied us. Also the service was excellent. At one point we had a company in BKK manfacture 10 1 meter long precision gear racks for us. This took less than a week to recieve them and they were perfectly made.

I never have any problems when living in Thailand and have a very high oppinion of the intellegence of Thais. Whenever I read this forum I can't help but wonder "what Thailand do these people live in!" because it must be in a different one than mine.

[cdnvic]

This could be bad news for the "english teachers" who can't speak the local language and have to rely on repetition to try teaching english.

cv

[Thetyim]

I never have any problems when living in Thailand and have a very high oppinion of the intellegence of Thais.

You are absolutely correct.

Some Thais are very clever and give excellent service.

We have an electronic repair man in our town who is a lot better than any I have met in UK

However the incompetent tradesmen always outnumber the good ones.

How would you feel if an electrician tried to NAIL some wiring onto a tiled wall in your house?

Should he have stopped to think when the first tile shattered or was he correct to continue and shatter EVERY tile.

[chownah]

Rote learning is OK for certain things....it is just that you need more than this for a real education.

[Spit the Dog]

Looks like no more

a, ant, mot

b, bird, nok

c, cat, maeo etc...

[awarrumbungle]

How can you have a discussion with 60 kids in a class. 1st things 1st reduce class sizes. From there discussions and thinking can really take place. How else do you teach such a large class other than by rote learning.

I would love to see some change with planning and insight for once. How do you just stop rote learning?

When you tell a student to stop talking you also need to give him something to do.

Edited January 23, 2006 by awarrumbungle

[PeaceBlondie]

This could be bad news for the "english teachers" who can't speak the local language and have to rely on repetition to try teaching english.

cv

Real teachers of English in Thailand, who are native speakers with at least some university background and a TEFL course of at least four weeks duration, know better than to use rote methods for even 25% of a lesson. Rote repetition is good for correct pronunciation, so they aren't singing "Happy buw-tday to youuuu."

And real teachers of English in Thailand don't need to speak Thai, although a little bit helps (and some schools terminate you for saying much more than 'sawadee khrap' and 'kojaimai?').

cdnvic, you probably meant to insert a or an in there.

I'm one of those who came to Thailand well prepared to teach English, tried hard, and found it to be exhausting and frustrating. If it weren't for the sincere smiles on the students, it would have been a waste of our time.

Back to topic: rote learning didn't work well in the 19th century, and surely won't prepare Thai students for the 21st century. I was watching the computer repairman today, making the same stupid mistakes I did to solve a problem (I have an excuse; I don't pretend to understand computers). He doesn't know how to think creatively, to think outside the box, to analyze what the problem is. He probably learned to fix computers by a rote method: turn on computer, install program, and blame it on the system when it fails.

[Rhys]

In Praise of PBL (Problem Based learning) .. and the MOE.. and the NEW Dude

[astral]

Nothing wrong with a LITTLE bit of rote.

I learned my tables that way 1 x 1 = etc

To this day I can trot out the correct value up to 12 x 12.

Ask a kid today to do the same and he/she will be lost and groping for

a calculator.

[Plus]

12x12? That's all?

Can you do 12x13? With rote learning you wouldn't know how, and that's the problem - you learn how to remember answers rather than how to find them. Rote learning should stop on 1,2,3...10 and ABC.

[astral]

12x12? That's all?

Can you do 12x13? With rote learning you wouldn't know how, and that's the problem - you learn how to remember answers rather than how to find them. Rote learning should stop on 1,2,3...10 and ABC.

Yes, I can do 12 x 13, because I also learned the rules.

Rote allowed me to recall the most commonly used combinations.

In today's decimal world, up to 10 x 10 is sufficient.

In my day we had "dozens" to contend with.

That was why a recommended a LITTLE rote.

Richard Of York Gained Battles In Vain - help me remember the colours of the rainbow.

Bye Bye Rosie Off You Go, Birmingham Via Great Western - for the resistor colour code.

"Columbus sailed the ocean blue, in 1492", is another aid memoire.

All techniques should be taught in schools, where appropriate!!

Reasoning is all very well, but of little use if you do not know/remember the basic facts.

Edited January 24, 2006 by astral

[Plus]

British Women Really Are Fantastic - I can't remember what it really means but it's a sequence for checking equioment before scuba diving.