Banning Aesop

[frodo]

Educators defend fables

Published on January 25, 2006

Educators have rushed to defend Aesop’s fables after Public Health Minister Pinij Charusombat said they should no longer be used at the 16,000 day-care centres run by his ministry.

The minister misses the point of the humble tales, they say.

Pinij told staff at a day-care centre on Monday that the ancient fables were out of date and suggested they switch to contemporary stories.

Associate Professor Udom Buasri said he found it hard to believe a minister could come up with such an idea.

“Aesop’s fables have been used as teaching materials for Thai children for more than 100 years and there are many moral principles hidden in the fables,” the Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University lecturer said.

Udom said he uses the fables to teach novice monks.

The head of the Children’s Literature programme at Srinakharinwirot University said Aesop’s fables helped develop children’s minds and taught moral principles.

Associate Professor Kulwara Chupongpairoj also said that although the fables were more than 2,000 years old their themes were modern and universal.

She cited the “The Rabbit and the Turtle” as a story that encouraged children to strive for tolerance and avoid arrogance.

Associate Professor Sompong Vittayasakpan pointed out that many traditional Thai tales are based on Aesop’s.

Sombong, a lecturer at the Thai department at Chiang Mai University’s faculty of humanities, advised the minister to re-read the fables, saying Pinij should pay more attention to their themes.

“Aesop’s fables are like a double-edged sword,” the professor said, explaining that they require teachers who can help clarify their principles to children.

A librarian at the Tai Wisdom Association in Khon Kaen, Tassanee Thanitwej, said she opposes Pinij’s idea because the colourful illustrations that accompany the tales are vital tools for the development of children aged two to five.

Teacher Rassami Sittisart said she reads three Aesop’s fables a week to youngsters at her day-care centre in Roi Et because they teach them the difference between right and wrong.

Following educators’ rush to defend Aesop’s tales, Pinij yesterday said he would not ban them from day-care centres.

Instead, he would create new modern tales that could be taught in tandem with Aesop’s. His would be about the importance of a healthy diet and the dangers of smoking, among other topics, he said.

Source: Banning Aesop

I really have to wonder what kind of medication this guy is on. Maybe Thailand can be called the hub of banning.

[Boon Mee]

What's next?

Banning of Confucius and his teachings?

[Abandon]

Who was Aesop? I don't remember him. I can't imagine that his fables were any worse that TGS stories. I imagine the mods had good reason to ban him.

[Florin]

What a crappy article, what does removing something from the national curricullum have to do with banning??? It seems The Nation really try their very best to take a piss out of everything these days...

Also, it is not just a Thai thing to "modernize" the learning process by removing the classics, all over the world they do similar <deleted>.

[Boon Mee]

Who was Aesop? I don't remember him. I can't imagine that his fables were any worse that TGS stories. I imagine the mods had good reason to ban him.

Google Aesop's Fables - they're good.

[chownah]

Educators defend fables

..................

“ there are many moral principles hidden in the fables,” the Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University lecturer said.

...........

Aesop’s fables helped develop .... minds and taught moral principles.

.......................

She cited the “The Rabbit and the Turtle” as a story that encouraged children to strive for tolerance and avoid arrogance.

.............................

Seems like maybe Aesop's Fables should be required reading for members of the gov't.

[Jai Dee]

ACADEMICS MUST DECIDE WHETHER TO STOP USING AESOP FABLES IN HEATLHCARE CENTERS

Education Minister CHATURON CHAISANG (จาตุรนต์ ฉายแสง) has suggested that concerned academics should be the ones who decide whether or not infant healthcare centers under the Ministry of Public Health will cease to read Aesop fables to children.

Mr. Chaturon spoke on the case where Public Health Minister PINIJ JARUSOMBAT (พินิจ จารุสมบัติ) has suggested an idea to stop using Aesop fables in the child centers and use contemporary fables instead. The Education Minister said that this would have to be up to those responsible for developing the curricula. He stated that he himself would not be able to make such decision on this issue, as there are currently many types of media available for learners. However, he noted that the Aesop fables are still in use in many countries.

Mr. Jaturon said he welcomes the Public Health Minister’s suggestion and said that education for small children will be jointly worked on by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Public Health, and the Social Development and Human Security Ministry.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 25 January 2006

[Cool Water Palace]

the Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University lecturer said.

The where? Trying to outdo the Welsh? I'd not come across long Thai names like this. I know they do not have spaces between words, so is this name more of a sentence than a name. Where is it?

Should this post be in the Thai language forum?

Incidentally, I'd have done the quote as a quote, but the system failed me. Was it because it was already in a quote?

[Scott]

I guess what is sad here is that people in power are making these kinds of decisions. Don't they have something important to do like decide class size etc?

[Patex]

Aesop invented the fables because he couldn"t criticise openly...

I'm happy to see that the people in power are now willing to start name the countrys problems and put the right face to it: Don't be greedy like Taxin, don't fukc around like the son of a wellknown family, don't kill/rape/molest like the police, don't putsch elected gouvernments like the military...

Perhaps, I missunderstood again