Four Thai education ministers in two years is too many

[pisico]

The whole purpose of the "Thai Education" system is to indoctrinate children from an early age, not educate them.

Pre-school Thai kids are inquisitive, clever, active, and a bit cheeky. Give them a few years in a state school and they become bovine and passive, trapped by language and culture, not enabled by it.

As it should be in a country with feudal, parochial traditions. The DNA of Thai "culture" is to respect, revere the elders. What they say goes, no matter how absurd or unfair. Education is understood that way by Thais: the means to preserve the status quo. Parents feel that it is not their job to educate their children; that is the reason schools exist. How many hours are devoted in the school curricula to indoctrinate students in ceremonial instruction and other subjects totally unrelated to what awaits them in real life? Obviously, that sort of "learning" does not contribute to make students apt for any managerial or enterprising positions in science or in industry. The entire country from humble households to the top of the pyramid of power is bent on not changing anything. They are unwilling to remove the blinders. They managed to trot at their own pace in only one direction so far... why would they want to fix something that has not broken yet? Thai way of understanding maintenance or progress.

[klauskunkel]

The whole purpose of the "Thai Education" system is to indoctrinate children from an early age, not educate them.

Pre-school Thai kids are inquisitive, clever, active, and a bit cheeky. Give them a few years in a state school and they become bovine and passive, trapped by language and culture, not enabled by it.

As it should be in a country with feudal, parochial traditions. The DNA of Thai "culture" is to respect, revere the elders. What they say goes, no matter how absurd or unfair. Education is understood that way by Thais: the means to preserve the status quo. Parents feel that it is not their job to educate their children; that is the reason schools exist. How many hours are devoted in the school curricula to indoctrinate students in ceremonial instruction and other subjects totally unrelated to what awaits them in real life? Obviously, that sort of "learning" does not contribute to make students apt for any managerial or enterprising positions in science or in industry. The entire country from humble households to the top of the pyramid of power is bent on not changing anything. They are unwilling to remove the blinders. They managed to trot at their own pace in only one direction so far... why would they want to fix something that has not broken yet? Thai way of understanding maintenance or progress.

The system is designed to produce an acquiescent, uncritical populace, that can be directed any which way the rulers choose. Hats off, job well done.

[Markaew]

"Phongthep has solid reasons to support this plan. While Thai students spend many hundreds of hours in class, their academic performance is poorer on average than their peers from countries that require much less time learning."

It's quality not quantity. They haven't figured that one out.

[Jean Pierre Jacquot]

Why should she care about the Thai Education System?

People like her either do not get trained in this system or they do not have to worry about getting the degree they want as they obviously get it anyhow.

Thai Education System is for the mass and the people ruling our country are not part of this mass

[Halion]

In eight years of teaching at the same school here in Thailand I have seen many education ministers come and go. What changes have I seen? NONE! Sure, there have been some very cosmetic changes. The one word a day project was discussed and then forgotten. The tablets have been a huge joke. There has been no change in cirriculum. The hours of instruction has actually increased. The hoops foreign teachers have to jump through to stay legal have increased. I could go on listing problems with the education system, but I don't want to bore you all. It is a mess. I doubt anything will change much as the elite would rather keep most of the population ignorant.

You hit the nail right on the head with this post. The elite and priveledged have no desire to accept the challenge that would come from an open playing field and an educated public." Better not to educated the masses or revolution will surely follow."

[MaxLee]

Student life in Thailand:

You get up at 5.00 am, go to school that starts at 9.00 am, but if you get out of your house later than 6.30,... bye bye, you'll be late for granted ,_ which occurs to over 95% of the students DUE TO TRAFFIC (SURPRISED????)<- then you you listen to a bunch of snotty trotty face ridden crap teachers and their boring ass lectures (<-Thai schools in particular), get a lot of homework, go to after school activities that last until 8.00 pm or later, you arrive home at 9.00-10.00pm, and you still gotta do homework at home, writing 100 of pages per day, but 4-8 hours are spent to use social media, facebook and co. anyway, so screw the homework, and pick a victim to copy the homework from, and bribe him by all means necessary the next day..... and on top of that you gotta practice for boring a$$ wasting examinations, where people cheat anyways.... and your day ends up at 3.00 am in the morning and you gotta get ready for the next school day which goes AGAIN from 5.30 am to 3.00 am in the morning all week long... Saturdays are spent in tutoring-rip-off commercialized schools and curricular activities,...

,.... days of rest, you gotta be kidding yourselves, because most kids will have to spend all their Sundays with their extended family visits, getting spolied and patted by their extended relatives all day long, you gotta eat drink and sh****t everything they cook, provide and give you as a gift, whether you like it or not,......no rest, and start on Monday at 5.30 am again...

and the traffic goes on, the Thai Nation buys cars like crazy, and the parents have to work from 9.00 to 12.00 am, including the traffic, and hardly see their children, because of their snotty trotty bosses who let them slave work over time,...

Thailand's nation educated propaganda-brainwashed into a nation of sissies, that are too dam_n scared to make mistakes or speak up against authorities, that is real democracy backstabbing tyranny of the rich and powerful Thai Elite, and most of them from Chinese ancestries...

Edited July 4, 2013 by MaxLee

[chainarong]

So long as you have a negative mind set towards education in Thailand nothing will change, the people should get off their lazy backsides and voice protests about the poor standards set for the pupils, the general consensus is that if you know to much you might ask to much, so one can understand the elite not wanting to educate, so the peasants have to start the ground swell for education revolution in Thailand, that's like asking for two lotto wins in a row , it ain't going to happen.

[MaxLee]

So long as you have a negative mind set towards education in Thailand nothing will change, the people should get off their lazy backsides and voice protests about the poor standards set for the pupils, the general consensus is that if you know to much you might ask to much, so one can understand the elite not wanting to educate, so the peasants have to start the ground swell for education revolution in Thailand, that's like asking for two lotto wins in a row , it ain't going to happen.

STOP TEACHING US THAT BORING A*******D BULLCRAP!!!!!! <- that should be one of those slogan, if a protest of the victimized parties would ever dare to stand up to that tortureous mind blowing brain damage propaganda

[Sydebolle]

Four politicians in two years? What are you talking about?
There are others in the waiting for their turn on the millions of iTablets for schools which either are in the closing or have no electricity. Alternatively new regulations for uniforms, shoes, silly hats and ridiculous neckties are in the pipeline. And if this does not work, how about "government-sponsored pencils" at, say, THB 158/piece. The imagination is borderless and hence please keep revolving the top chair in that ministry.
In two years the heat is on when the Philippinos/-as take over in hospitality, the Indonesians in kitchen and construction, the Cambodians in factories and assembly lines. Then, dear friends, Somsak, Somchai and Somnuek will start to realise on how the Thai people have been screwed, screwed and screwed again ........ by their own people. Nobody else to blame, no guilos, no farangs, no bules!

[BrianCR]

In eight years of teaching at the same school here in Thailand I have seen many education ministers come and go. What changes have I seen? NONE! Sure, there have been some very cosmetic changes. The one word a day project was discussed and then forgotten. The tablets have been a huge joke. There has been no change in cirriculum. The hours of instruction has actually increased. The hoops foreign teachers have to jump through to stay legal have increased. I could go on listing problems with the education system, but I don't want to bore you all. It is a mess. I doubt anything will change much as the elite would rather keep most of the population ignorant.

Good post..... but who are the elite?

Are they as BrianCR says every factory/ business owner or what?

Sent from my i-mobile i-STYLE Q6

The "elite" of Thailand are anyone with a substantial amount of money, no matter how it was obtained. Having this, you don't even need manners. You can be a really corrupt, dishonest person but, because of the substantial amount of money, at a slight nod of your head "ordinary" people will fall on their knees and hold you in reverence! One reason why nothing much will ever be done in the education and other ministries!

[BrianCR]

In eight years of teaching at the same school here in Thailand I have seen many education ministers come and go. What changes have I seen? NONE! Sure, there have been some very cosmetic changes. The one word a day project was discussed and then forgotten. The tablets have been a huge joke. There has been no change in cirriculum. The hours of instruction has actually increased. The hoops foreign teachers have to jump through to stay legal have increased. I could go on listing problems with the education system, but I don't want to bore you all. It is a mess. I doubt anything will change much as the elite would rather keep most of the population ignorant.

Good post..... but who are the elite?

Are they as BrianCR says every factory/ business owner or what?

Sent from my i-mobile i-STYLE Q6

The "elite" of Thailand are anyone with a substantial amount of money, no matter how it was obtained. Having this, you don't even need manners. You can be a really corrupt, dishonest person but, because of the substantial amount of money, at a slight nod of your head "ordinary" people will fall on their knees and hold you in reverence! One reason why nothing much will ever be done in the education and other ministries!

[aTomsLife]

To echo others, reforming the Thai education system has little to do with bureaucracy. The system is a reflection of the culture. And nothing short of revolution will alter Thai attitudes toward its own culture. Thais would need to be willing to reconsider the value of 'Thainess'; that which places so much importance in the idea of an elite class. Again, this would require a revolution in thinking, and perhaps one on the streets as well.

[thhMan]

You cannot have an imbecile as an Education Minister... And now Thailand is finding it difficult to fill that position as it requires some education from the person.

[KireB]

My experience in Thai schools is that at least 25% of the classes are cancelled without warning or prior planning, and that at least 40% of the classes that do take places are wasted with things that have nothing to do with learning. Add the noise levels at schools (it so great to organize sport events next to the classrooms), the extraordinary list of ceremonial activities (I love the one where kids are being pulled out of the classes to practice how to receive awards), boy scouting marches with accompanying drums/bongos, very sugary and unhealthy snacks (hyper), no fail policies, and so on..................... The list of disturbances is endless. Thai education will never reach an international level as long as learning just doesn't take place. It's that simple. I feel sincerely sorry for my students as they are wasting their young minds with mindless and utter irrelevant matters.

[Sunderland]

To use a word that has recently become very popular in Germany, the education system is continuously sat in the middle of a 'shitstorm' ...

[hellodolly]

The old system, that is run by bureaucrats regardless of who is Education Minister, worked fine to feed the manual labor jobs of foreign manufacturers but the ASEAN Economic Community is coming next year. Thailand will have its nose rubbed in its failure to turn out high-level managers and innovators. If they start now they will still be 25 years behind. The world is changing fast and Thailand has remained an island of denial too long. The gap between the rich and poor will enlarge at an even faster pace.

I read where the Thai Language is the only language in the World that puts no spaces between words and Thais have a harder time reading their own language than readers of other languages. Maybe this is part of why most Thais I have met are not interested in reading. If you depend on the spoken word to get your information you will be very limited in what you learn (Red Shirts?). Self education is the way successful people get ahead. English is vital in this new Global economy and Thailand is blessed that many native English speakers want to retire here. How easy it would be to incentivize these retirees to become English teachers in this country if not for the xenophobia that is rampant here. I don't hold out much hope for Thailand becoming a middle class country.

I can only speak for my self but I retired and came to Thailand to live in retirement not to work.

I talked to one English teacher in a Thai school and he told me it was more like baby sitting maybe one or two were interested in learning English.

I would like to hear the opinion of the English teachers who are teaching English in a normal Thai school. what ever normal is.

I have a friend who teaches English to a small class of kids who have parents pay for the schooling over and above the regular schools. He tells me that for the most part those kids are eager to learn but there are always the ones who don't want to learn.

Neither one of these people has said it is easy to teach it is hard work.

[hellodolly]

So long as you have a negative mind set towards education in Thailand nothing will change, the people should get off their lazy backsides and voice protests about the poor standards set for the pupils, the general consensus is that if you know to much you might ask to much, so one can understand the elite not wanting to educate, so the peasants have to start the ground swell for education revolution in Thailand, that's like asking for two lotto wins in a row , it ain't going to happen.

My experience in Thai schools is that at least 25% of the classes are cancelled without warning or prior planning, and that at least 40% of the classes that do take places are wasted with things that have nothing to do with learning. Add the noise levels at schools (it so great to organize sport events next to the classrooms), the extraordinary list of ceremonial activities (I love the one where kids are being pulled out of the classes to practice how to receive awards), boy scouting marches with accompanying drums/bongos, very sugary and unhealthy snacks (hyper), no fail policies, and so on..................... The list of disturbances is endless. Thai education will never reach an international level as long as learning just doesn't take place. It's that simple. I feel sincerely sorry for my students as they are wasting their young minds with mindless and utter irrelevant matters.

Thank you for your first hand knowledge.

So long as you have a negative mind set towards education in Thailand nothing will change, the people should get off their lazy backsides and voice protests about the poor standards set for the pupils, the general consensus is that if you know to much you might ask to much, so one can understand the elite not wanting to educate, so the peasants have to start the ground swell for education revolution in Thailand, that's like asking for two lotto wins in a row , it ain't going to happen.

I don't follow you to the best of my knowledge the peasants don't know enough to start a groundswell. A negative mind set towards the existing system is facing reality.

This is a case where the change must come from the top. Academia is unable to educate new teachers so they must change there methods and bring in real educators to teach teachers how to teach. Once it gets far enough down the chain where the teachers doing the teaching know how to teach then you will see a upswing in knowledge and the ability to use logic in the school graduates. Also they should have to earn their graduation not get a rubber stamped one.

It goes with out saying teachers should be given a raise.

Edit

I forgot to mention this is a long term project. There is no miracle answer just time and the proper use of knowledge.

Edited July 4, 2013 by hellodolly

[WitawatWatawit]

When the odious T came to power all those years ago, he had 5 education ministers (including himself) in 3 years. Perhaps Yingbaby is trying to prove she's better than him?

BTW, I lived close to a BMA school for 13 years. The noise that emanated from that place was so bad, it drove out a lot of my neighbours. I complained to the noise control officer (yes, there is such a personage) at the district office, and she checked it out and was horrified. She made the headmistress tone things down - but that didn't last long. I gave up complaining in the finish and took to wearing ear plugs at certain times, especially between 7am and 9.30am. Christ, my heart bled for the kids at that school.

[Baerboxer]

The boss of my old company completed his doctorate in Adelaide, Australia via correspondence (or rather someone in his office did it for him), so is it safe to assume that all rich people in Thailand have done the same thing?

Not just Thailand! Most Universities, including some in Thailand, now use very sophisticated anti-plagiarization software. Amazing results.

Professional body exams are a prime candidate for "ghost writers and exam takers" as well as post graduate courses.

[ABCer]

I have said it before and repeat again:

- "the man at the helm" cannot change anything;

- Education System - sucks and no number of Tablets will help within the existing societal parameters;

- this society does not want change;

- this society does not need change;

- this society cannot afford change;

Stop wasting your breath.

[ABCer]

The old system, that is run by bureaucrats regardless of who is Education Minister, worked fine to feed the manual labor jobs of foreign manufacturers but the ASEAN Economic Community is coming next year. Thailand will have its nose rubbed in its failure to turn out high-level managers and innovators. If they start now they will still be 25 years behind. The world is changing fast and Thailand has remained an island of denial too long. The gap between the rich and poor will enlarge at an even faster pace.

I read where the Thai Language is the only language in the World that puts no spaces between words and Thais have a harder time reading their own language than readers of other languages. Maybe this is part of why most Thais I have met are not interested in reading. If you depend on the spoken word to get your information you will be very limited in what you learn (Red Shirts?). Self education is the way successful people get ahead. English is vital in this new Global economy and Thailand is blessed that many native English speakers want to retire here. How easy it would be to incentivize these retirees to become English teachers in this country if not for the xenophobia that is rampant here. I don't hold out much hope for Thailand becoming a middle class country.

I can only speak for my self but I retired and came to Thailand to live in retirement not to work.

I talked to one English teacher in a Thai school and he told me it was more like baby sitting maybe one or two were interested in learning English.

I would like to hear the opinion of the English teachers who are teaching English in a normal Thai school. what ever normal is.

I have a friend who teaches English to a small class of kids who have parents pay for the schooling over and above the regular schools. He tells me that for the most part those kids are eager to learn but there are always the ones who don't want to learn.

Neither one of these people has said it is easy to teach it is hard work.

rametindallas, - forget about managers and innovators. When ASEAN comes, all the members will be talking but Thais will sit there not understanding and keeping their damned 'Faces'. (I know some Thais with English better than mine)

dolly, - I was (and still am) appalled by the fact that most kids after torturous studies of English for many years cannot speak. I wanted to help as a volunteer, for free. "No work permit". It's OK with me... Pity, some kids are bright... BTW I have two Diplomas from two countries and experience. English isn't my major.

Edited July 5, 2013 by ABCer

[Thai at Heart]

On australia network last night there was q and a from Indonesia.

The level of debate from the Indonesian side in English was very very high, the questions posed by Indonesians in the audience in English, were flawless. I don't think I will hold my breath for a similar event in Thailand.

[Noistar]

Student life in Thailand:

You get up at 5.00 am, go to school that starts at 9.00 am, but if you get out of your house later than 6.30,... bye bye, you'll be late for granted ,_ which occurs to over 95% of the students DUE TO TRAFFIC (SURPRISED????)<- then you you listen to a bunch of snotty trotty face ridden crap teachers and their boring ass lectures (<-Thai schools in particular), get a lot of homework, go to after school activities that last until 8.00 pm or later, you arrive home at 9.00-10.00pm, and you still gotta do homework at home, writing 100 of pages per day, but 4-8 hours are spent to use social media, facebook and co. anyway, so screw the homework, and pick a victim to copy the homework from, and bribe him by all means necessary the next day..... and on top of that you gotta practice for boring a$$ wasting examinations, where people cheat anyways.... and your day ends up at 3.00 am in the morning and you gotta get ready for the next school day which goes AGAIN from 5.30 am to 3.00 am in the morning all week long... Saturdays are spent in tutoring-rip-off commercialized schools and curricular activities,...

,.... days of rest, you gotta be kidding yourselves, because most kids will have to spend all their Sundays with their extended family visits, getting spolied and patted by their extended relatives all day long, you gotta eat drink and sh****t everything they cook, provide and give you as a gift, whether you like it or not,......no rest, and start on Monday at 5.30 am again...

and the traffic goes on, the Thai Nation buys cars like crazy, and the parents have to work from 9.00 to 12.00 am, including the traffic, and hardly see their children, because of their snotty trotty bosses who let them slave work over time,...

Thailand's nation educated propaganda-brainwashed into a nation of sissies, that are too dam_n scared to make mistakes or speak up against authorities, that is real democracy backstabbing tyranny of the rich and powerful Thai Elite, and most of them from Chinese ancestries...

How about 19 school days in a row at a state school?

Now, does that benefit the students?

IMHO all it does is pander to the desk-jockies in Bangkok.

5 days school work, 2 days wind down and homework, then another 5 days school work etc....

Sounds more like a totalitarian state, especially as the students are not individuals, but are clearly-numbered robots.

Where is family life in all this?

[Noistar]

Student life in Thailand:

You get up at 5.00 am, go to school that starts at 9.00 am, but if you get out of your house later than 6.30,... bye bye, you'll be late for granted ,_ which occurs to over 95% of the students DUE TO TRAFFIC (SURPRISED????)

Forget post #33

My comments were appended to this post and the whole lot was truncated.

This new Thai visa app is crap. The list of participated topics appear in the wrong order, select topic 3 and you get topic 2.

And now it can't even post what you write!

Crap