My student's parents - ages

[otherstuff1957]

Several years ago, when I was teaching at a Catholic school, I had my 4th & 5th grade students write a brief essay about their mothers which included their mothers age. Most of the mothers were close to 40! This was in Bangkok and they were mostly middle-class, but it was obvious that most of their mothers had waited to have children.

[recom273]

Err .. No .. I teach at a mathayom school, everyday .. 50 kids a class, it's no biggie.

I was taught, if you don't know a language well enough, don't use it in class. Good advice I should say.

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[zeichen]

"It was a map of Thailand with its neighboring countries! You are comparing apples to oranges. Forget geography, UK students are far better at analytical and independent thinking than their Thai counterparts. Irrespective of the core curriculum."

I find this very ethnocentric and quite arrogant. First of all, you actually have no idea what their analytical ability is because first of all you are teaching them in a foreign language. So imagine trying to think analytically in a foreign language then see if you actually are thinking at the same level as you would in your native tongue.

If kids are asking where something is, then be gracious enough to show them. I know that you are just an EFL teacher but please learn something about child development, cognitive thinking and general teaching practices before you judge an entire culture's educational system. It is 100% clear that you wouldn't be teaching in your home country.

P6 students are about 11 years old and if you throw in the fact that most of the rural poor kids have never left their province let alone Thailand. At least they recognize that there is an England. Thai kids know where Brunei is, do you think the average 11 year old in England even knows that Brunei is a country?

But you are right knowing European history and geography is so much more important than good manners and building social relationships.

[FiftyTwo]

If you had received proper teacher training in a western country and were properly qualified, you would know better than to set any work where parents' details were requested. It's very slippery ground for the teacher, and potentially devastating for the students.

[Scott]

A post has been deleted. If you wish to discuss the Thai language, you may do so in the Thai language forum. The rest of the forum is in English.

Sorry, but that is the rule and we need to stick with it.

[Scott]

Inflammatory post and replies removed.

[Trembly]

I know it might sound incredulous to some but there are Thais who live in the agrarian north who are actually very lax with ages and it's not at all uncommon for people to have to think hard about the ages of their own parents or children.

It's to be expected in an agrarian society, where people just go by when things are ripe / in season / ready for the harvest.

It used to be this way in the west too.

Edited February 7, 2014 by Trembly

[SlyAnimal]

Some posts which have gone off topic, and started to discuss Thai language (Which is restricted to the Thai sub-forum) have been removed.

Please stay on topic

(To assist the 2x posters concerned, I'm also going to pm them, and explain the meaning correctly, as they're both "kinda" right)

[recom273]

If you had received proper teacher training in a western country and were properly qualified, you would know better than to set any work where parents' details were requested. It's very slippery ground for the teacher, and potentially devastating for the students.

This is interesting ..

I think the OP also brought up ( please, dont take offence ), which encouraged me to continue reading the thread .. Mothers and Fathers day.

I was originally interested in this thread, by assimilating the OP's experiences with my own.

I have worked for agencies run by westerners and Thai run departments, that instructed teachers to explain the meanings behind the days in our native countries.

So what do we do, we teach the vocab, we use the exercise to question "What does are father of mother do for us / provide us with ?", we get the students to explain the connection to the king and we make cards ( because thats what we do in our native countries, right ? ).

And every year, at least one kid will run out of the class in tears, in my case, one girl just lost her mother and her father badly injured in a car crash.

Every year, I dread these times and I try to question the HoD or agency boss and its always the same answer - "Its what the school want"

Your thoughts please ..

Edited February 8, 2014 by recom273

[Somtamnication]

That is a slippery slope.

But as the 2 or 3 PERFECT teachers who know everything and apparently know my wife, their view is what counts, not mine, nor yours. Sigh

[FiftyTwo]

That is a slippery slope.

But as the 2 or 3 PERFECT teachers who know everything and apparently know my wife, their view is what counts, not mine, nor yours. Sigh

When people with more experience and greater knowledge, share information with you, you can choose to learn from them or not.

Up to you.

[Somtamnication]

You are so close to perfection, no need for any of us to add to any more to the topic.