All Schools in Thailand Closed from the 23-25 May

[somchaismith]

I believe this notice says it all,

[somchaismith]

Maybe someone can translate it for everyone.

[stoneyboy]

It's been posted and discussed already.

[somchaismith]

Yes, just noticed that,in the General forum

[sirchai]

Please tell me that you're joking. I'm planning to drive to school tomorrow morning. The letter is about Bangkok only..

Your "thread" all over Thailand doesn't seem to be right. Please clarify.-

Edited May 22, 2014 by sirchai

[celso]

My school says it is open

[somchaismith]

Please tell me that you're joking. I'm planning to drive to school tomorrow morning. The letter is about Bangkok only..

Your "thread" all over Thailand doesn't seem to be right. Please clarify.-

Must say Bangkok and Phuket then.

[sirchai]

Please tell me that you're joking. I'm planning to drive to school tomorrow morning. The letter is about Bangkok only..

Your "thread" all over Thailand doesn't seem to be right. Please clarify.-

Must say Bangkok and Phuket then.

The schools in Pattaya's Walking Street will be closed, or pay a fine.. Or both.

[sirchai]

My school says it is open

What language do schools speak? -

[sirchai]

Please keep updates coming. I don't want to drive to a closed school tomorrow.

Are northeaster school one way the other affected? Do I need to buy a pimp gun?-

[sirchai]

Is there anybody who's got an idea if the schools are closed nationwide?

[baggies]

Are the immigration offices closed today?

[baggies]

Is there anybody who's got an idea if the schools are closed nationwide?

I'm in mukdahan! our schools are shut.

[Scott]

I take care of schools in 4 provinces. All are closed.

[sirchai]

Just read in another thread here that Surin's schools are all closed. What about Sisaket, Ubon R.????

[culicine]

I take care of schools in 4 provinces. All are closed.

Our school didn't even email teachers to confirm teachers do not need to go to school (they have all our emails). This has happened before - on one occasion the Thai teachers even had to go to school, even though teachers were not required. Of course it makes sense - "school closed" means noone goes, but it would be nice for schools to clarify this with teachers. I expect it to be only one day anyway, unless there is trouble over the weekend. Gonna enjoy my free day though:)

[Scott]

I am in charge of 200+ teachers and it's pretty hard to get a hold of everyone. A few years ago, we tried a phone tree, but it broke down because so many people lose/change phone numbers. Staff turn-over is a problem as well. Email doesn't work because some people don't read them, get them in a timely fashion or have access to a computer.

One of our schools has a facebook account that was set up by some of the staff. That works fairly well, but it does require that people check it. I had two people who came to school because they had no idea there was a coup. I had two that live far away and catch a ride at 4:30 in the morning, but the driver said 'no, must wait until 5:00, they had no idea why.

The Admin at the school actually didn't make the decision to cancel school until 11:00 p.m. and they didn't inform me to inform the staff, but I had already told everyone that had called that they did not have to report to school. It was an executive decision, I don't want teachers being endangered and even though there was probably no danger, we did have a military coup and school was closed, so best not to come.

Some teachers were kind enough to contact other teachers.

[somchaismith]

There's no onus on the schools to inform their teachers. Teachers are still under their employ - they could have you spending the day writing lesson plans, if they so desired.

[Scott]

Well, yes and no. The thing is that many, many teachers had called and asked if there was school the next day and if not if the teachers were required to come in. When someone asks a question, it is the responsibility of the Admin to give an answer and to do so in a timely fashion.

The difficulty is that in this society, no one dares question anyone further up the food chain and our principal has a director above her and the director has the President of the school above her and he has the Administrative Board of the school above him (this is for more than one school, by the way).

I made sure that several of the teachers had a text/email from me that said they did not have to come in. I didn't tell them that they COULDN'T come in.

For foreign teachers, especially those not with a Thai partner, they may not have up-to-date information on conditions on the way to the school. Several live quite a ways away. News was sparse, by the way.

Interestingly, when I went to the school the Thai teachers had not shown up and most did not call anyone. They decided they were on pretty firm ground by listening to the General in charge of the Country.

[Fookhaht]

Reading your litany of TEACHERS (no less) who didn't know there was a coup (no TV? no radio? no home computer? no internet-enabled phone? etc.).... really helps to answer the question why so many Thai students are totally ignorant and/or disinterested about politics, geography, and generally the world beyond the country's borders.

That certainly isn't the only reason for the problem, but it's got to be a factor.

[Scott]

This is the start of the school season. Several of our teachers have just moved into the area. Some are new to Thailand and some are new to the area. No they don't have TV, and no they don't have internet connections yet. They also haven't settled in, made friends in the area etc. Two of them just moved into their new apartments on Wednesday.

[Fookhaht]

Sorry to hear about the perils of your teachers having to get settled in the middle of a coup.

Your group sounds clean, but the problem still persists among a lot of students in Thailand, and I hold teachers responsible for much of the disinterest and apathy.

I speak from the standpoint of a teacher trainer of elementary and high school teachers in four provinces under the auspices of the MOE.

I primarily instruct in English teaching methods, but have to stay away from any content that involves contemporary issues, geography, and non-Thai culture. When I stray into those areas, with the intent of using them as a vehicle for teaching English, I lose them.

Bringing this back to the current events in Thailand, it helps me to understand why so many Thais are clueless when it comes to world reaction against the current coup. Beyond an exposure to American movies and music, I believe their education about the outside world is seriously lacking.

Edited May 23, 2014 by Fookhaht

[happysanook]

Any news about schools reopening tomorrow?

[Scott]

Unless there is some unforeseen developments today or this evening, schools will be open tomorrow.

[Scott]

Here's from the Thailand Live Updates:

RT@BPbreakingnews: All schools will reopen tomorrow, Suthasri Wongsamarn, permanent secretary for education, says.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/728939-thailand-live-sunday-25-may-2014/?p=7882348

[bkkgooner]

Surprised by that they usually drag it out in Thailand I thought they might keep all schools shut until Wednesday

Back to work tomorrow we go!

[squatncrunch]

Too bad. Really would enjoy a mid-term break.

Sent from my GT-S7270 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Scott]

I don't know where you work, but we haven't had a full week of school yet! A little early for a break, not that I mind, though.

[squatncrunch]

We are halfway through our last term for the 2013/14 school year. We have also had short weeks since Songkran holiday and would like it to continue, of course.

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