Thai students change their story on 7-Eleven stamps-for-grades controversy

[webfact]

Students change their story on stamps-for-grades controversy
By Coconuts Bangkok



What a difference a day makes.

BANGKOK: -- After a video showed a university lecturer copping to having traded grades for 7-Eleven stamps, students completely changed their stories at a press conference intended to “protect” the school’s reputation, despite a dubious reception by school officials.

This morning fourth-year students studying primary education at Kalasin Rajabhat University told the press it was their idea to hand in the 7-Eleven stamps to the teacher for “extra credit” in their Psychology and Guidance for Teachers class. Oh, and it was all for charity, they added.

The students claim their teacher assigned them to write a report for five extra points, but they negotiated to give her stamps to be donated to a 7-Eleven charity program, which allows customers to stick the stamps on the board at the convenient stores so the company will make donations to charities.

That’s a big departure from earlier this week, when a student’s secret recording showed the yet-unnamed instructor raging at the class after word got out that she was trading grades for stamps. [read more...]

Full story: http://bangkok.coconuts.co//2014/07/17/students-change-their-story-stamps-grades-controversy


-- Coconuts Bangkok 2014-07-17

[Cuchulainn]

Guess who's been got to, intimidated or threatened

Edited July 17, 2014 by Cuchulainn

[Thaddeus]

Guess who's been got to, intimidated or threatened

Cue violin music.

[Cuchulainn]

Guess who's been got to, intimidated or threatened

Cue violin music.

Take it away, maestro.

[Travel2003]

If the students were part of this, they should also be given their original grades.

I guess they realized that.

[Pimay1]

A picture is worth a thousand words. This video clip is worth many thousand words. We will probably never know who got to the students to "incourage" them to change their story. The origional article stated some of the students had previously reported the stamps/glass sets for grades policy to the administration and they ignored it, thus the video. All students involved in changing their story should be expelled permanently for lying either when they made the video and reported the lecturer or lying when they changed their story. White is not white one day and black the next day. On top of that after seeing the video, in the unlikely event that the story is truely fabricated, this is definately a case for a character defamation lawsuit by the lecturer.

Edited July 17, 2014 by Pimay1

[givenall]

Guess who's been got to, intimidated or threatened

oh well Thailand way of thing to deal with. if its bad its not good for thais, so change story

[clockman]

Face!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[phosphorescent]

Thais are not renowned for keeping close lipped when accusations are thrown around. It wouldn't take a whole lot to find out the truth if it was actually sought after.

[ClutchClark]

A picture is worth a thousand words. This video clip is worth many thousand words. We will probably never know who got to the students to "incourage" them to change their story. The origional article stated some of the students had previously reported the stamps/glass sets for grades policy to the administration and they ignored it, thus the video. All students involved in changing their story should be expelled permanently for lying either when they made the video and reported the lecturer or lying when they changed their story. White is not white one day and black the next day. On top of that after seeing the video, in the unlikely event that the story is truely fabricated, this is definately a case for a character defamation lawsuit by the lecturer.

Expelled in their fourth year of school? That sounds like a very unreasonable penalty for students caught in an unfortunate situation. It wasn't the students that introduced this concept of stamps-for-grades to the class.

If, in fact, that is what even happened. Can someone who speaks Thai verify what the teacher is saying? This second explanation sounds entirely plausible.

One last thing, there should be rules against filming in classrooms. Students should have a right to privacy and classroom cameras are invasive.

[Payboy]

They said it was a villainous professor from another class

Most certainly Severus Snape from Hogwarts.

[Local Drunk]

A university professor and stamps from the 7/11s... I couldn't dream up things like this in my wildest days of acid.

[ChrisY1]

If the students were part of this, they should also be given their original grades.

I guess they realized that.

If the students were part of this...they should be penalised and have zero marks for their smester exams....

This is nothing to do with the students, as we all know, it's the pathetic administration of the Uni

[TimCM]

And people get upset when I say a degree from a Thai uni is worthless. You can get good grades by shopping at 7-11 and yet we are suppose to compare these to real universities.

The hub of quality education

[stubuzz]

The teacher said she wants to give them to the temple.

[HiSoLowSoNoSo]

Wow! the future looks doomed for this place.

[UbonRatch]

A picture is worth a thousand words. This video clip is worth many thousand words. We will probably never know who got to the students to "incourage" them to change their story. The origional article stated some of the students had previously reported the stamps/glass sets for grades policy to the administration and they ignored it, thus the video. All students involved in changing their story should be expelled permanently for lying either when they made the video and reported the lecturer or lying when they changed their story. White is not white one day and black the next day. On top of that after seeing the video, in the unlikely event that the story is truely fabricated, this is definately a case for a character defamation lawsuit by the lecturer.

One last thing, there should be rules against filming in classrooms. Students should have a right to privacy and classroom cameras are invasive.

I haven't taught for some time, but every school I taught in, in Thailand, had cameras in the classrooms. Privacy also includes the rights of the children against being whipped, cained, sticked or abused in anyway. I also believe it is a teacher's right to have every lesson filmed. That is, if they are not abusive teachers. If they are abusive, then all the more reason for student rights to be filmed! Teacher behaviour needs to be monitored as much as student behaviour.

Works 2 ways... simple as that. On top of that, security is enhanced on both the student side and the teacher side./// is it not??

[Travel2003]

If the students were part of this, they should also be given their original grades.

I guess they realized that.

If the students were part of this...they should be penalised and have zero marks for their smester exams....

This is nothing to do with the students, as we all know, it's the pathetic administration of the Uni

If the students gave the stamps in order to gain better grades, they are as guilty.

[jaltsc]

"After a video showed a university lecturer copping to having traded grades for 7-Eleven stamps, students completely changed their stories at a press conference..."

Immediately following the press conference, they were awarded their Ph.Ds

[FangFerang]

Guess who's been got to, intimidated or threatened

Cue violin music.

Headlione should have read "Fourth Year Students Realize No Graduation If Scandal Proceeds"

This is obviously more red shirt corruption.

[ClutchClark]

A picture is worth a thousand words. This video clip is worth many thousand words. We will probably never know who got to the students to "incourage" them to change their story. The origional article stated some of the students had previously reported the stamps/glass sets for grades policy to the administration and they ignored it, thus the video. All students involved in changing their story should be expelled permanently for lying either when they made the video and reported the lecturer or lying when they changed their story. White is not white one day and black the next day. On top of that after seeing the video, in the unlikely event that the story is truely fabricated, this is definately a case for a character defamation lawsuit by the lecturer.

One last thing, there should be rules against filming in classrooms. Students should have a right to privacy and classroom cameras are invasive.

I haven't taught for some time, but every school I taught in, in Thailand, had cameras in the classrooms. Privacy also includes the rights of the children against being whipped, cained, sticked or abused in anyway. I also believe it is a teacher's right to have every lesson filmed. That is, if they are not abusive teachers. If they are abusive, then all the more reason for student rights to be filmed! Teacher behaviour needs to be monitored as much as student behaviour.

Works 2 ways... simple as that. On top of that, security is enhanced on both the student side and the teacher side./// is it not??

Do you not understand the difference between a student posting their videos of fellow students on a public forum like facebook and having a school installed security camera which has all recorded video maintained by school personnel in a secure location only to be viewed in the event of an investigation?

Really? You don't see the difference? I guess its just me but I would not want my grandchildrens' privacy to be exploited in that manner. Nor should they have to worry about that occurring when the focus of a classroom is to teach.

[Pimay1]

A picture is worth a thousand words. This video clip is worth many thousand words. We will probably never know who got to the students to "incourage" them to change their story. The origional article stated some of the students had previously reported the stamps/glass sets for grades policy to the administration and they ignored it, thus the video. All students involved in changing their story should be expelled permanently for lying either when they made the video and reported the lecturer or lying when they changed their story. White is not white one day and black the next day. On top of that after seeing the video, in the unlikely event that the story is truely fabricated, this is definately a case for a character defamation lawsuit by the lecturer.

Expelled in their fourth year of school? That sounds like a very unreasonable penalty for students caught in an unfortunate situation. It wasn't the students that introduced this concept of stamps-for-grades to the class.

If, in fact, that is what even happened. Can someone who speaks Thai verify what the teacher is saying? This second explanation sounds entirely plausible.

One last thing, there should be rules against filming in classrooms. Students should have a right to privacy and classroom cameras are invasive.

What year of school the students are in is irrelevant. Very unreasonable penality? Unfortunate situation? I thought the same thing the few times I was caught in the unfortunate situation of my mother finding out I did something wrong and I lied to her saying I didn't do it, whereby she administered the very unreasonable penality of wearing my little ass out with a peach tree limb. It didn't take me long to realize that lying to mother equaled a peach tree limb which equaled a sore ass. I was being held responsible for my own actions. A principle which has fallen by the wayside in today's society. There are two issues in the OP. The lecturer's actions and the students' actions. Each should be dealt with separately. As a lecturer whose responsibility among other things is to exibit ethical and moral behavior at all times, if she violated this responsibility by engaging in this unethical practice she should be terminated. The students by virtue of being in the fourth year of the university are adults. Now after the fact all twenty seven students have denied taking the video in the classroom. By watching the video it is evident it was indeed taken in the classroom and the phone was held in an inconspicuous manner to prevent it being seen by the lecturer which totally refudiates the second explaination by the students. ClutchClark you stated it wasn't the students that introduced this concept of stamps-for-grades to the class which is correct. Apples and oranges. The issue with the students is honesty and lying. One day they incriminate the lecturer by posting the video on Youtube and making statements with the intent of exposing her wrongdoing and expecting action to be taken by the Administration. The very next day they denied making any statements and denied any involvement in taking and posting the video. They can't have it both ways. If it is proven the lecturer is guilty of wrongdoing, the students are no less guilty of wrongdoing as the lecturer. All twenty seven students should be held responsible for their own actions. There are some hard lessions in life. Being taught the consequences of lying is one.