There is some wisdom in the old way of doing things: Thailand

[webfact]

BURNING ISSUE
There is some wisdom in the old way of doing things
Supon Thanukid
The Nation

One item of news shocked me late last month.

BANGKOK: -- It was about the 12-year-old son of Myanmar migrant workers, who had beaten his Thai counterparts to win a Thai-language writing competition held to mark National Thai Language Day.

Yasa, a Grade 3 student at Arunmetha School in Tak's Educational Zone 2 who was born and raised in Thailand, was announced winner by the Office of the Basic Education Commission.

The contest was meant to encourage youngsters to preserve their language and to raise awareness of the value of Thai heritage.

Actually, it's not really such a big deal to see a Myanmarese boy winning this competition. After all, as they say, practice makes perfect. However, the question is, to what extent do Thai children care about practising?

Never mind the fact that few Thai students take part in contests like this, it's disappointing to see that few give importance to being proficient in their mother tongue.

Also, what do those working on education on the national level and prominent educators think about this? Do they think it is small enough to ignore?

In addition to this lack of interest, another issue has caught people's attention - how students are being taught to spell.

Obviously educational institutions in Thailand need to focus on academic achievements and are, therefore, introducing new methods in order to keep up with the rest of the world so Thai students can win in global contests.

However, in this rush to keep up with others, are we ignoring the basics? Is Thai history and the very essence of Thainess being instilled in Thai students?

New textbooks, with "integration" as their concept, have been introduced, with the ones used for the past decade or two being consigned to the rubbish heap. Also, some subjects are being dropped, with the reasoning that Thai students need to keep up with their counterparts from neighbouring countries.

It is understandable that school curricula need to be updated and improved, but some subjects need to be mandatory in order to anchor the young ones to their roots.

In my time, two or three decades ago, Thai-language teachers used to be the strictest - demanding that reading, writing and enunciation be perfect in their classes.

Each child's handwriting had to meet the guidelines - the size, circles, lines and curves of each character had to be crystal clear. Failure to do this would result in the student having to do the work all over again.

Also, enunciation had to be correct, regardless of whether you were saying ror rua or lor ling.

Now, a new textbook on Thai spelling is raising eyebrows.

Traditionally, we were taught to spell a word based on how it was enunciated. Now, however, the spelling is taught based on how the word is written. Hence, those who learnt how to spell based on enunciation find it difficult to follow the new system, which depends more on learning by rote.

Yet many educators are defending this new way, saying it is good for young children who don't understand the sound-and-character system, adding that they will be introduced to the old method when they learn more.

Of course, it goes without saying that development is part of life. However, change does not always mean its better and an old method does not always mean it is bad.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/There-is-some-wisdom-in-the-old-way-of-doing-thing-30240527.html

 

[thenation]2014-08-08[/thenation]

[Suriya4]

Shame on the Thai kids. Let's revenge by beating the foreigner back.

[Bluespunk]

"In my time, two or three decades ago, Thai-language teachers used to be the strictest - demanding that reading, writing and enunciation be perfect in their classes."


Love it when someone who thinks they know all about education, yet have never taught, writes a story like this.

Copy and repeat, copy and repeat ad nauseam. It doesn't develop thinking, innovation, understanding or a child who is capable of problem solving. Yes reading, writing and speaking are important but they should not be seen as the only aspects that decide on whether an educator is developing an independent, thinking, confident and capable student.

Can they problem solve? Can they use previous learning in a new situation? Do they thrive in unfamiliar situations? Can they cooperate with their peers as well as work (learn) independently? Do they relish challenges?

These are as important. Edited August 8, 2014 by Bluespunk

[SABloke]

This writer is a douche: The kid was born in Thailand so is just as likely to learn the language as his genetically superior Thai peers :rolleyes:

[Seastallion]

Actually, Bluespunk, Khun Thanukid was deriding rote learning.

You are right, though, to critisise everything else.

 

I think khun Thanukid is correct to be worried about today's children failing to learn their own language properly. Everything you bring up, though valid, is another subject.

[Seastallion]

This writer is a douche: The kid was born in Thailand so is just as likely to learn the language as his genetically superior Thai peers

The only douche is the one that wrote something that shows he has poor comprehension, and also shows how uncouth he is by calling the writer of an opinion piece a "douche".

 

"Actually, it's not really such a big deal to see a Myanmarese boy winning this competition"

 

The gist of the article had nothing to do with genetics or the boy.

[Bluespunk]

Actually, Bluespunk, Khun Thanukid was deriding rote learning.
You are right, though, to critisise everything else.
 
I think khun Thanukid is correct to be worried about today's children failing to learn their own language properly. Everything you bring up, though valid, is another subject.

I got the feeling the new concepts he criticised were those that encourage more independent thought. However, that was just my take, I could very well be wrong, I frequently am.

[Valentine]

When my kids were at school they always had good grades but both them & their friends invariably found Thai language to be their weakest subject.

[SABloke]

 

This writer is a douche: The kid was born in Thailand so is just as likely to learn the language as his genetically superior Thai peers

The only douche is the one that wrote something that shows he has poor comprehension, and also shows how uncouth he is by calling the writer of an opinion piece a "douche".

 

"Actually, it's not really such a big deal to see a Myanmarese boy winning this competition"

 

The gist of the article had nothing to do with genetics or the boy.

 

 

I have no time for anyone that alludes to a racist way of thinking - this writer included.  I do understand the gist of the article and he raises some valid points, but it does not excuse hi, in my eyes of being another racist douche.

 

"One item of news shocked me late last month....It was about the 12-year-old son of Myanmar migrant workers....it's not really such a big deal to see a Myanmarese boy winning this competition. After all, as they say, practice makes perfect."

 

The writer is shocked that someone without "pure blood" could beat the Thais at their own language - my point is that there isn't some special "gene" that gives you the ability to speak Thai...if I were born here, I would be fluent in Thai: No shock there

Edited August 8, 2014 by SABloke

[NongKhaiKid]

In asking if students are being taught the very essence of Thainess the author has opened the door to all sorts of comments.

 

In education,  as with other areas,  this means cheating is acceptable and exams cannot be failed.  Later on depending on who you are tertiary education isn't a problem as the family will see to it.   All the way through the system and individuals within it will be a great help as the family will see to that too.

[ChrisY1]

It's a sad state given this smart kid was born and raised in Thailand.....has he been registered as being born here.?...regardless I guess....he is still a foreigner.

This author is upset that a Thai kid didn't get the award.....maybe soon she'll understand!

[geronimo]

I'm afraid it won't be long before writing will disappear. Keyboard typing will replace it as there will be no paper to write on. All led screens!!!

[DrLom]

"One item of news shocked me late last month."

 

Only one? I can think of much more shocking news last month, besides this article.
 

[JoeThePoster]

One item of news shocked me late last month.

 

 

Burmese been winning stuff in Thailand for centuries.

[NongKhaiKid]

I'm afraid it won't be long before writing will disappear. Keyboard typing will replace it as there will be no paper to write on. All led screens!!!

Recently my daughter tore a strip off my daughter for a homework exercise that was full of bad selling etc and reflected no effort.

 

The girl was unfazed saying her teacher had said as long as she could understand what was intended spelling and so on didn't matter because by the time the class were of working age writing would be redundant and their computers would sort out everything for them.

 

Many parents,  including my daughter,  complained and the teacher was ' let go '.  I'm shocked she didn't sue the school !

[Bluespunk]

I'm afraid it won't be long before writing will disappear. Keyboard typing will replace it as there will be no paper to write on. All led screens!!!

Recently my daughter tore a strip off my daughter for a homework exercise that was full of bad selling etc and reflected no effort.
 
The girl was unfazed saying her teacher had said as long as she could understand what was intended spelling and so on didn't matter because by the time the class were of working age writing would be redundant and their computers would sort out everything for them.
 
Many parents,  including my daughter,  complained and the teacher was ' let go '.  I'm shocked she didn't sue the school !

Spelling is a tricky area. If it is common, regular words with obvious phonetic patterns then as a teacher you expect the children to be spelling them correctly.

With more adventurous vocabulary, that the children are not likely to encounter often and has an irregular or new pattern to it this expectation is less. As long as they have attempted to use logical phonetic patterns in the spelling it is a good sign, they are showing courage in attempting something new and have attempted to apply previous learning.

As the word/phonetic pattern becomes a more regular aspect of their writing then you expect more consistency and accuracy in its use.

Spelling is developmental and relies on familiarity, experience and phonetic knowledge as well as learning new words by heart (hopefully as part of a planned phonics scheme).

However to say it doesn't matter because spell check will sort it out for you later on in life is lazy, incompetent and indicative of a teacher who doesn't understand how to teach spelling. Edited August 8, 2014 by Bluespunk

[timmyp]

Lord, I can't believe people are trying to see a symbol in this kid getting acknowledged for his efforts. 

 

I'll bet the kid can't write in Burmese well at all because his education and studies have been in Thai. He's just like any Thai kid...  

 

I mentioned this story to a Chinese-Thai friend, who defended the position of Thai people being upset that they were beaten by a "foreign".

So I asked her: "What about you? The folks complaining about this don't consider you Thai either. You're just as much as threat as this kid."

This is really an example of how nationalism gets people thinking screwy. I wish I heard more people in this country point out how silly people are being by making this an issue, but so far I haven't heard that even once.

 

I'll bet this kid is getting alot of flack for his success. It's really too bad...

 

 

[JohnThailandJohn]

Kind of find part of this story silly. The kid was born and raised in Thailand. If places like the US used this same logic the majority of inventions coming from the US would actually be considered from foreigners since the inventor or their parents where immigrants. While this kid is Burmese since he doesn't have Thai Citizenship, wonder if he can speak Burmese?

[JohnThailandJohn]

Lord, I can't believe people are trying to see a symbol in this kid getting acknowledged for his efforts. 
 
I'll bet the kid can't write in Burmese well at all because his education and studies have been in Thai. He's just like any Thai kid...  
 
I mentioned this story to a Chinese-Thai friend, who defended the position of Thai people being upset that they were beaten by a "foreign".
So I asked her: "What about you? The folks complaining about this don't consider you Thai either. You're just as much as threat as this kid."
This is really an example of how nationalism gets people thinking screwy. I wish I heard more people in this country point out how silly people are being by making this an issue, but so far I haven't heard that even once.
 
I'll bet this kid is getting alot of flack for his success. It's really too bad...

My understanding was the Thais generally celebrated his victory. The vast complaints or negative comments I have read have been from farangs who believe Thais should be upset.

[kleelof]

This is a complaint by countries all around the world that their students don't take their mother language seriously enough.

[NongKhaiKid]

 

I'm afraid it won't be long before writing will disappear. Keyboard typing will replace it as there will be no paper to write on. All led screens!!!

Recently my daughter tore a strip off my daughter for a homework exercise that was full of bad selling etc and reflected no effort.

 

The girl was unfazed saying her teacher had said as long as she could understand what was intended spelling and so on didn't matter because by the time the class were of working age writing would be redundant and their computers would sort out everything for them.

 

Many parents,  including my daughter,  complained and the teacher was ' let go '.  I'm shocked she didn't sue the school !

 

Spelling mistakes ?  Damn.

The first line should have read daughter and granddaughter !

It was the keyboard, HONEST and to prove it i am pointing at it.

[soalbundy]

This writer is a douche: The kid was born in Thailand so is just as likely to learn the language as his genetically superior Thai peers

No shame here,i remember a case where a Turkish girl won a competition in German in Germany beating her German competitors hands down.It's all down to perseverance,practice,intelligence and the will to win,nothing to do with race. 

[soalbundy]

This is a complaint by countries all around the world that their students don't take their mother language seriously enough.

one can see the validity of the complaints in the poor spelling and unwillingness to correct, despite being red underlined, on this site.

[pedro01]

The kid was born & raised in Thailand - he's Thai.

 

So all I see in this article is the xenophobic knee jerk reaction of the author.

 

[rlopes]

I see Thais obsessed about teaching English to their 2 year old kids, when such parents can't even read Thai decently.

Not that English is not important, but their priorities should be set straight.

[timmyp]

 

My understanding was the Thais generally celebrated his victory. The vast complaints or negative comments I have read have been from farangs who believe Thais should be upset.

 

 

Most of the Thai people I heard talking about this seemed to give it chuckle, "I guess Thai folks need to work harder." They said it like it really wasn't a big deal.

 

On the tabloid M2F's online version, over 90% of the people who read the article said that it was "bad news."

I also heard a couple of news stories about it on the radio, both focusing on the threat to Thai society because foreigners are working harder than the Thais. Another radio program had listeners calling in, and the listeners talked about what it meant to have a foreigner beating out Thai kids, and how this was a symbol of Thai laziness. It was brought up at the gym, where some people chuckled about it, and others saw it as proof of national downfall. Nobody ever once said, "Aw, it's the same as a Thai kid winning it. Congrats to the kid for his success, this doesn't threaten national identity at all." <--I have not heard this opinion from a Thai person or Chinese-Thai person even once, although I'm sure there are people out there with this opinion

 

I think you've been talking to a select group of Thai people. 

 

As far as the foreigners go, I've heard some Thai-bashers say things like, "Proof how lazy the Thai folks are!" but the vast majority of foreigners I've heard talking about this and who have posted on TV are saying, "This isn't a big deal, but I think people are going to start talking about how this is a threat, which it isn't really.

 

So, I have to disagree with your assessment that foreigners are the ones making a big deal out if it, that Thai people don't think it's a victory.

 

If some Thai people want to use this as inspiration to work harder, then wonderful. But I think it's just going to fuel misconceptions of what national identity is or should be. 

Edited August 8, 2014 by timmyp

[JohnThailandJohn]

 

My understanding was the Thais generally celebrated his victory. The vast complaints or negative comments I have read have been from farangs who believe Thais should be upset.

 
Most of the Thai people I heard talking about this seemed to give it chuckle, "I guess Thai folks need to work harder." They said it like it really wasn't a big deal.
 
On the tabloid M2F's online version, over 90% of the people who read the article said that it was "bad news."
I also heard a couple of news stories about it on the radio, both focusing on the threat to Thai society because foreigners are working harder than the Thais. Another radio program had listeners calling in, and the listeners talked about what it meant to have a foreigner beating out Thai kids, and how this was a symbol of Thai laziness. It was brought up at the gym, where some people chuckled about it, and others saw it as proof of national downfall. Nobody ever once said, "Aw, it's the same as a Thai kid winning it. Congrats to the kid for his success, this doesn't threaten national identity at all." <--I have not heard this opinion from a Thai person or Chinese-Thai person even once, although I'm sure there are people out there with this opinion
 
I think you've been talking to a select group of Thai people. 
 
As far as the foreigners go, I've heard some Thai-bashers say things like, "Proof how lazy the Thai folks are!" but the vast majority of foreigners I've heard talking about this and who have posted on TV are saying, "This isn't a big deal, but I think people are going to start talking about how this is a threat, which it isn't really.
 
So, I have to disagree with your assessment that foreigners are the ones making a big deal out if it, that Thai people don't think it's a big deal.
 
If some Thai people want to use this as inspiration to work harder, then wonderful. But I think it's just going to fuel misconceptions of what national identity is or should be.

 

Interesting as I recall the students in his school and possibly town celebrated his victory but I guess those who don't understand he was born in Thailand and taught by Thai teachers and is 12 years old in 3rd grade (is that 4 years older than typical Thai 3rd graders?) and this was not a spelling or language contest he won but rather handwriting (calligraphy / penmanship) contest might want to try to slant the story of one kid because of where his parents were born into some reflection all Thai kids. 

 

I personally don't know any Thai who cared about this except to wonder why some people were trying to make a bige deal out of nothing.

 

PS. some of the brightest most educated and knowledgeable people in the world have horrible hand writing. Not to mention a 12-year old vs. 8-year old has better motor and brain functions to be able to write neater.

 

http://www.dvb.no/news/burmese-migrant-wins-thai-calligraphy-award-burma-myanmar/42878

Edited August 8, 2014 by JohnThailandJohn

[timmyp]

 

Interesting as I recall the students in his school and possibly town celebrated his victory but I guess those who don't understand he was born in Thailand and taught by Thai teachers and is 12 years old in 3rd grade (is that 4 years older than typical Thai 3rd graders?) and this was not a spelling or language contest he won but rather handwriting (calligraphy / penmanship) contest might want to try to slant the story of one kid because of where his parents were born into some reflection all Thai kids. 

 

 

 

 

I totally, totally overlooked this point.  In all this discussion, I haven't heard this brought up either! Thanks for highlighting this.

 

>I personally don't know any Thai who cared about this except to wonder why some people were trying to make a bige deal out of nothing.

 

That is what I would expect to be the case, and what I am guessing most people feel, but so far I have only heard people discuss this as a threat or proof of national laziness, and then there was the M2F online poll. I guess people who see it as insignificant news don't care to bring it up, as it's not worth discussion. 

 

Wow, so the kid was stuck in 3rd grade as a 12 year old... That's so silly... when I was a kid in Chicago, a Cambodian refugee who was 11 years old was put in my 2nd grade class, and her 12-year old sister into the 3rd grade classroom. This concept of a language learner having the language skills of a kid has since been abandoned, but some folks still cling to it... sorry, a bit off topic. 

 

The fact that this kid was so much older makes it even more bizarre that folks would see this as a threat... "Thailand will be overrun by the big kids!"

[iReason]

"...spelling is taught based on how the word is written..."

 

Seems logical to me...

[winstonc]

Lord, I can't believe people are trying to see a symbol in this kid getting acknowledged for his efforts. 

 

I'll bet the kid can't write in Burmese well at all because his education and studies have been in Thai. He's just like any Thai kid...  

 

I mentioned this story to a Chinese-Thai friend, who defended the position of Thai people being upset that they were beaten by a "foreign".

So I asked her: "What about you? The folks complaining about this don't consider you Thai either. You're just as much as threat as this kid."

This is really an example of how nationalism gets people thinking screwy. I wish I heard more people in this country point out how silly people are being by making this an issue, but so far I haven't heard that even once.

 

I'll bet this kid is getting alot of flack for his success. It's really too bad...

 

 

good point but i fail to see why people say they are thai/chinese..or what ever your thai or your chinese..never understood that..bit like african/american...or do they just mean black..but are not allowed to say it...people need to grow up