How do you help young kids think "outside the box" and still stay Thai ?

[BKKdreaming]

Ok.......this is not an insult on anyone , it was in response to something in another thread about an Australian couple not wanted their kids to pick up bad manners or bad behavior from playing with Thai kids.....

But how do you teach young kids to think for themselves , have an imagination , like to play and build things.....OK all the things I liked doing when I was young....

This is probably not a "taught" thing , just something learned by being around other people who lived the same way.....

The Japanese have a saying like " the nail that sticks up gets beaten down" , it seems to be the same in most of Asia, working as a group and not by yourself. and they do not want to rock the boat .......

So can a Thai kid think more "Western" and still do well in Thai schools and later in life be ahead by thinking for themselves ,

Are there any Western toys that help them think for themselves , Legos, or ?????

and lastly do Thais have classic silly books like Dr. Seuss' the Cat in the Hat.,

[benalibina]

Teachers on here should be able to comment on it coupled with foreign stepdads.

Imho kids learn the most from their direct social environment. So if it is not...in the kid....it will be hard to learn it if it is not encouraged at the school and home.

[kingalfred]

Ok.......this is not an insult on anyone , it was in response to something in another thread about an Australian couple not wanted their kids to pick up bad manners or bad behavior from playing with Thai kids.....

But how do you teach young kids to think for themselves , have an imagination , like to play and build things.....OK all the things I liked doing when I was young....

This is probably not a "taught" thing , just something learned by being around other people who lived the same way.....

The Japanese have a saying like " the nail that sticks up gets beaten down" , it seems to be the same in most of Asia, working as a group and not by yourself. and they do not want to rock the boat .......

So can a Thai kid think more "Western" and still do well in Thai schools and later in life be ahead by thinking for themselves ,

Are there any Western toys that help them think for themselves , Legos, or ?????

and lastly do Thais have classic silly books like Dr. Seuss' the Cat in the Hat.,

" so can a thai kid think more western ?" uhh no.. even if they even attempted the Thai "learning method" would knock it away. "independent thinking"? when hell freezes over.

[ThePlant]

How do you help young kids think "outside the box" and still stay Thai ?

Wait till they reach adulthood, though even then don't expect miracles even with supposedly 'educated' Thais. One reason I prefer hanging with Thais who live/follow 'alternative' lifestyles such as Punks, Rockers, Bikers though even they they can 'relapse' into full 'Thai mode'

[Puyai]

I play with my son, blocks are always good. Reading is good too, but make sure and ask a lot of comprehension questions. We also play a lot of sport, swimming, golf and football. Always ask a lot of questions. Make the child think about what they're doing, why they're doing something. Get your child to help you do things. Let them do things, fall over, get dirty, make mistakes. It's definitely possible, but I'd advise against sending your child to a government school. If you have to, take them late everyday, so they miss the assembly!!!

[FritsSikkink]

Again racist <deleted>, yes Thais can think outside of the box if they had a good education from school an from there parents.

[Gonsalviz]

Ok.......this is not an insult on anyone , it was in response to something in another thread about an Australian couple not wanted their kids to pick up bad manners or bad behavior from playing with Thai kids.....

But how do you teach young kids to think for themselves , have an imagination , like to play and build things.....OK all the things I liked doing when I was young....

This is probably not a "taught" thing , just something learned by being around other people who lived the same way.....

The Japanese have a saying like " the nail that sticks up gets beaten down" , it seems to be the same in most of Asia, working as a group and not by yourself. and they do not want to rock the boat .......

So can a Thai kid think more "Western" and still do well in Thai schools and later in life be ahead by thinking for themselves ,

Are there any Western toys that help them think for themselves , Legos, or ?????

and lastly do Thais have classic silly books like Dr. Seuss' the Cat in the Hat.,

" so can a thai kid think more western ?" uhh no.. even if they even attempted the Thai "learning method" would knock it away. "independent thinking"? when hell freezes over.

Not entirely true. Kids can be taught western ways and learn to stifle them when at school. My 2 girls do. This holiday they have brought school friends and are teaching them what I require in my house. Not only is that working but the original intention was for me to have the house organized (cleaned up) to show their friends.

[BKKdreaming]

Again racist <deleted>, yes Thais can think outside of the box if they had a good education from school an from there parents.

please explain "good education"

For me it is learning how to do things and not just answers to set questions ,

There is a need to be a "Parrot" and repeat time and again certain things so you know the correct words or phrase.

Just using your memory will get most kids though school, but what did they ready learn and remember years later ?

I took 2 years of Spanish , but just remembered the lesson until the end of the test , it was boring and at the time we saw no use for it ,

if they had made it interesting and useful, even just simple things like ordering lunch , then we may have remembered it.....

[Reincarnation9]

Since Thai don't think outside the box, you are asking for an oxymoron. A chimera. An anomaly. "Being Thai" requires belief in an entire interconnected system of bogus political, religious and mythical fabrications promulgated by the Ministry of Culture, the military. Ammart and others.

[BKKdreaming]

Since Thai don't think outside the box, you are asking for an oxymoron. A chimera. An anomaly. "Being Thai" requires belief in an entire interconnected system of bogus political, religious and mythical fabrications promulgated by the Ministry of Culture, the military. Ammart and others.

I am sure there is a group of Thais that think for themselves ,

and more will just because of the Internet , International TV shows and meeting other cultures, but not from school

I lived in an open Southern Californian culture all my life , So many things were invented here , it was just normal to look at things "outside the box"

Space ships were built down the street , Hollywood movies were filmed all around the area , the Custom Car Culture was start here , and it goes on and on.....

But now that has been stiffled even here , everyone is pushed into going to University so you take classes to get accepted, Shop classes are gone ,

now its a computer lab ,

My friend is an Artist making metal sculpture , the Thai young guys he had working for him quit and became motorcycle taxi guys, less work and did not have to think , Now he has Burmese teens working who are happy to work and learn a trade......

anyway enough rambling , I enjoy making things , I appreciate what it takes for others to make things, and its something school does not encourage