Students allowed to choose how they spend shortened school days

[Lite Beer]

Students allowed to choose how they spend shortened school days
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Students will be allowed to leave their classrooms 90 minutes early every day and choose how they would like to fill their afternoons, thanks to a new learning and development initiative devised by the newly-appointed Education Minister.

In response to a policy implemented by Education Minister Dapong Ratanasuwan, 3,500 schools under the supervision the Office of Basic Education Commission (Obec) will significantly reduce the number of hours their primary and junior-secondary students spend in class from the second semester of this year.

Instead of sitting in class until 3.30pm, students at these pivotal schools will be required to stay only until 2pm, said Kamol Rodklai, secretary-general of Obec.

"We will soon start listening to students' opinions via the Internet," Kamol said.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/Students-allowed-to-choose-how-they-spend-shortene-30267908.html

-- The Nation 2015-09-01

[Crossy]

"We will soon start listening to students' opinions via the Internet," Kamol said.

They will have to, because that's what 99.99% of students will be doing.

[taff33]

On their smart phones I should think.

[Thai at Heart]

Hahaha. Upto u.....which means. If it goes wrong it's your fault....

Edited September 1, 2015 by Thai at Heart

[timewilltell]

It beggars belief really. The kids should not just be sitting in class - and from my limited knowledge many of them just skip anyway. They should be learning. Added to which what are parents who are working supposed to do to when the kids are left to their own devices. This is a completely moronic idea if the education of the children is the intent. Perhaps the intent is to dumb them down even more than before so the morons who run the show do not get any criticism.

Truly unbelievable.

[Thai at Heart]

This is teachers telling Bangkok, u came up with this idea. You sort it out.

[DavisH]

What will happen is that parents, for the most part, cannot pick their kids up at 2pm. Thus, schools will organise activities to fill the gap until 4pm. I would bet the curriculum will not be changed, so teachers will still be forced to teach all their content in a shorter day. Believe me, there will be no free time for teachers, and their workload will likely increase. If my students get home 2 hours earlier I can guarantee you they will be getting much more homework from me. They can forget any notion of an extra 2 hours glued to their stupid phones/computer games.

[h90]

What will happen is that parents, for the most part, cannot pick their kids up at 2pm. Thus, schools will organise activities to fill the gap until 4pm. I would bet the curriculum will not be changed, so teachers will still be forced to teach all their content in a shorter day. Believe me, there will be no free time for teachers, and their workload will likely increase. If my students get home 2 hours earlier I can guarantee you they will be getting much more homework from me. They can forget any notion of an extra 2 hours glued to their stupid phones/computer games.

teachers will be forced to teach all their content in a shorter day.....check the usual knowledge.....they could go home a 10 AM....

[worgeordie]

Do intelligent people think of these ideas?,less learning,they are never going to get

an education,but i suppose stupid people are easier to control.

regards worgeordie

[tartempion]

Choose how to fill their afternoons.....

Playing games in the PC shop.

[thesetat2013]

What will happen is that parents, for the most part, cannot pick their kids up at 2pm. Thus, schools will organise activities to fill the gap until 4pm. I would bet the curriculum will not be changed, so teachers will still be forced to teach all their content in a shorter day. Believe me, there will be no free time for teachers, and their workload will likely increase. If my students get home 2 hours earlier I can guarantee you they will be getting much more homework from me. They can forget any notion of an extra 2 hours glued to their stupid phones/computer games.

teachers will be forced to teach all their content in a shorter day.....check the usual knowledge.....they could go home a 10 AM....

But with the learning curve they should stay until 1800.

[toybits]

That means more Riyen Piset hours! Teachers will be only soooo happy! ha ha...

[Reigntax]

Maybe more of this

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILkAY58If9Q

[Reigntax]

Double post

Edited September 1, 2015 by Reigntax

[CMguy]

some might say. Future generations will be less likely to question,spell or know the definition of authority. "Grooming compliance in future generations", might be their mission statement.

[CosmicSurfer]

Just what they Need... More Time Off from Classes, between time off preparing for Sports Day, Military service days, Scouts days, Assemblies for hours getting yelled at....
Is it any Wonder that the vast majority can't get into Uni based on their GPA alone, or even pass their High School Final exams ???
Thailand has the lowest educational scores in ASEAN now, I believe!!!

CS

[jaywalker]

The extra 90 minutes is to allow them time to walk 301 meters from school, to get a snort of booze.

[NOC]

I can see the teen pregnancy rate increasing dramatically. They'll wonder why...

[zyphodb]

Another great idea by the elite to make the general population even more stupid & less likely to realise just how much they're being stitched up by their masters.....

[willyumiii]

What will happen is that parents, for the most part, cannot pick their kids up at 2pm. Thus, schools will organise activities to fill the gap until 4pm. I would bet the curriculum will not be changed, so teachers will still be forced to teach all their content in a shorter day. Believe me, there will be no free time for teachers, and their workload will likely increase. If my students get home 2 hours earlier I can guarantee you they will be getting much more homework from me. They can forget any notion of an extra 2 hours glued to their stupid phones/computer games.

I think you are missing the point here.

As an ex teacher in Thailand and the father of a very good student, I feel that good students here are overloaded with homework, starting with the "early child" classes.

Homework every night and on weekends too from the age of 5 years old, leaves good students no time to be children.

Most teachers have students grade each other's homework, so it is not a workload increase for the teachers at all.

Children need time to play and socialize...it is part of growing up!

It makes no difference to the poor students who never do their homework and socialize all day long.

But In Thailand, even students who do nothing will pass.

"Believe me, there will be no free time for teachers, and their workload will likely increase"

This statement is very telling about what I consider one of the the biggest problem with education in Thailand.

For way too many teachers in Thailand, school is not about educating students.

For them school is about how much teachers can earn, and how little teachers can get away with doing.

Many teachers put more effort into finding reasons to cancel classes, and avoid working, than they put into trying to educate students.

Edited September 2, 2015 by willyumiii

[DavisH]

What will happen is that parents, for the most part, cannot pick their kids up at 2pm. Thus, schools will organise activities to fill the gap until 4pm. I would bet the curriculum will not be changed, so teachers will still be forced to teach all their content in a shorter day. Believe me, there will be no free time for teachers, and their workload will likely increase. If my students get home 2 hours earlier I can guarantee you they will be getting much more homework from me. They can forget any notion of an extra 2 hours glued to their stupid phones/computer games.

I think you are missing the point here.

As an ex teacher in Thailand and the father of a very good student, I feel that good students here are overloaded with homework, starting with the "early child" classes.

Homework every night and on weekends too from the age of 5 years old, leaves good students no time to be children.

Most teachers have students grade each other's homework, so it is not a workload increase for the teachers at all.

Children need time to play and socialize...it is part of growing up!

It makes no difference to the poor students who never do their homework and socialize all day long.

But In Thailand, even students who do nothing will pass.

"Believe me, there will be no free time for teachers, and their workload will likely increase"

This statement is very telling about what I consider one of the the biggest problem with education in Thailand.

For way too many teachers in Thailand, school is not about educating students.

For them school is about how much teachers can earn, and how little teachers can get away with doing.

Many teachers put more effort into finding reasons to cancel classes, and avoid working, than they put into trying to educate students.

That's only true in some schools. I agree there is too much homework in the lower grades, and too much emphasis on passing exams. My school told us not to give homework to prathom students (but this obviously only applies to foreign teachers. Thai teachers still give it to younger kids. My main concern is the mess that high schools are in here. I know for a fact that even if I give homework to high school students many will try to finish it as school. They really do not like doing anything outside of the classroom that takes a bit of thought and effort. That's only some though. Other's are hardworking. The main problem lies with the structure of the curriculum and what and how it is taught. Quantity is emphasised over quality. No amount of extra curricular activities is going to fix the inherent problems in the system.

[timber]

Is the school allowed to sell booze within 300 meters of the School. At what grade does this happen? 60% of the kids

in high school aren't capable of making this decision in a meaning way. I guess it is a way of allowing Myanmar to catch

up to Thailand. The smart kids will teach themselves or find a way. Society needs to be concerned with the bottom

60%, in that they need to play a meaningful role in society. Plantation crops are taking a beating, and got to get more

kids off the farm.

[Khun Paul]

One poster asked the question how do intelligent people come up with these ideas. That is the point intelligent people would not, but if you were educated in Thailand and landed a Government Job then you will come up with these ideas as, judging by the rest of the world you are NOT Intelligent.

The Thai Government will oversee the dumbing down even more of an education system which has a no fail policy, now they are going to have a no learn policy as well. Wonderful Thainess at its BEST.

[little mary sunshine]

Internet will be slower starting at 2.!!!!!

[LarryBird]

I'm not opposed to the idea. Finland doesn't put any pressure on students in the early years, and homework is ILLEGAL until they are 16 years of age. My problem with this is, the usual. It's the snap of one person's finger, and boom, done. The fact that school won't be a daycare for students as long shouldn't factor into the decision, in my opinion. What should factor in, is what the teachers do those other hours. Another issue I have with this is the quick transition. All of the sudden, 90 minutes less. Why not go thirty minutes this term, thirty minutes the next, and then finally thirty?

Anyway, I pretty much agree with WillyUmii. Just my two cents.

[jaywalker]

What will happen is that parents, for the most part, cannot pick their kids up at 2pm. Thus, schools will organise activities to fill the gap until 4pm. I would bet the curriculum will not be changed, so teachers will still be forced to teach all their content in a shorter day. Believe me, there will be no free time for teachers, and their workload will likely increase. If my students get home 2 hours earlier I can guarantee you they will be getting much more homework from me. They can forget any notion of an extra 2 hours glued to their stupid phones/computer games.

I think you are missing the point here.

As an ex teacher in Thailand and the father of a very good student, I feel that good students here are overloaded with homework, starting with the "early child" classes.

Homework every night and on weekends too from the age of 5 years old, leaves good students no time to be children.

Most teachers have students grade each other's homework, so it is not a workload increase for the teachers at all.

Children need time to play and socialize...it is part of growing up!

It makes no difference to the poor students who never do their homework and socialize all day long.

But In Thailand, even students who do nothing will pass.

"Believe me, there will be no free time for teachers, and their workload will likely increase"

This statement is very telling about what I consider one of the the biggest problem with education in Thailand.

For way too many teachers in Thailand, school is not about educating students.

For them school is about how much teachers can earn, and how little teachers can get away with doing.

Many teachers put more effort into finding reasons to cancel classes, and avoid working, than they put into trying to educate students.

That's only true in some schools. I agree there is too much homework in the lower grades, and too much emphasis on passing exams. My school told us not to give homework to prathom students (but this obviously only applies to foreign teachers. Thai teachers still give it to younger kids. My main concern is the mess that high schools are in here. I know for a fact that even if I give homework to high school students many will try to finish it as school. They really do not like doing anything outside of the classroom that takes a bit of thought and effort. That's only some though. Other's are hardworking. The main problem lies with the structure of the curriculum and what and how it is taught. Quantity is emphasised over quality. No amount of extra curricular activities is going to fix the inherent problems in the system.

One of my many nephews is a deputy sheriff in Florida.

It was his dream job from about the time he hit puberty. He was 13 & had a police radio scanner.

I went to Asia for several years & saw him next when he was 19 or so.

I asked if he was a cop yet or not.

Said that while he had graduated high school, he couldn't pass the police academy exam.

He went back on his own to get some college (AA degree), so he could read the exam & figure out what 2X2 was.

He's a happy cop these days.

-----------

How on earth he graduated high school is anybody's guess.

Oh yeah, he's straight-laced too. He'd arrest me if I broke the law.

[NOC]

Internet will be slower starting at 2.!!!!!

I think fiber optic gets a pass on this one.

[bangon04]

Choose how to fill their afternoons.....

Playing games in the PC shop.

or the option of walking around the shopping mall in a group for an extra hour.

[newnative]

Well, I think it's a safe bet they won't choose to spend the time studying. What a truly dumb idea to reduce class time.

[Jonmarleesco]

'Students will be allowed to leave their classrooms 90 minutes early every day and choose how they would like to fill their afternoons ...' Well, let's see: surfing the internet, going to the cinema, surfing the internet, texting, surfing the internet ... what a well thought-through initiative.

'"We will soon start listening to students' opinions via the Internet," Kamol said.' And yet again, and ignoring the obvious thought as to what many students - who don't pay the fees, anyway - should be expected to contribute, back to the internet. They can't even conceive of canvassing opinions unless it's through a remote device.