Thai children need a culture that boosts self-expression, self-confidence

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BURNING ISSUE
Children need a culture that boosts self-expression, self-confidence
CHULARAT SAENGPASSA
THE NATION

THE upcoming National Children’s Day presents another opportunity for the country to contemplate how it has been shaping and cultivating its children.

If Thailand expects its citizens to become more creative, self-confident and analytical, we need to create an environment in which children can grow and feel comfortable about doing things differently and raising questions.

Take a look at the circumstances that Thai kids find themselves in.

By culture, Thais appreciate nice, polite manners, particularly among kids. Most parents, though not all, want their children to be obedient and do what they are told to do.

Most teachers also expect pretty much the same.

Children who do things their own way quickly get reprimanded, rather than taught how they should express themselves.

Arguing with parents is seen as a form of disrespect towards one's guardians. Raise a few questions in class and teachers will wonder if a particular student is trying to challenge them.

Since 1959, the prime minister has carved out a new motto for Thai kids every year. Most of these have put an emphasis on diligence, economising, honesty and morality.

For last year's Children's Day, Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha gave the slogan "With knowledge and morality comes a brighter future".

To mark Children's Day this Saturday, his slogan is "Good kids shall persevere and study hard for the future".

All the qualities mentioned in these mottoes are good, but the point is that Thailand also needs other qualities to shine in the population.

Some important skills needed this century in the labour force include innovative and analytical thinking, plus creativity.

Many experts say that Thai kids should do better academically, but there is little action to nurture them that way in Thailand.

Look at how a 15-year-old schoolgirl, known widely as 'Ploy', recently faced the threat of a lawsuit after she participated in a citizen's TV initiative and reported on how the waterway in her home town appeared to have been harmed by the operation of a nearby gold-mine.

The mining firm lodged a complaint against her for alleged defamation, even though her report did not mention its name at all.

A lawyer for the company even went as far as contacting her school director in a bid to arrange a meeting - to get the girl to apologise for the report.

The girl's mother has admitted that she feels worried and hopes that her daughter will not join any further extracurricular activity.

Before 'Ploy' got into hot water for her courage to speak up about the adverse environmental impacts in her hometown, a Mathayom 5 student faced temporary detention for unfurling a banner at a forum attended by the prime minister.

The boy, Parit Chiwarak, showed up at the event with the hope of airing his opinions that the government should place a stronger emphasis on philosophy than on history or civic duty, but he had hardly spoken a word when security officials grabbed him.

Although Parit was released soon after, he has found that his life is not the same as it was before the incident, as police have started monitoring his activities.

In one of his Facebook posts, Parit said: "I am just an ordinary student who stood up to demand a better education for Thai students."

He also insisted that he is not affiliated with any political group.

Despite his explanations, Parit has been attacked by several people on social media, who suspect he may have had a hidden political agenda.

While 'Ploy' and Parit remain firm in their intention to pursue what they believe is right, the trouble they have had to face shows that Thai society does not provide children with many opportunities to express themselves, or experiment with their ideas and develop accountability in the process.

If Thai children are to grow up to become quality and mature adults, Thai culture needs to support self-expression, self-confidence and self-esteem as much as other great virtues like honesty, responsibility and politeness.

Let's give Thai children a precious gift. Let them learn by doing, asking questions when they need answers, exploring solutions, and experimenting with ideas, some of which may turn out to be great.

Thai Broadcast Journalists Association (TBJA) president Thepchai Yong has commented that Ploy has exercised her fundamental right to express her opinion and did it with a pure intent - protecting her community and locals' quality of life.

"If the firm thinks her opinions are not accurate, it should provide information it thinks is right to the public, to create the right understanding, instead of taking legal action," he said.

Indeed, we must all take care not to threaten and intimidate children who speak up. We need more people who agree to nurture Thai kids the right way. More than 14,000 people have already signed an online petition to demand that the mining firm withdraw its complaint against Ploy. But we need more such people to boost Thai culture, so that our kids can grow up stronger and wiser.

With a constructive culture, kids can fully develop their potential, while acquiring accountability along the way, and eventually making a positive contribution to Thai society.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/Children-need-a-culture-that-boosts-self-expressio-30276139.html


-- The Nation 2016-01-05

[PaullyW]

More self-confidence?!

I would say Thais need ANYTHING BUT more confidence. They have more than plenty already! Of the almost 10 countries I have lived in and the dozens countries I have traveled, Thais routinely have more confidence bordering on arrogance mixed with sheer incompetence than almost any other group save for maybe certain parts of China.

What Thai kids and adults need -- desperately -- is a culture of tempering unfounded confidence with serious effort and accomplishment. Immense false confidence and false pride is one of the biggest obstacles preventing the country from moving forward.

Edited January 4, 2016 by PaullyW

[Bluespunk]

Isn't that what the article is saying?

[SoFarAndNear]

More self-confidence?!

I would say Thais need ANYTHING BUT more confidence. They have more than plenty already! Of the almost 10 countries I have lived in and the dozens countries I have traveled, Thais routinely have more confidence bordering on arrogance mixed with sheer incompetence than almost any other group save for maybe certain parts of China.

What Thai kids and adults need -- desperately -- is a culture of tempering unfounded confidence with serious effort and accomplishment. Immense false confidence and false pride is one of the biggest obstacles preventing the country from moving forward.

Have you read the full article or just the headline?

[hanuman2543]

The article reinforces my decision to go back to my home country so that my child has the chance to get a proper education and is allowed and encouraged to ask all the questions he has, without being dragged in front of a court for the sake of easy profits.

Edited January 4, 2016 by hanuman2543

[Seastallion]

More self-confidence?!

I would say Thais need ANYTHING BUT more confidence. They have more than plenty already! Of the almost 10 countries I have lived in and the dozens countries I have traveled, Thais routinely have more confidence bordering on arrogance mixed with sheer incompetence than almost any other group save for maybe certain parts of China.

What Thai kids and adults need -- desperately -- is a culture of tempering unfounded confidence with serious effort and accomplishment. Immense false confidence and false pride is one of the biggest obstacles preventing the country from moving forward.

I think you're confusing confidence with unquestioning belief in what the system has told them....and this is the problem: Unquestioning.

[Jeremy50]

Thai students are amongst the most disrespectful and unruly in the world. They should however speak out against hopeless Thai teachers, and corrupt school directors who are only interested in lining their own pockets.

[Plutojames88]

Gun to the head morality - seems to impressionable minds to be a contradiction in terms .

Being told how to act by people who seized power and did away with democracy and PM ?

Students are fresh and question things.

The article was good in that respect it encouraged those bigger questions.

Why is the elitist company polluting the river?

Why should I recite this propaganda ?

Free thought is important. .

Questioning who tells them what to do is sometimes just.

Future Thais might not so meekly stay on their knees and allow their nation to be hijacked .....it begins with the voices of the young

It would be good if someone ""other than China "" colonised the Thais and they caught up with the world.

This pyramid thing with institutions at the top and 90% of peasants at bottom has got to go.

And until they get it through their head equality and freedoms and 21st century motivation to demand rights .

Its usual numb minded servitude .

Edited January 5, 2016 by Plutojames88

[LannaGuy]

how about "Thailand Adults need a culture that boosts self-expression, self confidence"? ah just remembered...

[Plutojames88]

The article reinforces my decision to go back to my home country so that my child has the chance to get a proper education and is allowed and encouraged to ask all the questions he has, without being dragged in front of a court for the sake of easy profits.

Absolutely !!!

It's a horror system to subject a child to .

Good for you placing high values on ""your child's "" well being.

I have a ( thai ) girlfriend with an actual business degree who was In disbelief watching man land on the moon in a YOU TUBE and couldn't tell me why the moon shines and its phases.

Tides and their origin.

Who Jesus was.

The wright brothers.

Einstein .

Or JFK or Alexander the Great .

Formula for pye

Or the planets in our solar system .

It was shocking .

Thais are also greatly devoid of wanting to know ""outside things"" and have very little inventions of their own

Edited January 5, 2016 by Plutojames88

[technologybytes]

Certainly the Thai education system needs to be overhauled and lots of changes made.

My feeling is that the education system is designed to prevent thinking and prevent curiosity, to teach kids their place in Thai society and turn them into little robots.

[oneday]

Haven't they heard. Freedom of "expression" has been essentially outlawed by the junta and 44.

[waldroj]

Just a personal observation - I think Thai kids are overly nurtured and mollycoddled to the point that they are self-indulgent and uncaring to the needs of others.

Simple case in point, young Thais (including college students in uniform) occupy seats on public transport while older people stand!

Also, the simple act of holding a door open for someone else walking behind them is not part of the modern young Thais consideration.

No wonder Prayut dispairs the decline of the culture.

[toybits]

The foundation for creating a culture that boosts self-expression, self-confidence among Thai Children is absent. That foundation has first to be created. Children must be encouraged to ask questions as that is the key to knowledge. If teachers persist in regarding inquisitive students as pesky little critters that need to be sent to detention, then there is no hope for them EVER gaining self-confidence, and expressing themselves in public.

[Thian]

Thai kids from 6 yo can't even go to toilet alone, can't take a shower alone, still eat babyfood, still are allowed to scream through adult conversations. They are still baby's.

[skildpadden]

Oh where to start and where to end.
Of course education as we all know is in a serious bad state - repeating everything, never questioning anything, teachers who are unqualified and underpaid, corrupt school directors, etc.

Then there is a permanent lack of planning from the governments' side. Each time a new government is elected, they begin all over again, so there is no consensus. Present government has done nothing even though they have Section 44 and actually could force some things through, but all they have mastered is another round of propaganda and dis-encouraging free thought. Same same and not different - and I honestly do not see any chance of improvement with the PM's new slogan.

Thai higher education is also in shambles with a no fail policy, copying academic work claiming it's your own (and then throw a lawsuit after the real author when the copycat is caught out), level of scientific study is poor (hearing apparently high standing Thai historian's academic rambles is just terrifying).

These are the things that a clever government could start doing something about, but the dealing with a long time culture of academic cheating, buying your way in life instead of hard working, face and defamation issues, not accepting being criticized and scrutinized - that will take a very long time to remedy.

[sanukjim]

Do you mean a change of culture from learning of the governments graft that is transferred over to LOS businesses and education system.They get enough of said confidence in their morning song s telling them how great and superior they are in Asia.Children learn from their peers Change the GREED Culture in their peers and you will have a start.

[cockatoowho]

Thai kids from 6 yo can't even go to toilet alone, can't take a shower alone, still eat babyfood, still are allowed to scream through adult conversations. They are still baby's.

Absolutely correct, and that is how it will stay. The retardation in this country is not something that has evolved, it has been engineered to be this way.

[LannaGuy]

Thai kids from 6 yo can't even go to toilet alone, can't take a shower alone, still eat babyfood, still are allowed to scream through adult conversations. They are still baby's.

Absolutely correct, and that is how it will stay. The retardation in this country is not something that has evolved, it has been engineered to be this way.

truth

[ratcatcher]

Gun to the head morality - seems to impressionable minds to be a contradiction in terms .

Being told how to act by people who seized power and did away with democracy and PM ?

Students are fresh and question things.

The article was good in that respect it encouraged those bigger questions.

Why is the elitist company polluting the river?

Why should I recite this propaganda ?

Free thought is important. .

Questioning who tells them what to do is sometimes just.

Future Thais might not so meekly stay on their knees and allow their nation to be hijacked .....it begins with the voices of the young

It would be good if someone ""other than China "" colonised the Thais and they caught up with the world.

This pyramid thing with institutions at the top and 90% of peasants at bottom has got to go.

And until they get it through their head equality and freedoms and 21st century motivation to demand rights .

Its usual numb minded servitude .

"This pyramid thing with institutions at the top and 90% of peasants at bottom has got to go."

What do you have in mind? A revolution? This is the reason Thailand is where it is today.

[BangkokKen]

Is there ANY days left in the calendar for people to just do as they please?

Can Thai people just be left be in peace for 5 minutes?

[arrowsdawdle]

Thai students are amongst the most disrespectful and unruly in the world. They should however speak out against hopeless Thai teachers, and corrupt school directors who are only interested in lining their own pockets.

They'd prefer status quo, buying degrees, no-fail evaluations, and perpetuation of myths and mantras.

[billd766]

Thai kids from 6 yo can't even go to toilet alone, can't take a shower alone, still eat babyfood, still are allowed to scream through adult conversations. They are still baby's.

What a rubbish generalisation.

Speaking from experience my son is nothing like that and neither are his friends. It is the way that some but not all parents bring their children up.

[Suradit69]

More self-confidence?!

I would say Thais need ANYTHING BUT more confidence. They have more than plenty already! Of the almost 10 countries I have lived in and the dozens countries I have traveled, Thais routinely have more confidence bordering on arrogance mixed with sheer incompetence than almost any other group save for maybe certain parts of China.

What Thai kids and adults need -- desperately -- is a culture of tempering unfounded confidence with serious effort and accomplishment. Immense false confidence and false pride is one of the biggest obstacles preventing the country from moving forward.

I think you're confusing confidence with unquestioning belief in what the system has told them....and this is the problem: Unquestioning.

Kids in western countries are indoctrinated with revisionist history and a baseless sense of entitlement that inflates their sense of self-importance almost continuously.

That's the only possible explanation for the arrogance shown by the population of a small island off the west coast of Europe or for the propaganda promoting American 'exceptionalism" or the call to arms based on Aryan superiority made by Herr Hitler or the certainty of a certain "tribe" that proclaims itself God's Chosen People.

Of course when any of these people arrive in Thailand loaded down with baggage packed with arrogance they get their knickers in a knot when the locals look down on them (often for good reason). Most of the Thai bashing generated on TV is based on the belief that farang are innately endowed with superior intellect and their every utterance is awash in faultless logic. Actually most of them are out of their depth here, amazingly clueless about even the most basic terms of their immigration status, know nothing of the language or culture and can only manage to stay afloat by constantly attacking Thais and Thailand.

When it comes to prizes for arrogance:

Remember that you are an Englishman, and have consequently won first prize in the lottery of life.

Cecil Rhodes

Edited January 5, 2016 by Suradit69

[stickylies]

The article reinforces my decision to go back to my home country so that my child has the chance to get a proper education and is allowed and encouraged to ask all the questions he has, without being dragged in front of a court for the sake of easy profits.

Absolutely !!!

It's a horror system to subject a child to .

Good for you placing high values on ""your child's "" well being.

I have a ( thai ) girlfriend with an actual business degree who was In disbelief watching man land on the moon in a YOU TUBE and couldn't tell me why the moon shines and its phases.

Tides and their origin.

Who Jesus was.

The wright brothers.

Einstein .

Or JFK or Alexander the Great .

Formula for pye

Or the planets in our solar system .

It was shocking .

Thais are also greatly devoid of wanting to know ""outside things"" and have very little inventions of their own

555

Or exactly why I stay clear from the women here. My educated "my friend", a boss with employees and big car, and having traveled abroad, knows NOTHING, including about her own country. She cant even draw the most simple map, but still she is considered an overall authority and whatever she says is holy. Lol.

[ratcatcher]

The article reinforces my decision to go back to my home country so that my child has the chance to get a proper education and is allowed and encouraged to ask all the questions he has, without being dragged in front of a court for the sake of easy profits.

Absolutely !!!

It's a horror system to subject a child to .

Good for you placing high values on ""your child's "" well being.

I have a ( thai ) girlfriend with an actual business degree who was In disbelief watching man land on the moon in a YOU TUBE and couldn't tell me why the moon shines and its phases.

Tides and their origin.

Who Jesus was.

The wright brothers.

Einstein .

Or JFK or Alexander the Great .

Formula for pye

Or the planets in our solar system .

It was shocking .

Thais are also greatly devoid of wanting to know ""outside things"" and have very little inventions of their own

555

Or exactly why I stay clear from the women here. My educated "my friend", a boss with employees and big car, and having traveled abroad, knows NOTHING, including about her own country. She cant even draw the most simple map, but still she is considered an overall authority and whatever she says is holy. Lol.

"Or exactly why I stay clear from the women here."

And, how do you find the men? Any better than the women?

[DM07]

Another problem that I have experienced: Thais in general seem to have a very short attention span.

My GF is curious about many things and likes to ask questions.

Unfortunately, when the explanation lasts longer than 3 minutes, she gets bored and complains about the "long story"!

I think it is not only about the "don't question authorities"- thing...it is also the stupid "sanook, suay, sabai"- lifestyle and explaining things is obviously very little sanook and makes one feel less sabai!

Edited January 5, 2016 by DM07

[Krataiboy]

The article reinforces my decision to go back to my home country so that my child has the chance to get a proper education and is allowed and encouraged to ask all the questions he has, without being dragged in front of a court for the sake of easy profits.

While it is true that Thailand has one of the worst educational systems on this planet, in essence it is little different from most countries where the state uses education primarily to indoctrinate and instill conformity on the masses.

The basic curriculum and teaching methods have changed little since the 19th Century mass education was introduced to serve the dark satanic mills of the Industrial Revolution.

Tinkering with a broken and discredited system, as Thailand keeps doing, will not solve what are systemic problems which demand a total rethink of what education is about and how it should be delivered.

The spinning jenny has long gone, but while its ethos lingers in the classroom, our children will not get the "proper" education they need to survive and prosper in challenging high-tech world of tomorrow..

[connda]

Thai children need a culture of reading, writing, and arithmetic, and English language study with Native English Speakers. And a culture that allows them to innovate, which means questioning the status quo without fear of repercussions.

Hence, no change will happen in the near future. The system will produce marginally educated, mini-me clones who defer to authority figures and never question anything. Thailand needs more individuals like Parit Chiwarak, not less. The object lesson? Conform!

And kudos to Khun CHULARAT SAENGPASSA for expressing his views, especially considering that most Thai journalists are expected to conform to the whims of the power elite or face the consequences of expressing one's non-conforming opinions in public. He's walking on the edge of a razor here in the Land of Smiles (and unbridled conformity).

Edited January 5, 2016 by connda

[tartempion]

Thai kids from 6 yo can't even go to toilet alone, can't take a shower alone, still eat babyfood, still are allowed to scream through adult conversations. They are still baby's.

Jeez, my 4 year young can't stand I help her in anything, she chooses what to wear, won't allow anyone to wash her, dress her, she knows her way better than myself on her iPad and a zillion other things, nevertheless she is Thai 100% because I am not her biological father, although she lives with me since she was 5 days young.

I hope she will be a pain in the but to all things Thai.

Edited January 5, 2016 by tartempion