PM wants students to spend less time in classrooms but more time on critical thinking

[wabothai]

A special one and a must for you Prajuth, George Carlin's 'The owners of the country'.

[mtls2005]

Maybe add to the Twelve Core values?

13. Do as I say, now.

14. Innovate, now.

15. Think critically, now.

[realenglish1]

Critical Thinking And who has the credentials to teach this.

Certainly not the bunch of teachers that currently teach Thai curricula.

The first step is to teach real world history in detail Then students have something to compare it by. Not the few of Thais but the view of the world

The roman empire. Before the Roman empire. The rise and fall of Europe before modern times.

And all the great literature there is in the world Not just Thai Lit

How can someone understand critical thinking unless the know the alternatives

As someone about WWII and they will tell you from a Thai perspective Not a world Perspective

Thailand is not the center of the world

Mr Prime Minister You cannot have critical thinking without descent. Think about it

Edited May 16, 2016 by realenglish1

[phuketandsee]

Schools in crisis as new year begins

Schools in crisis as new year beginsserious shortage of teachers around the country; class hours to be cut.

SOME schools in Krabi province have no teacher at all due to technical problems related to the Education Ministry's recent structural overhaul. The problem persists just as the new academic year for state schools across the country kicks off today.

"There's not a single teacher at some schools here," Narin Saro said late last week as the acting education chief of Krabi, which needed 90 more teachers for its 219 schools.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Schools-in-crisis-as-new-year-begins-30286021.html

Who cares about kids?

They don't need education.

Let's keep the money to ourselves instead.

I think you meant to say "They don't need no education"

And for that matter, no thought control.

And no dark sarcasm in the classroom.

Hey! teachers! Leave them kids alone!

[cardinalblue]

I agree with the poster who said 20% of the students really want to be there.. Same same with my medical and nursing students...

The other 80% are in class b/c parents chose profession for them...kids were told what to do what to be...

[lavender19]

Pity they are not taught to question.

But how do you keep the masses down if they start to question?

[djayz]

It just gets better and better.

[cumgranosalum]

Critical Thinking And who has the credentials to teach this.

Certainly not the bunch of teachers that currently teach Thai curricula.

The first step is to teach real world history in detail Then students have something to compare it by. Not the few of Thais but the view of the world

The roman empire. Before the Roman empire. The rise and fall of Europe before modern times.

And all the great literature there is in the world Not just Thai Lit

How can someone understand critical thinking unless the know the alternatives

As someone about WWII and they will tell you from a Thai perspective Not a world Perspective

Thailand is not the center of the world

Mr Prime Minister You cannot have critical thinking without descent. Think about it

the first step is to teach critical thinking...then the rest inevitably follows. Sadly REAL critical thinking is a rarity as many people seem to think erroneously that they know what it is.....the PM for one.

[cumgranosalum]

I agree with the poster who said 20% of the students really want to be there.. Same same with my medical and nursing students...

The other 80% are in class b/c parents chose profession for them...kids were told what to do what to be...

you need to repost this in the Health and medicine forum......these students will have their qualification bought for them....and people wonder if Thai doctors are well trained.

[LannaGuy]

PM wants students to spend less time in classrooms but more time on critical non thinking

corrected

[Thailand]

I guess this pronouncement is not the result of critical thinking!

[cumgranosalum]

Aren't thoughts and being critical ilegal in Thailand? Weren't 4 students arrested for critical thinking and the mother of 1 facing 15 yrs imprisonment for not curbing his thoughts. Come on People think critically, I have the trucks and soldiers waiting for your thoughts.

judging by the response so far, it would seem that even here thre is a large portion that really has no idea of what critical thinking is. It isn't a vague term it has a precise meaning and is linked to "sceptically"

[pookiki]

Critical thinking = speak truth to power.

Speaking truth to power = attitude adjustment.

[Eric Loh]

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Schools-in-crisis-as-new-year-begins-30286021.html

Forget critical thinking. Do the simplier things first like having teachers in schools.

[lavender19]

With all the holidays they have here they spend very little time time in the classroom anyway.

Back to school today off again Friday

It will give them time to do some critical thinking about the computer game though.

[Lupatria]

It is like giving the kids a can of peaches, well aware of the fact the one half is too stupid to open it while the other half believes a can opener is a tool of the (western) devil.

Edited May 16, 2016 by Lupatria

[Trouble]

He better be careful what he asks for. If students really start learning and doing critical thinking the PM might just find himself in jail.

[toenail]

Prayut does not want the future adults of Thailand to think critically. He is leaning towards a communistic style type of government. (and this is the problem with mainland Chinese students...they may be considered "smart" according to test scores and in academics, but when it comes to being creative or thinking by themselves they are unable to. This is due to the communist control upon the educational system. (Example: If there was a fire in a working area or classroom, many Chinese would sit there and wait to be instructed in what to do. If it was a Westerner, they would take action immediately, shout to tell people to get out and look for a water hose or fire extinguisher to use- a total difference in thinking.)

Prayut wants critical thinking--My god, when a newspaper report asks him a critical question about a political issue, Prayut goes ballistic.

[Thaddeus]

It is like giving the kids a can of peaches, well aware of the fact the one half is too stupid to open it while the other half believes a can opener is a tool of the (western) devil.

That explains why the tins of mackerel in tomato sauce have a ring-pull.

[billd766]

This sounds like a small but very positive step in the right direction, and I welcome the announcement. However, such a fundamental change in the education process will require a sustained, long term effort that will require teacher re-training and a re-write of the current curriculum.

There needs to be a well researched roadmap and significant funding to achieve this, so I can only hope this statement is going to be followed up with the necessary resources, comittment and effort to make it happen.

Actually, i think it would be a massive step, but on past performance one that this admin is incapable of taking, largely because they show little evidence of even understanding what that step is.

You could equally say that about past performance of every administration going back to 1932 no matter if it is brown, green, red, yellow or striped with polka dots.

Most Thai governments are great at talking about doing things but when translating talk into action it never seems to come out the right way, if at all.

[Lupatria]

555 I just discovered an ad on the right side of a post. It says: MAD MEN. Is one of the editors putting his free time on stake here?

[Srikcir]

Thinking out of the box:

Prayut should just lower the military conscription age to 8 years old.

Then military can provide children 8-21 with a vast array of learning and activities in ways compliant with Thai generals' educational philosophy.

In this way the military guarantees a free education to everyone, albeit still at taxpayer costs.

As a bonus, eliminate the Ministry of Education. Move Department of Religious Affairs to military Department of Propoganda under the Ministry of Defense.

[eliotness]

Think, but don't speak your mind if it's not in line with prescribed government ideas.

Sobriety check: Thailand has many students who study business, in order to get U degrees, because they and their parents are seized on the idea that a biz degree will guarantee the highest salary. Money is God.

Yet, how many Thais are well-versed in alternative power? Answer: nearly zero. How many Thais are developing cutting edge technology re; generating power from rivers, tides, waves, jetstream, or thermal. My educated guess is: ZERO.

Thailand has hundreds of thousands of biz graduates, but nearly no experts on alternative power.

P.S. What to biz graduates do? Essentially try to tweak and cheat the system to try and make as much money as possible.

I agree with your comments. The problem is it is near impossible to teach science and engineering in Thai and that's why most countries in ASEAN insist those subjects ate taught in English, but this is Thailand. The science teacher in my local school can't speak a word on English !

[elgordo38]

Critical thinking !

Isn't being critical a massive No No these days ?

Boy that statement really opens a can of worms. Critical thinking in Thailand today can get you a couple days or a week in a government re-education camp. Anytime not spent in the classroom by students today is spent on social media. The education can is kicked down the road.

[Robm579]

Critical thinking will lead to critical questions and critical comments ...

Outlawed I thought ...critically ...

[Robm579]

It is like giving the kids a can of peaches, well aware of the fact the one half is too stupid to open it while the other half believes a can opener is a tool of the (western) devil.

That explains why the tins of mackerel in tomato sauce have a ring-pull.

There's an app for that...

[John Kane]

The PM might be on to something. Finland is becoming quite famous as a country that leads the world in academic achievements of its students on international test results, etc. But Finland also starts school a year later, spends less time in classes, expects students to do less homework, and spends more time outside in "playground" between classes than most other countries. This has been widely discussed in American academic circles but, of course, the USA, being so widely known among its own citizens as already being exceptional, can not follow Finland's example. But Thailand might be able to ignore America's example in so many issues, and instead do what Finland does for better education.

[baboon]

Thinking out of the box:

Prayut should just lower the military conscription age to 8 years old.

Then military can provide children 8-21 with a vast array of learning and activities in ways compliant with Thai generals' educational philosophy.

In this way the military guarantees a free education to everyone, albeit still at taxpayer costs.

As a bonus, eliminate the Ministry of Education. Move Department of Religious Affairs to military Department of Propoganda under the Ministry of Defense.

Interesting thought. And then he could put everyone else in prison until they have earned their way out...

[thailand49]

He better be careful what he asks for. If students really start learning and doing critical thinking the PM might just find himself in jail.

That is my critical thinking if Thais ever got really educated and got wind of what their leaders are doing to them they might just rise up instead of just the Red or Yellow who are fighting to make sure none of this ever happens. PM is just saying what people want to hear but have no idea as to go about it? I just hope he doesn't need to declare Section 44 on this one?

Edited May 16, 2016 by thailand49

[laolover88]

There are plenty of suggestive definitions from the complex like at criticalthinking.org to the simplistic Who, What, Where, Where, Why, How ? questions. The trouble is you can't impose critical think ability on a culture by fiat where the skills are not valued, let alone where few people know what it is. It is not even clear if the skills can be "taught" or whether the only success is achieved through discovery, discussion and argument, or even simple access to information and facilitated learning. And then there are things like, curiosity, decision making, problem solving,

Sadly" "In your dreams"!