Thai students took home 38 medals from international mathematics competition

[Rayk]

Yes, reports like this surface every time there's a bunfight in Southeast Asia. The criteria for awarding the medals is never stated. The number of medals is never stated. The medals won by other countries is never stated.

And the results (which imply that Thai students are somehow mathematical geniuses) sit extremely uncomfortably with what we already know about the Thai education system, and not the Thai government itself reports the mean IQ in Thailand to be (89, as opposed to a global mean of 103).

All of which means this article is just a puff piece, without merit, and useful only for wrapping your fried fish in.

I've got a horrible feeling feeling today is not going to be a good day for useful news in Thailand.

Winnie

Instead of always taking the piss out of anything Thai people accomplish which seems to be the norm with you, why not just congratulate the students for a job well done.

It seems it's a legit competition as per there 2015 competition.

https://www.google.co.th/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.poleungkuk.org.hk/en/joint-schools-districts-world-competition/primary-mathematics-world-contest.html&ved=0ahUKEwiVivSTiPzNAhVHNI8KHVgUBTYQFggZMAA&usg=AFQjCNEh8NK6VNLViXza2nDlrRus85RhrQ

Oh. Am I not entitled to comment within the rules as I see fit? Or do you suggest I should run them past you first?

Winnie

You are a very bitter and sad individual.

I sure do hope Thailand never has the misfortune of having you on its soil.

Sad day for Thailand that will be.

Your parents obviously never taught you that if you have nothing nice to say than don't say anything at all.

Edited July 18, 2016 by Rayk

[dezy1801]

I note no word on who else was competing...

Australia, Bulgaria, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Mongolia, Singapore, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, The Philippines and USA. So I would not take this seriously.

[Harveyg]

Good post Winnie. I can hope that there are some successes that are real ones.

Just yesterday I was in 7 nr air link ramkhamhaeng and bought water for 17.

I gave 100 then another 2. The change was 81. What followed was an interesting conversation involving a 2nd employee as well. When she produced a calculator all was made clear.

Yeah, that totally proves that no Thai students can do maths. Way to go genius, you get a gold star

I forgot for a moment where I was writing. Selective reading and rude replies. Why do I bother?

Edited July 18, 2016 by Harveyg

[JetsetBkk]

Good post Winnie. I can hope that there are some successes that are real ones.

Just yesterday I was in 7 nr air link ramkhamhaeng and bought water for 17.

I gave 100 then another 2. The change was 81. What followed was an interesting conversation involving a 2nd employee as well. When she produced a calculator all was made clear.

Ah, there's your mistake! You should've given 7 first and then the 100.

Honest! It makes a big difference - gets their brain in gear, somehow.

[Mudcrab]

Try and get change ANYWHERE in a shop these days without someone either using a calculator or a computerised cash register. Not just in Thailand. the world has moved on from arithmetic done internally - not saying that is a good thing - but guess what as an engineer i use a calculator and a computer. I learned to use a slide rule many years ago - give me a calculator or pc any day thank you.

Oh woe is me...they are getting rid of the silver threepenny bit and the farthing - we're all doomed.

[PremiumLane]

Good post Winnie. I can hope that there are some successes that are real ones.

Just yesterday I was in 7 nr air link ramkhamhaeng and bought water for 17.

I gave 100 then another 2. The change was 81. What followed was an interesting conversation involving a 2nd employee as well. When she produced a calculator all was made clear.

Yeah, that totally proves that no Thai students can do maths. Way to go genius, you get a gold star

I forgot for a moment where I was writing. Selective reading and rude replies. Why do I bother?

So you agree with a poster that is basically calling most Thai students dumb or cheating, then you try to back that up with a lame anecdote about a 7-11, and you get uppity when someone calls you out on it.

Poor you...

Edited July 18, 2016 by PremiumLane

[thairay]

i think the name callers should get together for a fight, winner gets a medal , loser gets......... another medal

[BlindMagician]

ahh good old TV again, can't but help Thai bashing, even on a story about some students doing well in a competition.

I guess it is too difficult to read past the headline and your own dumb prejudices:

In summary, the Thai students brought back 15 gold medals, seven silver medals, eight bronze medals and eight consolation awards

Well, I guess it was too diffilcult to look up the actual web site of the contest either, hey?

Please surf to http://www.poleungkuk.org.hk/en/joint-schools-districts-world-competition/primary-mathematics-world-contest.html

Note especially 'The Winners' section, in each category, no Thai or Thai school to be found....

Typical junta propaganda this article, Thai education has still a long way to go and is light years away from the level of say, Bulgaria or Hong Kong.

Aww diddums, did someone say something bad about the TV posters?

Must be a big conspiracy by the junta then - <deleted>!

Funny, I can see Bangkok on those lists on that website

Look again, and read, then think.

15 gold, 7 silver....

How many first places, second places...

[puukao]

38/100 is great!!

That is almost 94%!!!!

plus 6 and we are almost at half!!!

divided by 2 and now we are talking long division

i sleep with non-euclidean geometry on my mind

[Inyourendo]

Did they steal them ?

[thai3]

I will be the first to cheer when a Thai wins a Nobel prize, until then these prizes for all type medals will mean naff all.

[timber]

Congratulations, job well done. I hope industry has tagged you and you will have a successful career.

[Winniedapu]

It's usual in competitions in general to award each member of a team the same medal won by the team.

So the medals were shared between how many students? How many actual medal-winning performances were shared by a team, and of how many students?

What were the medals awarded for?

What were the standards of the tests? Are there samples?

The problem with vague news reports is that cynics like me assume they are deliberately vague in order to enlarge or minimise the actual achievement.

Given what everyone knows (or should know) th standard of Thai education is, that cynicism is very well founded, and only naivety would explain a determined avoidance of interest in the details...

Winnie

[metisdead]

An inflammatory post has been removed.

[todlad]

why edit off all the information you just posted? Looks like another medals for all type meaningless event anyway.

meaningless in what way?

what do you know about this competition?

what have you read?

I suspect this is just another slur from a bilious uneducated bar hopper.

[todlad]

Thai students should excell at math...it doesn't require any creative thinking, just regurgitating formulas from rote memory. (At least lpwer-order math.) This is not a knock on Thais but on the country's terrible educational system.

Can you explain what you mean by mathematics? If you think it's nothing but regurgitation, even at a low level, then you need to think again. Secondly, did you make any attempt at all to see what kind of questions these children faced in the competition? I thought not. Another bar hopper.

[todlad]

It's usual in competitions in general to award each member of a team the same medal won by the team.

So the medals were shared between how many students? How many actual medal-winning performances were shared by a team, and of how many students?

What were the medals awarded for?

What were the standards of the tests? Are there samples?

The problem with vague news reports is that cynics like me assume they are deliberately vague in order to enlarge or minimise the actual achievement.

Given what everyone knows (or should know) th standard of Thai education is, that cynicism is very well founded, and only naivety would explain a determined avoidance of interest in the details...

Winnie

You don't get it do you Winnie?

We had our own little conversation and I even said to you that anyone can go online and find examples of the questions these children faced. Couldn't get your elbow off the bar for some reason? You're not a cynic, Winnie, you're just sad and probably lonely: coming here to try to get likes and recommendations from like minded people with your nonsense and ill informed comments

I also wonder what you really know about the standards of Thai education. I know a lot of people come here and spout off how bad it is. What do you really know? If you really know something about the schools and universities here, then I would expect your contributions here to be much better founded than they are.

You said to me that I shouldn't say the things I said to you because I don't know you. With every sentence you write, you reveal a great deal about yourself.

[Winniedapu]

Yes, reports like this surface every time there's a bunfight in South-East Asia. The criteria for awarding the medals is never stated. The number of medals is never stated. The medals won by other countries is never state. It's quite possible, there's at least some of the medals were given to students finding the right building, We just don't know. In short, it's a meaningless piece of amateurish journalism which the authors can only hope is taken out of context to demonstrate how clever Thai people are. In a different context, it would be amusing, but set against the tragic backdrop of Thailand's education system, it has a certain whimsy about it.

The results (which imply that Thai students are somehow mathematical geniuses) sit extremely uncomfortably with what we already know about the Thai education system, and what the Thai government itself reports the mean IQ in Thailand to be (89, as opposed to a global mean of 103, with the mean IQ of students in some areas of the north of Thailand falling under 70). It's just another chapter in the ongoing Thai education tragedy.

This article is just a puff piece, without merit, and useful only for wrapping your fried fish in. The only thing missing, is for each student to have a framed photograph of their third cousin, twice removed, to proclaim to the world that they're dedicating their medals to him to give him all the glory for them winning a medal. It's all a bit sad, and it's all a bit pathetic. Propaganda, indoctrination, and knowing who to grovel to will trump education and thought in Thailand every time.

I've got a horrible feeling feeling today is not going to be a good day for useful news in Thailand.

Winnie

Thanks Winnie for your enlightened prose. I suppose it's true that when they taught you to speak and write in English they completely forgot to mention speaking the truth and not pouring scorn on the efforts of others when one has made no effort to determine the facts of the case.

Congratulations to these children for their efforts. Huge praise to the organisation that has been running this competition since 1997.

You and at least one other oaf said no one knows who else was competing. It took me no time to find the website that shows exactly who was there.

It's also very easy to discover the kind of questions these children faced. I would have posted some examples but you would have lied again and made a snide remark about how easy they are: they are not easy.

I would delete your stupid remarks if I were you and replace them with something much more appropriate.

Oh. Another one who thinks I should comment according to his view and not mine.

Any more of a similar opinion for me to ignore? Cheaper by the dozen you know.

And please don't call me an oaf or a liar - you don't even know me and it's against forum rules. Capice?

Winnie

Well, how interesting. You think what you said was an opinion? I was right in everything I said, then.

Yes it was an opinion duh.

No you weren't right.

I am not vulnerable to insults or accusations from people who don't know me. It's mind over matter with me.

I don't mind your insults, and they don't matter to me at all, so froth away, today's a bit slow and I need entertaining.

Winnie

Edited July 20, 2016 by Winniedapu

[todlad]

Snip repeated text

Yes it was an opinion duh.

No you weren't right.

I am not vulnerable to insults or accusations from people who don't know me. It's mind over matter with me.

I don't mind your insults, and they don't matter to me at all, so froth away, today's a bit slow and I need entertaining.

Winnie

--oo0oo--

So let's have a look at your "opinions"

The criteria for awarding the medals is never stated WRONG

The number of medals is never stated WRONG

The medals won by other countries is never state (sic) WRONG

It's quite possible, there's at least some of the medals were given to students finding the right building, I'LL GIVE YOU THAT AS AN OPINION... STUPID AND WRONG

We just don't know. WRONG ... YOU MEAN YOU JUST DON'T KNOW

In short, it's a meaningless piece of amateurish journalism which the authors can only hope is taken out of context to demonstrate how clever Thai people are. WRONG ... AND?

In a different context, it would be amusing, but set against the tragic backdrop of Thailand's education system, it has a certain whimsy about it. STUPID AND WRONG

The results (which imply that Thai students are somehow mathematical geniuses) sit extremely uncomfortably with what we already know about the Thai education system YOUR OPINION AND WRONG

and what the Thai government itself reports the mean IQ in Thailand to be (89, as opposed to a global mean of 103, with the mean IQ of students in some areas of the north of Thailand falling under 70). It's just another chapter in the ongoing Thai education tragedy. WRONG ... EXPLAIN THIS "OPINION" AND GIVE YOUR REFERENCES

This article is just a puff piece WRONG

without merit WRONG

and useful only for wrapping your fried fish in YOUR "OPINION".

The only thing missing, is for each student to have a framed photograph of their third cousin, twice removed, to proclaim to the world that they're dedicating their medals to him to give him all the glory for them winning a medal. STUPID AND INAPPROPRIATE

It's all a bit sad, and it's all a bit pathetic. YOU ARE ... YOU ARE

Propaganda WRONG

indoctrination WRONG

knowing who to grovel to will trump education and thought in Thailand every time WHAT CONNECTION DOES THIS HAVE TO THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF THESE STUDENTS?

YOU DIDN'T DO TOO WELL THERE DID YOU WINNIE. Another one of your slow days was it?

[Winniedapu]

It's usual in competitions in general to award each member of a team the same medal won by the team.

So the medals were shared between how many students? How many actual medal-winning performances were shared by a team, and of how many students?

What were the medals awarded for?

What were the standards of the tests? Are there samples?

The problem with vague news reports is that cynics like me assume they are deliberately vague in order to enlarge or minimise the actual achievement.

Given what everyone knows (or should know) th standard of Thai education is, that cynicism is very well founded, and only naivety would explain a determined avoidance of interest in the details...

Winnie

You don't get it do you Winnie?

We had our own little conversation and I even said to you that anyone can go online and find examples of the questions these children faced. Couldn't get your elbow off the bar for some reason? You're not a cynic, Winnie, you're just sad and probably lonely: coming here to try to get likes and recommendations from like minded people with your nonsense and ill informed comments

I also wonder what you really know about the standards of Thai education. I know a lot of people come here and spout off how bad it is. What do you really know? If you really know something about the schools and universities here, then I would expect your contributions here to be much better founded than they are.

You said to me that I shouldn't say the things I said to you because I don't know you. With every sentence you write, you reveal a great deal about yourself.

Hmm. OK. If you say so. I'm truly sorry to discover you don't agree with me.

Doesn't make me wrong though...

Winnie

[Winniedapu]

Snip repeated text

Yes it was an opinion duh.

No you weren't right.

I am not vulnerable to insults or accusations from people who don't know me. It's mind over matter with me.

I don't mind your insults, and they don't matter to me at all, so froth away, today's a bit slow and I need entertaining.

Winnie

--oo0oo--

So let's have a look at your "opinions"

The criteria for awarding the medals is never stated WRONG

The number of medals is never stated WRONG

The medals won by other countries is never state (sic) WRONG

It's quite possible, there's at least some of the medals were given to students finding the right building, I'LL GIVE YOU THAT AS AN OPINION... STUPID AND WRONG

We just don't know. WRONG ... YOU MEAN YOU JUST DON'T KNOW

In short, it's a meaningless piece of amateurish journalism which the authors can only hope is taken out of context to demonstrate how clever Thai people are. WRONG ... AND?

In a different context, it would be amusing, but set against the tragic backdrop of Thailand's education system, it has a certain whimsy about it. STUPID AND WRONG

The results (which imply that Thai students are somehow mathematical geniuses) sit extremely uncomfortably with what we already know about the Thai education system YOUR OPINION AND WRONG

and what the Thai government itself reports the mean IQ in Thailand to be (89, as opposed to a global mean of 103, with the mean IQ of students in some areas of the north of Thailand falling under 70). It's just another chapter in the ongoing Thai education tragedy. WRONG ... EXPLAIN THIS "OPINION" AND GIVE YOUR REFERENCES

This article is just a puff piece WRONG

without merit WRONG

and useful only for wrapping your fried fish in YOUR "OPINION".

The only thing missing, is for each student to have a framed photograph of their third cousin, twice removed, to proclaim to the world that they're dedicating their medals to him to give him all the glory for them winning a medal. STUPID AND INAPPROPRIATE

It's all a bit sad, and it's all a bit pathetic. YOU ARE ... YOU ARE

Propaganda WRONG

indoctrination WRONG

knowing who to grovel to will trump education and thought in Thailand every time WHAT CONNECTION DOES THIS HAVE TO THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF THESE STUDENTS?

YOU DIDN'T DO TOO WELL THERE DID YOU WINNIE. Another one of your slow days was it?

I fully understand that you don't agree with me but to be honest, a conversation that consists only of 'nyeh nyeh, you're WRONG" doesn't really add anything to anything. I don't believe there's any benefit in bickering with people so I'll leave you to it. Have fun.

Winnie

Edited July 21, 2016 by Winniedapu

[Squeegee]

YOU DIDN'T DO TOO WELL THERE DID YOU WINNIE. Another one of your slow days was it?

WRONG

WRONG

WRONG

I'LL GIVE YOU THAT AS AN OPINION... STUPID AND WRONG

WRONG ... YOU MEAN YOU JUST DON'T KNOW

WRONG ... AND?

STUPID AND WRONG

YOUR OPINION AND WRONG

WRONG ... EXPLAIN THIS "OPINION" AND GIVE YOUR REFERENCES

WRONG

WRONG

YOUR "OPINION"

STUPID AND INAPPROPRIATE

YOU ARE ... YOU ARE

WRONG

WRONG

WHAT CONNECTION DOES THIS HAVE TO THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF THESE STUDENTS?

Clearly a well-reasoned victory!