Ideas in place to reverse decline in Thai education

[DrTuner]

1 hour ago, petedk said:

On the other hand with the Internet, how can they stop the more intelligent students? 

Don't teach them any English, only the numbah one world language, the lingo of the Übermensch, Thai. Sorted, none of that evil information transfer from the West. If all else fails get their new BFF China to block the internet.

[thequietman]

6 hours ago, Prairieboy said:

To provide quality education you must have quality teachers.  Today's teachers are the product of a deteriorated education system so it is a real dilemma.  Until the government realizes they need to invest mega-bahts to hire top quality education professionals not someone who has gone through their system where no failures are permitted.  Students must be made to realize that to get ahead in this world you have to earn that right - not be pushed into the next level - they must earn the right to advance!

It took 3 years, but my uni has got 3 native English teachers, all well educated with bachelors or master degrees with a total of 25 years experience between us. All with my assistance, I should say. All signed contracts with a promise of a 5% salary increase each year.

 

Then comes the renewal time and lo and behold, salary increases are pulled. This was all done with the agreement of all deans of faculty and only told to us recently, so no chance to find another job in time, as the semester has already begun in the schools. 

 

All 3 lecturers now totally demotivated and that will pass on to the students, deliberate or not. When we all give our notice next year, just imagine their little faces asking, 'but, but ..... why are you leaving?'

 

All the same from primary, to secondary and then university level. They poke and poke until they mess everything up. There is absolutely no learning curve with them. Amazing Thailand indeed!

[djayz]

I'm not going to hold my breath waiting for an improvement. 

Am trying to gently sway Mrs Djayz to take our kid back to Europe where he at least has a chance of actually learning something. 

[DrTuner]

23 minutes ago, djayz said:

I'm not going to hold my breath waiting for an improvement. 

Am trying to gently sway Mrs Djayz to take our kid back to Europe where he at least has a chance of actually learning something. 

Good luck. Took me years of steady pushing to make mine see the light, even when she already had a German step-dad growing up. The Thainess indoctrination is just that powerful.

[BobbyL]

14 hours ago, dcnx said:

As long as they can’t freely speak their mind and are forced to kowtow and grovel, they won’t get anywhere.

Bang on. It is just an indoctrination into conformism and brainwashing. 

[attrayant]

Don't worry everyone, ideas are in place!

[SoilSpoil]

8 hours ago, Mavideol said:

home schooling by whom? the parents? parents are uneducated how can they teach the kids something

We homeschool. 1 to 2 hours a day are enough, can you imagine. The rest of the time is play time, reading, watching documentaries and going to the park and beach.

[BoBoTheClown]

15 hours ago, Reigntax said:

The Thai education system is nothing but a farce to pretend it gives students an education. They have no knowledge of the world, history nor ability to think and analyse.

 

The average university graduate wouldnt pass a year 10 exam in a western high school.

The West is just as bad. 

[djayz]

46 minutes ago, BoBoTheClown said:

The West is just as bad. 

Although the West isn't perfect, it's light years ahead of this system. Students actually learn something there. There's no waiing or grovelling, no standing outside day in, day out for the raising of flags, teachers and their performance are monitored, students are taught to think for themselves, there is a system of checks in place. The list is endless.  

 

[Small Joke]

20 hours ago, Thaiwrath said:

I don't think they want the people educated, because if they educate them properly, it won't be long before they lose their position of power.

I don't see that happening in the west. Education seems sound enough in most western countries, but idiots still vote again and again for people who outright lie to them again and again, on both sides of the fence. Abetted by media that they also believe without question.

Seems pretty much like Thailand in that regard. 

The majority already don't want the government they didn't vote for here, just like the popular vote in the US was finagled.

[Vintage]

Allow the children to practise critical thinking rather than the current system of only listening.

[Moti24]

This subject has been posted to death many times over.  Nobody gives a toss except the foreigners, who are powerless to interfere with Thainess.

 

Nothing will change for the better in Thai education until a completely new generation with a completely different mindset are bred into society.  Sadly, that will never happen until snow falls on Bangkok every day of the year.

[LazySlipper]

Get rid of the antiquated heads in the schools who don't even have a bachelor's in education. In the West (in my country) one cannot access master's and Phd's in education if one does not have a bachelor's in education. Problem in Thailand, and many other countries, is that many people get a master's Phd and they don't even have the basics of education.

 

I worked with many heads who had master's in education and did not even know the basic theories. 

 

Nothing will change if the people at the top are not replaced with adequately qualified people.

[brianthainess]

On 5/27/2019 at 3:39 AM, webfact said:

Ideas in place to reverse decline in Thai Education.

Are these ideas coming from people who were educated in Thailand. WAKE UP !

[Chongalulu]

13 hours ago, djayz said:

I'm not going to hold my breath waiting for an improvement. 

Am trying to gently sway Mrs Djayz to take our kid back to Europe where he at least has a chance of actually learning something. 

You really need to do it by about 9/10 years old in my experience. About 2 years in primary school to catch up/ hone English before secondary school where work really starts. I brought my non English speaking stepdaughter to uk at 9 putting her in good government schools. Now has 1st class honours degree from U.K. university in business economics ,no accent and walked straight into a graduate job paying equivalent of 1.5 million baht per year. 

Fortunately she is bright and very focused .

[JAG]

19 hours ago, XenZen said:

I'm guessing they can't fail middle school.   Test:  blank.   Oral exam:  Silence.   IF passing is 70 or 80, this is a PASS.  Great job.  Next!!!  Talk to parents, if possible, "oh, your kid did great!!"   Then the teacher quits.   Next!!!   Then the next teacher sleeps and is drunk and texts hookers all day.   But is white.  

Well balanced comment there.

 

Plenty of use of stereotypes, and a chip on both shoulders!

[JAG]

16 hours ago, petedk said:

 

I heard the exact same words from a former Dean at a university. 

 

When I talked to her about a possible education reform she laughed and said it was only words. The elite are not interested in Thai students gaining too much knowledge. 

On the other hand with the Internet, how can they stop the more intelligent students? 

That will be there undoing - they do not understand the internet and social media, there is no "owner" (who is part of their cabal) they can go to with inducements or threats. They don't understand, so by turn, they either ignore it or shout empty threats at it.

 

We are already starting to see it being used by the brighter younger people, it is what is behind the "Future Forward" phenomenon.

[Mavideol]

12 hours ago, SoilSpoil said:

We homeschool. 1 to 2 hours a day are enough, can you imagine. The rest of the time is play time, reading, watching documentaries and going to the park and beach.

are you Thais?.... I know a couple western couple whom homeschool, but they are westerners

[owl sees all]

12 hours ago, SoilSpoil said:

We homeschool. 1 to 2 hours a day are enough, can you imagine. The rest of the time is play time, reading, watching documentaries and going to the park and beach.

I have considered this for my daughter.

 

Just a couple of points: how do you overcome the work permit issue? And, should I be concerned about the missing school social interaction?!

[owl sees all]

3 hours ago, Moti24 said:

This subject has been posted to death many times over.  Nobody gives a toss except the foreigners, who are powerless to interfere with Thainess.

 

Nothing will change for the better in Thai education until a completely new generation with a completely different mindset are bred into society.  Sadly, that will never happen until snow falls on Bangkok every day of the year.

I have to take issue with the first paragraph. Most of the TVF members are farang. Many have children with their wives or girl friends. The farang I know have a lot of influence over their children. Excessive Thainess, If not completely eradicated, then considerably diminished. and in place, a far broader outlook on life and the world generally.

 

Just as a PS; when I got hitched to Mrs Owl, I really put some effort into making the now step-daughter (14 years old) enlightened. I bought a number of posters; one on numbers, another on the workings of the body and two maps; one of Thailand and the other of the world. The map of the world had the countries in English. I asked the step-daughter where Thailand was. She had no idea. After giving up, I pointed out Thailand on the map. She seemed surprised. The wife interpreted "Nan thought only America and China were larger in size." 

[MaxYakov]

9 hours ago, wilailuk said:

Promblem is IQ:

 

https://brainstats.com/average-iq-in-thailand.html

 

They are dumb as f... - or dumb ass all of them?

 

- but why not look at how they bring them kids up, or not? 

 

- or look at the Thai psychology?

 

https://studyinthailand.org/study-abroad-thailand-university/psychology-of-the-thai-people.html

 

My take?

 

They are raised to be shallow, lying, two-faced, conflict avoiding, superficial, lazy, ego obsessed bastards, but velly, velly luvly!

 

 

 

Thanks for the links. Now tell us what you really think.  ????

[Orton Rd]

1 hour ago, Mavideol said:

are you Thais?.... I know a couple western couple whom homeschool, but they are westerners

You must be joking, the home background of many Thai kids is quite chaotic and and too undisciplined for anything like homeschooling. The nearest they get is a phone stuck in their hands from 3 on wards to keep them quiet. In any case where will the books come from and worst of all they would have to turn the tv off!

This thread reminds me of help requested from a test of a relative at university a few years ago. She wanted to know what 75% was expressed as a fraction, and several similar 'problems' a 9 year old should have known,

[DrTuner]

12 hours ago, Small Joke said:

Education seems sound enough in most western countries, but idiots still vote again and again for people who outright lie to them again and again, on both sides of the fence.

Have you checked the latest results of the EU elections? There were many basically seismic changes in some of the countries, like UK and France. The idiots did move. While democracy there is slow, at least it does exist.

[Moti24]

2 hours ago, owl sees all said:

I have to take issue with the first paragraph. Most of the TVF members are farang. Many have children with their wives or girl friends. The farang I know have a lot of influence over their children. Excessive Thainess, If not completely eradicated, then considerably diminished. and in place, a far broader outlook on life and the world generally.

 

Just as a PS; when I got hitched to Mrs Owl, I really put some effort into making the now step-daughter (14 years old) enlightened. I bought a number of posters; one on numbers, another on the workings of the body and two maps; one of Thailand and the other of the world. The map of the world had the countries in English. I asked the step-daughter where Thailand was. She had no idea. After giving up, I pointed out Thailand on the map. She seemed surprised. The wife interpreted "Nan thought only America and China were larger in size." 

Foreign parents having influence over their children is nothing more than I would expect.  Unfortunately, 99.9% of students in the Thai education system don't have a foreign influence in their upbringing; these are the students that the current education system fails, and will continue to fail.

 

I'm retired now, but I can assure you that the current education system has seen little change, if any, since I started teaching here 15 years ago.

[Fex Bluse]

On 5/27/2019 at 12:54 PM, XenZen said:

I'm guessing they can't fail middle school.   Test:  blank.   Oral exam:  Silence.   IF passing is 70 or 80, this is a PASS.  Great job.  Next!!!  Talk to parents, if possible, "oh, your kid did great!!"   Then the teacher quits.   Next!!!   Then the next teacher sleeps and is drunk and texts hookers all day.   But is white.  

That's a very funny response. 

 

Making some exceptions for the qualified farang who teach, it does sum up the some of the worse qualities of schooling in Thailand. 

 

People preoccupied with form over substance and unwilling and unable to confront challenge in the first instance rather preferring to run away. 

[Misty]

Was intrigued by "Mechai Patana Bamboo School" when I first heard of it.  Curious if anyone on TV has ever visited it, and if they think it could provide a model for future schools: https://maytermthailand.org/2013/05/02/mechai-pattana-bamboo-school/

 

 

[briansbiology]

hot air.....if you want to change thai education you need to change the culture of the teachers. here. I work at an international school and the thais refuse to operate under our conditions. They have their own head of school and are omitted from all expectation to preserve their unique culture of laziness and antiquated techniques. Like everything else in thailand money wont fix anything when you have these untouchables......

[GinBoy2]

I think I've lost count on how many TVF threads, Government proclamations about the state of Thai education.

 

You could basically dust off previous articles, change the date and be good to go!

 

Thankfully my Thai son did his elementary, some middle school in Singapore, and ultimately college in the US.

But I regret bitterly making him suffer through High School in Thailand.

 

Thankfully all over for me, but if I had any advice to guys with children of school age...get them out, and get the out young.

 

Send them to live with Grandma, Aunts, Uncles whoever in farangland, don't let a Thai education limit their abilities for life 

[SoilSpoil]

11 hours ago, owl sees all said:

I have considered this for my daughter.

 

Just a couple of points: how do you overcome the work permit issue? And, should I be concerned about the missing school social interaction?!

School social interaction is indeed an important point. You can always join play and study groups in your province. My wife is Thai and I just help out, so no permit needed.

[kickstart]

When I use to work full time out and about I use to see some Thai kids 7-9 years old smart kids talking, asking things, it is when they start at secondary schools they seem to get it knocked out of them, as has been said just repeating what the teacher says.

The biggest problem is they are not taught how to think for them selfs, never asking questions in class, that is because if the teacher does not know the answer big loss of face, and the never fail an exam system.

A few years ago a Minister of Ed said Thai kids must be taught how to think for them selfs, I remember reading it in the Nation , then a  week later, same paper, it was basically  we are going to try something else as a teacher friend of mine put it "thinking has been postponed ",.

As I see it nothing will change until the very higher Arky in Thailand say ok.which that will not happen for some time.