Thais Questioning the Education System in Thailand.

Today I was reading another very well written column in The Bangkok Post about Thai education. I don’t claim to be a qualified teacher, never have and never will as I do not have a degree in education. I like many other foreign nationals are like this, with degrees in other fields, Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) certificates and so on.

Many of us may not be a perfect teacher, and we make mistakes, but I am sure even super teachers do, but I do hope that the majority of us foreign teachers try their best for the kids they are meant to be educating. Foreign teachers have a pretty bad name in Thailand, the bottom of the barrel with most other foreign nationals. And with the stories that have gone on in the past and continue to today, I can see why.

The confessions of what I call “tourist teachers” as they just want to finance their holiday or support a girlfriend are hard to believe at times but they have to be true as there are too many to not be.

I have heard plenty of blame leveled at foreign teachers over the years for the appalling levels of English of Thai students. But again many Thai students have appalling levels of Thai as well.

In the article I referred to and is worth reading, the author takes a swipe at schools only being interested in medals, and this is so true. Thai schools pride themselves in students winning awards. Over the last 6 years I have seen things that many would not believe. Schools see awards as success while in reality behind their beautiful and elaborate gates and fences, the system is a sham.

Each year the national testing of students returns abysmal results, this then entices a minister from the education department to jump on a soap box and preach reform, but it is all smoke and mirrors.

Over the last 6 years I can honestly say that the Thai education system needs a complete overhaul. From all the stone faced geriatrics in charge of the education system of Thailand to the teaching standards. I am not claiming I am an amazing teacher but what I have witnessed over the past 6 years of Thai teaching standards, have made me want to hang myself and I don’t sit in the classroom.

I am not trying to pigeon hole Thai teachers as I know that there are some amazing teachers out there for sure, but the majority I have seen are selfish. I have seen class after class of teacher centred lessons, the teacher talks and talks, tells them all the information, writes it all on the board and then the students sit and copy from a whiteboard.

So many Thai students do not have critical thinking, if the answer is not there in black and white, they can’t answer. They are spoon feed everything from day one and this mostly continues till they leave school for university.

I cringe when I see a Thai teacher sitting at a desk teaching, a book open and reading while students follow. Seeing the teacher sitting at the desk and correcting work or doing something else while students complete their task. It angers me as this is when you can connect with kids, personalize with them. Ask them content questions to see if they do or don’t understand.

In the article the author refers to her friend’s nephew and how his school selects the best students in the school to compete in competitions. This happens at every school in Thailand. The best are forced many times to do competition after competition, they spends hundreds of hours rote learning speeches written for them by teachers, attending extra math classes paid by the schools and so forth.

My mate whose daughter is obviously half Thai and English was one of these kids, in the end her father finally said no more to it and she could finally lead a normal student life. Thai parents cannot say no, they cannot tell the schools for some reason they don’t want their child to be brainwashed.

Each year the Thai education system loses so much time with mundane ceremonies, sport days that need to be practiced for a month and so on, teachers are continually absent from classes, attending meetings or training students, their classes are unattended with no substitute or even work left for them to complete.

Extra study, after school and Saturday and Sunday is full of kids, these schools get to do this tax free as it is viewed by the government as assisting them on a better path in their life, in reality it is a money printing factory. Thai teachers get to teach little of the curriculum in school time, so they do most of this in extra classes.

This is a huge disadvantage for those who cannot afford to study or don’t have the time. Come test time these kids cannot pass tests. But this doesn’t matter as all schools in Thailand fabricate scores. They blatantly lie about students performances. I don’t think young students should ever be kept back unless they are really behind the standard for the age.

But parents need to know the truth, Thai schools will insist on students getting a grade of at least 70% or something along those lines. My last year at Assumption College here in Ubon Ratchathani, they told us in a meeting just after the year started what our grade averages “had to be” for each class. That if we had 30 students then so many needed this grade and so forth.

I can tell you now and people reading this can testify that I told them this would not happen in my classes and didn’t as students would receive the grade they earned. I always kept my original scores that I submitted and then when the school changed the grades that was their choice. This happens everywhere in Thailand.

Drive past a prominent Thai school and see all the banners proclaiming their achievements, awards and outstanding success. These are the poster children, the brainwashed kids who spend a month rote learning 10 to 15, 3 to 4 minute speeches for an impromptu speech competition, or kids being given 50 words every day to learn for months for a spelling competition, missing so many lessons as they are being mentored by a teacher. These students are guinea pigs.

I cannot see this changing at all, not even in the distant future. The dinosaurs at the top of the chain won’t let it happen. There is too much money involved and also it would mean actually teaching at school, giving the children the education they are entitled to, for too long Thai schools have stolen this away from kids. They let kids go through the education system underachieving, they don’t contact parents and tell them the truth; they don’t want to create ripples in the glassy smooth water.

So when I see that Thai students have won gold medals at this competition or that, I know that tens of thousands have been neglected for those students to achieve this, so a very hollow victory indeed.

The sad thing is I know that Thai students can be creative, they can think for themselves. When I get a student who most would have given up on and just let sleep their lesson away, not do their work and hand it in, start participating in class, handing in work no matter how messy or wrong it may be, I am filled with joy, I feel like I have won.

These are the kids I am proud of, these are my poster kids. I push the best and the lowest for their best and I don’t let up. I consider these the success stories and while I admire the kids who win these medals and awards, I know what they have been through to achieve this.

Anyway just my thoughts on all this.

Brunty