Thai education system

[Big Boy]

Yes, a very good point there about learning English. Both of my granddaughters are swats, and their school reports are brilliant. The one thing I always look for is their English grades, which have always been high. OK, we do understand each other, but I would not say either girl is anywhere near as good as their grades suggest. For schools to be handing out such grades is misleading (actually, I think their reading and writing was OK, but they lacked the confidence to speak). Having said that, the eldest has come on leaps and bounds since going to Uni. It seems that English speaking nurses command better jobs.

[VincentD]

Unfortunately the Thai education system tends to focus on a piece of paper, which is unfortunate. Out-of-the-box thinking is discouraged, partly due to the fact that the educators themselves are products of the system. The powers that be also prefer to keep the masses in the dark as far as possible, with the patronage system firmly entrenched in their minds. The haves want to keep it that way.
Back to the motor skills..
Due to an Asian trait called 'loss of face' they would rather clam up and not speak English even though their written skills are up to par. I put this down to 1)the inability to get the correct accent and structure 'on the fly' 2)be afraid of being misunderstood 3)not wanting to stand out from his/her Thai colleagues. I used to find this a lot at meetings where even the senior staff would just clam up. Very frustrating for the non-Thai speakers, and even more frustrating if the meeting degenerated into a Thai free-for-all, leaving the English speakers annoyed.
Slightly off topic, the locals tend to shy away from anything with connotations of 'responsibility' attached.

By the way, if you wonder why the bargirls and such tend to speak better English than professional staff, it is because of their exposure to English (and other language) speakers, and the fact that they would be able to attract a much better prospect for the evening than if they could only speak Thai. It's also another step closer to that walking ATM..

[HHTel]

When I was teaching at university, I was quite shocked at how serious this 'loss of face' was among teachers. I found that a teacher will never respond with "I don't know" to a question and will invent an answer. Consequently, when an overlap occurred in my class where I was able to give a correct answer, the students would respond with "But Ajarn ??? said ......". In contrast, when I was asked a question I couldn't answer immediately I would say so. "I don't know, but I'll find out for your next session". Not a response that students could easily accept initially. Further down the line, I believe they respected the honesty.
The point is that a Thai teacher would rather give a wrong answer than admitting they don't know because of 'loss of face' leading to confusion. I'm sure this takes place regardless of the subject.

[Bamboo Grove]

Another similar experience to what HHTel just said above. In Finland teachers are trained to expect questions during and after the class so I would always ask if anyone had anything they'd like to ask or they didn't understand. This always caused smiles or even giggle as Thai students are not supposed to do this way. It would mean that the teacher didn't teach clearly and would thus embarrass the teacher.

[HHTel]

Spot on BG. I always found it an uphill struggle with new students just trying to get them to ask questions.

[Spitfire]

The Thai education system will not be fixed until the wider short-comings in society as a whole are either changed or severely reeled in/modernized ... like the patronage system et al, regardless of how much money they throw at the issue. Despite the best intentions of some and the desire to teach things like critical thinking etc., it simply doesn't fly when the students get out into the real Thailand as the jackboot of rigid societal conformity kicks in and they are told what to think/say/do and know your position in the pyramid. I remember when teaching at a high school long ago the foreign teachers would privately joke among themselves about the course books should have Units like "Know Your Place" or Unit 2 "Social Engineering" or maybe Unit 4 "Thought Compliance" and so on.

The other problem with a lot of your normal schools (including Catholic ones like Assumption/St. Mary's) or private universities is that they are simply not capable of employing suitable foreign teachers (even in their EP courses) as quality teachers just aren't available plus many of these places have revolving door hiring/firing policies with the teacher supply agency they use, or whoever they get off the street, which indicates that something is very wrong. A low turnover of reasonably competent teachers suggests you are getting some things right. Big dollar international schools and university franchises aside, then the majority of places simply can't attract the required quality of foreign teacher as it's not just the sub-par salaries, it's the area or city it's in, facilities and perks, lifestyle and now just the fact that there are so few teachers around compared to 10 years ago ... and so on.

As with much here, it's all an illusion and substance defers to appearance ... hence the continually weak results despite the best efforts of the few capable and genuine folks around. This is a subject that has perplexed the minds of some very smart people but I reckon the answers lie in change outside of the education system first and that's going to take a while until the dinosaurs of Thai society disappear and the digital generation starts getting into all types of positions of power who aren't quite as hopelessly brainwashed as the above 45s are now ... give it another 15-20 years.

Edit - Typos

[buksida]

Well, Thai schools reopen today - but don't hold your breath for a resumption of 'education'. They're not even back a week and there is a long weekend, then a songkran holiday at the end of the month. All this after almost half a year off school. The one thing kids do learn here is what to do during the ridiculous amount of time off they get.

Thailand is not a country with productivity as a priority.

[Big Boy]

Yes, my granddaughter's school re-opened today, but Wednesday is not one of her New Normal days. I think the New Normal will see her attending Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, so she has moved from 5/6 days (used to do some Saturdays) a week to 3 days a week

[buksida]

So, from attending schooling for around 50% of the year under the 'old normal', they're now reduced to around 30% attendance.

There should be some jobs in the education ministry going ...

[Big Boy]

I'm assuming there will be a hell of a lot of homework, but as I think you've said before, how do you motivate a teenager into doing a load of homework when their Playstation is in the same room as them.

My granddaughter is a swat, so I guess she'll be one of the few.

[buksida]

I wonder if they're going to offer some big discounts on the term fees since the parents now have to become teachers, and the schools are only offering half the 'service'.

There will be a lot of irate parents if invoices are dished out at full rates - and a lot that simply won't pay them.

[HHTel]

My daughter has already asked if there will be any refund/future discounts on fees already paid. You can guess the answer..... NO! The schools response was that the students will get the same level of education as previously and holidays will be shortened to take up the slack.

[handdrummer]

students will get the same level of education as previously

Oh, that's reassuring. Not!

[PeteC]

Ridiculous....

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Much better......

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https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... ecks-masks

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... of-schools

[buksida]

Covid crisis compounds new school-term woes
The first day of school on Wednesday was not a happy time for every child and parent, some of whom had to borrow, beg or even steal so they could send their offspring to class in a uniform like everyone else.

This year, the Covid-19 pandemic delayed the opening of the new term by almost two months. But the outbreak also compounded the financial suffering of parents, several of whom lost their jobs from business closures or saw their incomes dwindle.

Full story (its quite sad): https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... -term-woes

Sadly the Thai education system has little to do with education and a lot to do with money.

After one day back, ours are off again now for five days ... great education.