Friday, April 15, 2005
Goodbye to Thailand
Lucky for us, one of Katrina's cousins (Sarah Shaw) came to visit us the last couple of weeks before we moved. It was so fun to have her here with us. While we finished up our business in Phimai, Sarah toured around Ayuthaya and Chiang Mai, soaking up the Thai culture, as well as 43 yards of Thai silk for her sister Marian - 43 YARDS!
We were happy to travel down to one of Thailand's most beautiful islands for a few days of sun and the beach before packing up our bags, eating our last Pad Thai, and getting on a plane for Shanghai.
We have mixed emotions about leaving Thailand. While our job introduced us to some amazing people and allowed us plenty of time to travel, our creativity for new lessons was waning, and we were itching for new surroundings. We will never forget our students and our fun times in the classroom. However, we continue to be frustrated by the Thai education system in general and hope that our broadened perspective will help us better address problems in the education system that will affect the lives of our own children.
There are only 13 universities in all of Thailand - the oldest, Chulalongkorn University, is only 88 years old (est. 1917). One of the major problems throughout Thailand's education system (from kindergarten to Ph.D.) is that very few parents encourage their children to attend a university because there is no tradition or legacy that emphasizes education. Most of the children (outside of Bangkok) have plans to become farmers, or take over their parents' shop and have little motivation for success in school. Unfortunately, the Ministry of Education has passed a "no fail" policy that allows students to progress through school regardless of their performance. We saw the problems of this policy first-hand. I taught juniors and Katrina taught sophomores - both groups of students who had received English training for at least 4 years (since at least 7th grade). Unfortunately, only a handful of students could carry on a simple conversation, and 7 out of 10 students could not decipher "how are you?" from "how old are you?" While the teachers are in part to blame, a system that does not reward or punish (and therefore encourage) students for studying to receive better marks is a disability, in the end, for the students who learn to just go through the motions.
We are intrigued by what we have heard about Chinese students who study 6 days a week in a system renowned for its strictness and competitiveness. While a part of us will always remain in Phimai, our excitement is building as we prepare the second chapter of this adventure.
We were happy to travel down to one of Thailand's most beautiful islands for a few days of sun and the beach before packing up our bags, eating our last Pad Thai, and getting on a plane for Shanghai.
We have mixed emotions about leaving Thailand. While our job introduced us to some amazing people and allowed us plenty of time to travel, our creativity for new lessons was waning, and we were itching for new surroundings. We will never forget our students and our fun times in the classroom. However, we continue to be frustrated by the Thai education system in general and hope that our broadened perspective will help us better address problems in the education system that will affect the lives of our own children.
There are only 13 universities in all of Thailand - the oldest, Chulalongkorn University, is only 88 years old (est. 1917). One of the major problems throughout Thailand's education system (from kindergarten to Ph.D.) is that very few parents encourage their children to attend a university because there is no tradition or legacy that emphasizes education. Most of the children (outside of Bangkok) have plans to become farmers, or take over their parents' shop and have little motivation for success in school. Unfortunately, the Ministry of Education has passed a "no fail" policy that allows students to progress through school regardless of their performance. We saw the problems of this policy first-hand. I taught juniors and Katrina taught sophomores - both groups of students who had received English training for at least 4 years (since at least 7th grade). Unfortunately, only a handful of students could carry on a simple conversation, and 7 out of 10 students could not decipher "how are you?" from "how old are you?" While the teachers are in part to blame, a system that does not reward or punish (and therefore encourage) students for studying to receive better marks is a disability, in the end, for the students who learn to just go through the motions.
We are intrigued by what we have heard about Chinese students who study 6 days a week in a system renowned for its strictness and competitiveness. While a part of us will always remain in Phimai, our excitement is building as we prepare the second chapter of this adventure.
# posted by Doug Spencer : 9:41 AM
: