Khun_Kong Posted May 25, 2007 Report Share Posted May 25, 2007 I see the same as Flasher. Students are not allowed to fail at ANY Thai school and must retake finals until they pass. Passing is assured by any of the following: 1. Simply changing the grade 2. Eliminating questions they get wrong 3. Giving them a copy to study from 4. Coaching I have seen students in English programs who, after 10 years, CANNOT SPEAK ENGLISH!!They cannot understand ANY of the material in their core courses, yet they pass anyway.Cheating is a given, plaigarism is the norm. Like so much in Thailand, education is jst another movie set: looks great at first glance, but open the doors and there is emptiness inside. There is no substance. The education system is virtually worthless. Last year, I attended a seminar by a Thai man who is a professor at a major uni in California. He said the Thai students excel in freshman and sophomore years because of their ability to memorize, but after thqat, they bottom out because they CANNOT CONNECT TWO IDEAS TO COME UP WITH NOVEL THOUGHTS!! Its like they know 3+2=5, but they don't know 5-2=3 because they never memorized that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MooNoi Posted May 25, 2007 Report Share Posted May 25, 2007 Last year, I attended a seminar by a Thai man who is a professor at a major uni in California. He said the Thai students excel in freshman and sophomore years because of their ability to memorize, but after thqat, they bottom out because they CANNOT CONNECT TWO IDEAS TO COME UP WITH NOVEL THOUGHTS!! Its like they know 3+2=5, but they don't know 5-2=3 because they never memorized that one. Parrot learning! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chlp Posted May 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2007 With all due respect, HN, when looking at the Thai population who are parents as a whole, the percentage of mothers who work in the BKK/PTY dancing queen industry would be quite low. I don't know how you can use this relatively small socio-economic group as a basis for comment on this. There are so many more Thai families who do bring up their own kids in their own home in a traditional family environment. But please don't think the vast majority of Thais live a lifestyle similar to what the working girls or their families so. Not all Thai babies are being taken care of by a drunk-on-whiskey grandpa, parasitic grandma, both watching a big-screen TV with a brand-new pick-up that no-one can drive sitting out the front of their new house in Issan. (Yes, a generalisation, I know... just trying to make a point). Based on my experience, many, if not most, families upcountry DO have the same setup as the families of the bar-girls. Except their sons and daughter work as maids, taxi-drivers, factory workers, etc. Most of the young people (15-30) go to Bangkok to work and leave their kids with the grandparents. So, in this respect, the kids of the non-P4P parents are just as bad off as the bar-girls' kids. Just take a stroll through any village in Isaan. All you see is young children and old folks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted May 25, 2007 Report Share Posted May 25, 2007 The government universities are much better, but even so there is plenty of room for improvement. My biggest shock was in learning what a law major at say Thammasat, Chula or Ramkhamhaeng consists of: memorizing the entire damned legal code! Students spend four years doing just that. A basic law degree here does not mean you are qualified to take the law exam, let alone practice it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cardinalblue Posted May 26, 2007 Report Share Posted May 26, 2007 I don't agree with the thai professor's comments. I think he is just trying to say something complimentary before criticizing... I would bet money that thai students don't excel at all... Why is there any difference between the first two years and last two years of study. One stills need critical, analyzing, creative and problem-solving skills just as much the first two as the last two...His reason just doesn't make sense... The thai professors are no different than their thai students having gone through the same educational process themselves... The vast majority of tests still are multiple choice even for medical, science and engineering subjects. I wonder if creative writing classes would be MC as well except they don't offer creative writing .... CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted May 26, 2007 Report Share Posted May 26, 2007 << The thai professors are no different than their thai students having gone through the same educational process themselves... >> Virtually every one I have worked with had an MA or PhD from the UK, US or Oz. That should have taught them something. No multiple choice exams where I work and have worked (government universities with competitive admission). However, we have just one creative writing course, taken as an elective by 4th year English majors. Only the best students take it, since they realise it is not easy. But how about this: the Business Administration students in the all-English language international programme are not required to take a single writing course! If they want to learn something as basic as business letter writing, they have to take it as an elective. WTF??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted May 26, 2007 Report Share Posted May 26, 2007 p.s. Let's not talk about private universities in Thailand. By and large, they are diploma mills designed to make money by marching as many students through as quickly as possible. A student would be better off going to Ramkhamhaeng, where they really are required to meet minimum standards to graduate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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