#13 The Thai Edumacation Sistem
Entry posted by Sofa King
315 views
"You are robbing Thai students of an education!"
So said one key board warrior on a popular Thailand-based message board.
How was I robbing them of an education? In his opinion, I and most other Westerners teaching English at Thai schools were not real teachers because we were not qualified to teach in our home countries - at least that's how I interpreted his statement.
That's true. I could not teach English in the USA with my current credentials.
But for Thailand, I am more than qualified.
Thai education standards are not the best. Like so many other things, appearance is very important, but substance isn't. My last school proudly calls itself a "World Class Standard" school. What that means is they meet certain requirements (modern equipment, completion of education-based projects and activities, graduation numbers, test scores, etc.) which are checked by a team of educators 2-3 times a year.
They clean up the campus and put on a big show when the inspectors come, but the test scores and grades are pretty much bogus. I say this with first-hand knowledge. It's the same at many schools which claim to be "World Class Standard" schools. I feel safe in saying that most of the Thai schools I've taught for are far below the standards of the average schools in countries like Singapore, Korea, Taiwan, Japan, etc., let alone the best in those countries.
Why? Because Thai students routinely cheat and copy and Thai teachers routinely pass students who do not deserve to pass.
Why do they do this? Because they think it makes the school look bad when kids fail. It's also bad business (and education in Thailand is, first and foremost, about making money) to fail customers (students) whose parents have paid money for their child's education.
So when I give a test I have to make sure it's not too difficult. If students fail, I have to "re-test" them. That's a euphemism for "give them the answers and then give them the test again".
Here's what happens at the Thai schools where I have worked: At the end of term, all the kids who have come to class most of the time, they pass. It doesn't matter if they have not done the minimum requirement of work or gotten a passing score. They've put in some effort, so they pass. Even kids who cause trouble in class and still can't write their own names in English - they pass. Everybody sees their names at the bottom of the score list, and that's considered enough loss of face to make them feel bad about fucking off all term.
Then there are the kids who never come to class. Their names are on the roster sheet. They might have attended class once or twice, but they have done zero of the work, so I fail them . . . but then they show up after the exams are finished and expect you to teach them something so they can pass. The first time I encountered this I had no idea who the kids were. I mean, they were always absent, so I didn't recognize them as being my students. The senior English teacher told me, "You must teach them and give them a grade so they can pass." As politely as I could, I refused, so she did it. She gave them some speaking exercise, which she coached them through, then made them clean up a storage room and pick up trash around the school. Viola! That was their education!
That's the Thai education system . . . but it's ME who is robbing students of an education???
I now work for an agency which places teachers in schools. They have a little different grading policy, which I'm trying to get used to. I recently submitted my midterm grades. The next day I got an email saying I needed to lower some of them. Huh?
"Yeah, that level 7 class should be at about 83%, but you've got them at 91%."
"Yeah, they're a bright class."
"I'm sure they are, but we have to match the placement levels, and while 91% is perfect for a level 2 class, it's a little high for a level 7 class."
"So, you want me to change their grades?"
"Yeah, just adjust some of the 8's down to 7's and some of the 7's down to 6's. That should make the school happy."
At first I was outraged and indignant, but that only lasted about a day. If I quit as a matter of principle the agency will just have to find another teacher who will "play ball". And really, did changing the scores a bit really affect the end result? The good students still had the highest scores, and the ones who fell down a grade were still above the class average.
Shocking? By Western standards, yes it is - but this isn't the West.
I am an employee, so I do what my employer wants. They're not asking me to cut off a finger, or break the law, or worship their God - they just want to make the numbers fit into their scheme.
And, without sounding too full of myself, I think it's better for the students to have me here teaching them, as opposed to some of the other teachers I've seen employed by schools.
The real value of having native English speakers in Thai schools is to expose the good students to what real English sounds like - something they cannot get from 95% of the Thai English teachers.
So yeah, that's my rationalization - the good students need me here. I'm doing it for the kids!
Life is full of compromises. Sometimes you have to bend with the breeze to make a difference.
So said one key board warrior on a popular Thailand-based message board.
How was I robbing them of an education? In his opinion, I and most other Westerners teaching English at Thai schools were not real teachers because we were not qualified to teach in our home countries - at least that's how I interpreted his statement.
That's true. I could not teach English in the USA with my current credentials.
But for Thailand, I am more than qualified.
Thai education standards are not the best. Like so many other things, appearance is very important, but substance isn't. My last school proudly calls itself a "World Class Standard" school. What that means is they meet certain requirements (modern equipment, completion of education-based projects and activities, graduation numbers, test scores, etc.) which are checked by a team of educators 2-3 times a year.
They clean up the campus and put on a big show when the inspectors come, but the test scores and grades are pretty much bogus. I say this with first-hand knowledge. It's the same at many schools which claim to be "World Class Standard" schools. I feel safe in saying that most of the Thai schools I've taught for are far below the standards of the average schools in countries like Singapore, Korea, Taiwan, Japan, etc., let alone the best in those countries.
Why? Because Thai students routinely cheat and copy and Thai teachers routinely pass students who do not deserve to pass.
Why do they do this? Because they think it makes the school look bad when kids fail. It's also bad business (and education in Thailand is, first and foremost, about making money) to fail customers (students) whose parents have paid money for their child's education.
So when I give a test I have to make sure it's not too difficult. If students fail, I have to "re-test" them. That's a euphemism for "give them the answers and then give them the test again".
Here's what happens at the Thai schools where I have worked: At the end of term, all the kids who have come to class most of the time, they pass. It doesn't matter if they have not done the minimum requirement of work or gotten a passing score. They've put in some effort, so they pass. Even kids who cause trouble in class and still can't write their own names in English - they pass. Everybody sees their names at the bottom of the score list, and that's considered enough loss of face to make them feel bad about fucking off all term.
Then there are the kids who never come to class. Their names are on the roster sheet. They might have attended class once or twice, but they have done zero of the work, so I fail them . . . but then they show up after the exams are finished and expect you to teach them something so they can pass. The first time I encountered this I had no idea who the kids were. I mean, they were always absent, so I didn't recognize them as being my students. The senior English teacher told me, "You must teach them and give them a grade so they can pass." As politely as I could, I refused, so she did it. She gave them some speaking exercise, which she coached them through, then made them clean up a storage room and pick up trash around the school. Viola! That was their education!
That's the Thai education system . . . but it's ME who is robbing students of an education???
I now work for an agency which places teachers in schools. They have a little different grading policy, which I'm trying to get used to. I recently submitted my midterm grades. The next day I got an email saying I needed to lower some of them. Huh?
"Yeah, that level 7 class should be at about 83%, but you've got them at 91%."
"Yeah, they're a bright class."
"I'm sure they are, but we have to match the placement levels, and while 91% is perfect for a level 2 class, it's a little high for a level 7 class."
"So, you want me to change their grades?"
"Yeah, just adjust some of the 8's down to 7's and some of the 7's down to 6's. That should make the school happy."
At first I was outraged and indignant, but that only lasted about a day. If I quit as a matter of principle the agency will just have to find another teacher who will "play ball". And really, did changing the scores a bit really affect the end result? The good students still had the highest scores, and the ones who fell down a grade were still above the class average.
Shocking? By Western standards, yes it is - but this isn't the West.
I am an employee, so I do what my employer wants. They're not asking me to cut off a finger, or break the law, or worship their God - they just want to make the numbers fit into their scheme.
And, without sounding too full of myself, I think it's better for the students to have me here teaching them, as opposed to some of the other teachers I've seen employed by schools.
The real value of having native English speakers in Thai schools is to expose the good students to what real English sounds like - something they cannot get from 95% of the Thai English teachers.
So yeah, that's my rationalization - the good students need me here. I'm doing it for the kids!
Life is full of compromises. Sometimes you have to bend with the breeze to make a difference.
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