wowpow
August 22nd, 2006, 09:27
Bangkok Post Editorial
The American school teacher suspected of killing a little girl in Colorado nearly 10 years ago has left Thailand for the United States. But the case of John Mark Karr has left its mark on this country. The media circus surrounding the detention of Mr Karr has opened a number of real and perceived flaws to public view. Authorities, as usual, have rushed in with sometimes contradictory advice, usually along the line that there is no cause for concern, and that new rules and regulations will soon be introduced. The truth seems to be that there is some cause for concern before society can be sure that school children are as safe as possible.
Mr Karr is accused of killing a six-year-old girl, JonBenet Ramsey, in the family home near Denver, on the day after Christmas, 1996. The accusations rest mainly on the strength of Mr Karr's own statements, which are highly questionable. He fled American legal charges of owning child pornography, is barred by court order from seeing his own three children. For the past several years, he has been the stereotypical foreign teacher in Thailand. He embellished his experience on his CVs, and managed to win jobs to teach in English at two of the best Bangkok schools, St Joseph's Convent for girls and Bangkok Christian College for boys.
Ironically, given the saturation press coverage of the Karr case, the system worked. Both Bangkok schools fired Mr Karr. Parents and students complained the American was far too strict, often lost his temper in the classroom, and conducted punishment that even forbade toilet trips. There were no charges of any type of violence, including sexual assault. Indeed, Mr Karr faced no legal charges in Thailand, and was deported only because of the murder accusations in America.
By contrast, the foreign murder case pushed away the story of two teachers at Pracha Nukul who are accused of systematic rape and sexual assault of young girls. Unlike the western drifter Mr Karr, physical education instructor Pimol Sunsri, 48, and class supervisor Lon Soraganit, 58, were highly trusted teachers. They still are, by their school director, who organised rallies to support the teachers and, thus, against their very young accusers. At St Joseph's and at Bangkok Christian, complaints against Mr Karr by students and parents were taken far more seriously.
Authorities have assured the nation they are on the job, and intend to crack down on foreign teachers who pose a possible threat to students. Just how remains conveniently vague. Immigration departments of the world do not share _ indeed have no system to share _ possibly relevant information such as Mr Karr's arrest and flight on child pornography charges. Schools including elite Bangkok institutions depend by necessity on documents, curriculum vitae and personal interviews which may be misleading or false. It never has been a secret that the quality of foreign teachers in Thailand, particularly westerners, ranges from superbly qualified to dismal and, as Mr Karr demonstrated, dangerous.
Any crackdown on foreign teachers which depends on more documentation of degrees and experience will only cause more deception and fraud by the small minority of unqualified teachers. In any case, Mr Karr had a teaching background. The warning sign was his criminal record, which included the paedophilia suspicions. For now, no procedure exists to flag such teacher applicants. An international database of known sex offenders would have kept Mr Karr away from Thai children and, in a just system, from Thailand entirely.
Jakrapob Penkair, deputy secretary-general to the prime minister, has promised to get serious about enforcing the qualifications of teachers. Instead, schools must have more access to information about their potential teachers.
The twin cases of Karr and Pracha Nukul school demonstrate how a few very bad apples take advantage of the inherent respect for teachers in Thailand.
Authorities and school administrators must consider together how to weed out the tiny handful of bad people from the dedicated teachers.
The American school teacher suspected of killing a little girl in Colorado nearly 10 years ago has left Thailand for the United States. But the case of John Mark Karr has left its mark on this country. The media circus surrounding the detention of Mr Karr has opened a number of real and perceived flaws to public view. Authorities, as usual, have rushed in with sometimes contradictory advice, usually along the line that there is no cause for concern, and that new rules and regulations will soon be introduced. The truth seems to be that there is some cause for concern before society can be sure that school children are as safe as possible.
Mr Karr is accused of killing a six-year-old girl, JonBenet Ramsey, in the family home near Denver, on the day after Christmas, 1996. The accusations rest mainly on the strength of Mr Karr's own statements, which are highly questionable. He fled American legal charges of owning child pornography, is barred by court order from seeing his own three children. For the past several years, he has been the stereotypical foreign teacher in Thailand. He embellished his experience on his CVs, and managed to win jobs to teach in English at two of the best Bangkok schools, St Joseph's Convent for girls and Bangkok Christian College for boys.
Ironically, given the saturation press coverage of the Karr case, the system worked. Both Bangkok schools fired Mr Karr. Parents and students complained the American was far too strict, often lost his temper in the classroom, and conducted punishment that even forbade toilet trips. There were no charges of any type of violence, including sexual assault. Indeed, Mr Karr faced no legal charges in Thailand, and was deported only because of the murder accusations in America.
By contrast, the foreign murder case pushed away the story of two teachers at Pracha Nukul who are accused of systematic rape and sexual assault of young girls. Unlike the western drifter Mr Karr, physical education instructor Pimol Sunsri, 48, and class supervisor Lon Soraganit, 58, were highly trusted teachers. They still are, by their school director, who organised rallies to support the teachers and, thus, against their very young accusers. At St Joseph's and at Bangkok Christian, complaints against Mr Karr by students and parents were taken far more seriously.
Authorities have assured the nation they are on the job, and intend to crack down on foreign teachers who pose a possible threat to students. Just how remains conveniently vague. Immigration departments of the world do not share _ indeed have no system to share _ possibly relevant information such as Mr Karr's arrest and flight on child pornography charges. Schools including elite Bangkok institutions depend by necessity on documents, curriculum vitae and personal interviews which may be misleading or false. It never has been a secret that the quality of foreign teachers in Thailand, particularly westerners, ranges from superbly qualified to dismal and, as Mr Karr demonstrated, dangerous.
Any crackdown on foreign teachers which depends on more documentation of degrees and experience will only cause more deception and fraud by the small minority of unqualified teachers. In any case, Mr Karr had a teaching background. The warning sign was his criminal record, which included the paedophilia suspicions. For now, no procedure exists to flag such teacher applicants. An international database of known sex offenders would have kept Mr Karr away from Thai children and, in a just system, from Thailand entirely.
Jakrapob Penkair, deputy secretary-general to the prime minister, has promised to get serious about enforcing the qualifications of teachers. Instead, schools must have more access to information about their potential teachers.
The twin cases of Karr and Pracha Nukul school demonstrate how a few very bad apples take advantage of the inherent respect for teachers in Thailand.
Authorities and school administrators must consider together how to weed out the tiny handful of bad people from the dedicated teachers.