The Thai education system and science re-visited

I wrote previously on this (see link below). In The Nation there's a report that 99% of Thai school students have no interest in scientific work -
Most children feel sick when they think about science and math. The content of these subjects may be complicated but what adds to children's distaste for them is also that schools can't use interesting teaching materials and activities. If we don't produce more personnel in the fields of technology and science, Thailand's competitiveness will grow at a slower pace than others. Vietnam's information and communications technology has already advanced past Thailand's http://www.nationmultimedia.com/topstor ... d=30086718 (http://www.nationmultimedia.com/topstory/read.php?newsid=30086718)
http://www.sawatdee-gay-thailand.com/fo ... 19-30.html (http://www.sawatdee-gay-thailand.com/forum/the-thai-education-system-and-science-t15819-30.html)

Of course, there's always the possibility they've met Aunty

I work in a Thai educational institution (government technical college) & this is certainly not the case.

Most of the students at my place of work seem equally frustrated/disinterested/interested as students in my home country (Australia) do with these subjects.

The subjects are not the problem. The way in which they are taught IS the problem.
Many of these students have a 6 to 8 hour learning day. This simply leads to "mental overload". This is why many other countries have noticeably reduced "learning hours"...to reduce mental overload.

For some strange reason in Thailand, certain people seem to think that "time" & "learning" are not connected.

For example, in Thailand, to become an electrician, one must undergo a minimum of 3 years at college. During this period, the student may only "actively" spend about 6 months learning "hands on". Also, they will learn useless things like Nortons/Thevenins Theorem(s) & similar such mind numbing things (electrical engineering). I must qualify this by saying that electricians need not know these theorems to adequately perform their job.
In other countries, apprenticeships facilitate a trade qualification whereby (for example) an electrical apprentice will spend 4 years with a company, performing "hands on" work for 4 days a week (36 hours per week) & will spend 1 day per week for 3 to 4 years at college (about 1000+ hours per year). These people will only learn what is necessary to adequately do their job both theoretically & actually, which means that they will not be subject to unnecessary information (mental overload).

From the description above, please note that Thailand does the inverse to the rest of the world.

As a friend of mine once said, "Nothing gets into Thailand & nothing goes out of it." (meaning "information").

I work in a Thai educational institution (government technical college) & this is certainly not the case.

Most of the students at my place of work seem equally frustrated/disinterested/interested as students in my home country (Australia) do with these subjects.
.....


And I don't hear people say Australia is a technology advanced country, nor with top science students...so what is your point?

This issue of students caring about or learning math and science is a large problem in most of the world. The problem is not the students or the material; it is the quality of instruction. Most people who are truely competent in math and science have elected or have been recruited in to much higher paying jobs in the private sector.

Most of today's math and science teachers have little or no background in the subjects that they are teaching....they are music, art, history majors who couldn't get a job theachin in their field so they they took math science teaching jobs. They only have limited knowledge of arithmatic and simple science and lack the passion or the depth of knowledge of the subject to motivate the students or to show the students how math and science relate to the real world.

In my last teaching assignment we hired a math science teacher who decided to teach 13 and 14 year olds in the LA ghetto for fun after retiring as a managing electrical engineer for a major US defense contractor; he, also, had a PhD in Electrical Engingeering from UCLA. He had love, knowledge, passion, and would not turn a kid loose until the kid "got it." I had one girl in my English class that wrote an essay about her personal hero. She chose to write about her math teacher...saying he would not accept that she "didn't get it"...he just said she needed to try harder and went over it again and again until she got. With in two years our kids had the highest math and science scores of any school within 50 miles. Three of those kids are now math majors at the University of California at Berkley.

The problem is not the subject or the students..it is the quality of the instruction.

Most people who are truely competent in math and science have elected or have been recruited in to much higher paying jobs in the private sector.

...and have successfully wrecked the Western economy with dodgy lending constructs.

The problem is not the subject or the students..it is the quality of the instruction.

Well, it's all three. Science requres more hard work than most arts subjects (except, perhaps, foreign languages), so it demands more of the teacher to inspire that extra effort, and more from the student for them to acquire enough knowledge to begin to really understand the subject.

For example, in Thailand, to become an electrician, one must undergo a minimum of 3 years at college. During this period, the student may only "actively" spend about 6 months learning "hands on".

Rubbish!
The 19 year old "Electrician" who recently came to fix something in my apartment knew the English phrase 'Can I borrow a screwdriver' and F-all else. Just before I kicked him out he wound a length of thick copper wire round the fuze terminals because the breaker kept tripping.

... is "percussive" ie. hit it with a hammer and see if that fixes the problem - whatever it is!
I work in a Thai educational institution (government technical college) & this is certainly not the case.So you're saying the quality of education in Thailand is the same as in Australia?

I work in a Thai educational institution (government technical college) & this is certainly not the case.

Most of the students at my place of work seem equally frustrated/disinterested/interested as students in my home country (Australia) do with these subjects.
.....


And I don't hear people say Australia is a technology advanced country, nor with top science students...so what is your point?

You are obviously in love with statistics. Nor did you "get my drift". What is your point?

For example, in Thailand, to become an electrician, one must undergo a minimum of 3 years at college. During this period, the student may only "actively" spend about 6 months learning "hands on".

Rubbish!
The 19 year old "Electrician" who recently came to fix something in my apartment knew the English phrase 'Can I borrow a screwdriver' and F-all else. Just before I kicked him out he wound a length of thick copper wire round the fuze terminals because the breaker kept tripping.

You have incorrectly assumed that all technical colleges in Thailand are exactly the same as my college. If you knew anything about the Thai education system, you would not make this comment since "education" in Thailand is not about trying to teach the masses "equivalently"...it is about "money" & "status". Mind you, my institution seriously attempts to educate people.

... is "percussive" ie. hit it with a hammer and see if that fixes the problem - whatever it is!
I work in a Thai educational institution (government technical college) & this is certainly not the case.So you're saying the quality of education in Thailand is the same as in Australia?

No, I'm not.

Can you not also understand what I am trying to say? Let me spell it out for all & sundry...students all over the world are not generally amazed or enthused by maths & science etc. Only a few are truly amazed. The rest just plod through it.

You are obviously in love with statistics. Nor did you "get my drift". What is your point?


You have incorrectly assumed that all technical colleges in Thailand are exactly the same as my college. If you knew anything about the Thai education system, you would not make this comment since "education" in Thailand is not about trying to teach the masses "equivalently"...it is about "money" & "status". Mind you, my institution seriously attempts to educate people.


Can you not also understand what I am trying to say? Let me spell it out for all & sundry...students all over the world are not generally amazed or enthused by maths & science etc. Only a few are truly amazed. The rest just plod through it.

What a very earnest chap you are... but glad to see that the sense of humour bypass was a success.

You are obviously in love with statistics. Nor did you "get my drift"
Can you not also understand what I am trying to say?Is it possible you're a poor communicator? Many teachers are

Is it possible you're a poor communicator? Many teachers are

Agreed (for once).