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[webfact]

OPINION POLL
Teachers play role in preventing corruption
The Nation

Teachers play a crucial role in the development of an anti-corruption mentality in children, according to a recent survey ahead of National Teachers Day today.

"Teachers are close to children. They can teach the children about ethics and honesty," respondents said in the opinion poll conducted by Suan Dusit Rajabhat University for National Teachers' Day.

To make children grow up into honest citizens, teachers must be living examples, said 73.3 per cent of the 1,422 respondents when asked about teachers' role in preventing corruption. National Teachers Day falls on January 16 every year.

Asked about their expectation of teachers' role in corruption prevention, 21.9 per cent said teachers could make a significant contribution because of their commanding influence over their students.

Although other factors such as peers, family background, corruption news and media could influence children's perceptions of corruption, 60.3 per cent said teachers could prevent corruption problems to a degree if they set a good example for children to emulate.

In another survey, teachers were given a grade of 7.85 points out of 10, based on 30 qualities of an excellent educator.

That score reflected essentially no improvement from 7.83 last year.

Suan Dusit Rajabhat University asked 8,194 people about their confidence in teachers according to their personality, ideology, ability, human-relations skills and other areas.

Asked about the strengths of teachers, 25.5 per cent replied "teaching ability and good knowledge of technology", 23.2 per cent answered "patience and multitasking" and 19.1 per cent mentioned "understanding of and friendliness toward children".

About 17.5 per cent noted their interesting instructional techniques and 14.8 per cent their ability to develop IT-based teaching materials.

On honesty, teachers were rated at 7.91 out of 10. As for weaknesses, extravagant lifestyle and debts was top at 33.9 per cent, followed by losing their temper at 17.0 per cent and not conveying love and warmth to children at 15.3 per cent.


-- The Nation 2012-01-16

[unanimosity]

Sure, the teachers that don't educate during classroom hours so they can charge for private instruction after school are the ones to impart anti-corruption values.

[otherstuff1957]

Teachers who routinely pass students that have completed less than 50% of the coursework are supposed to be an example for ethics??

[DoctorG]

"ethics" and "face" are natural enemies

[siampolee]

There is a school in Lad Krabang that has its  foreign teachers supplied by one of Thailand's more infamous teaching agencies.

Those supply teachers are told, nay directed by both the agency and the school director and the head of the Foreign Language department that no student is to get less than 75% pass mark no matter whether or not they even attend classes.

Students are leaving with a passing grade in English according to their paperwork,  yet those students are totally incapable of even uttering a basic, " My Name is, or Good Morning."

Corruption  will never be erased whilst the can't fail ethos is in place,Thai kids have no chance to discern right from wrong.

Edited by siampolee, 2012-01-16 17:00:33.

[sparebox2]

Thai teachers are 100% corruption free, hence they are so poor.

Unfortunately, equal cannot be said on the Thai police, some of whom drive Rolls Royces and Bently.

[Screws]

"Teachers are close to children. They can teach the children about ethics and honesty,"

When they gunna start?

[lounger]

To make children grow up into honest citizens, teachers must be living examples, said 73.3 per cent of the 1,422 respondents .....


The other 26.7% were teachers and they reckon that being a teacher is a privilege not a responsibility.....
National Teachers Day is when the students have to line up on their knees and shoeless  to shuffle up to the teachers sitting, wearing shoes, and prostrate themselves while donating a flower of subservience.....
Maybe the students could learn to be good citizens like the teachers and so like the teachers they should sit on chairs and wear shoes on National Teachers Day.................

[Rhys]

Yada yada yada... always placing the what if.. on the teachers... hmmmm who spends more time with children...  PARENTS...and they too need to set postive examples...as we know, that means ALL PARENTS and many don't...of course...

Edited by Rhys, 2012-01-16 21:07:57.

[Scott]

Parents are number one in instilling values.  Schools are important, but schools instill and teach the values of the culture.

If, for example, cheating is tolerated, then the message to students is that cheating is OK.

[wxyz]

without consequences,
bad behavior continues and esculates

[necronx99]

I suppose little Nong could ask the Teacher to explain the teamoney his parents had to pay to get him into the school to begin with.
And the teamoney his Mom had to pay when stopped on the way to school.
and the teamoney...
But what little Nong really need to know is how to get his share.

[PEP]

This "Survey" for sure is some kind of joke.
My wife'son, who was a long term unemployed University graduate recently paid 100,00Baht. (Indirectly it was myself who paid this three years salary) for him to get a teaching position at our local Primary School. This I am told  is a "Normal" occourance. Where does this blatent corruption start?

[sirchai]

siampolee, on 2012-01-16 16:56:38, said:

There is a school in Lad Krabang that has its  foreign teachers supplied by one of Thailand's more infamous teaching agencies.

Those supply teachers are told, nay directed by both the agency and the school director and the head of the Foreign Language department that no student is to get less than 75% pass mark no matter whether or not they even attend classes.

Students are leaving with a passing grade in English according to their paperwork,  yet those students are totally incapable of even uttering a basic, " My Name is, or Good Morning."

Corruption  will never be erased whilst the can't fail ethos is in place,Thai kids have no chance to discern right from wrong.

I taught at a high school somewhere in the lower northeast. When we started testing, many grade 12 students couldn't even understand easiest basic English. No one failed as we then had to make an :"English Immersion camp" where all of them had passed.  

Would a foreigner give a Thai student a bad grade, he'd be out of the game.

Another truth about this country is that almost all directors of bigger Thai schools are corrupt, so where should the Anti corruption campaign start?

Edited by sirchai, 2012-01-17 12:31:49.

[kanderson]

I'm probably not thinking right tonight.  What good does it do to fail learners?  in the first place.

Please - make mistakes and don't worry about failing.  Am I just too sleepy.

next thing you know it's a negaitive situation.

All learners are special.

[siampolee]

Kanderson ,

You are totally correct I have always told my students that you need to make mistakes to learn, if you fail you just try harder the next time, However there does have to be a bench mark for the students own good and the teacher also.

We as teachers should inspire our charges, I always say, " there is no such word as can't ''   It's a case of, '' I can, I will . I am , I have."

However to instill a false confidence in a student is indeed in my view a cardinal sin, Electricians need to know the rules as do drivers, doctors nurses the list is endless, if they don;t understand the rules and their own capabilities the consequences can and could be dire, the same goes for sending a child out from a school who thinks that he or she is capable of anything, reality bites when the truth  surfaces it hurts.

The damage to the child is long term  angst rises and society ends up with a problem due to a corrupt system.teacher have great privilege and are indeed the role model for their charges the standards must be adhered to.

Some are born to lead some are born to follow,  every child has a niche in society, however false hopes destroy confidence and cause social problems. Hence failure is not  a bad thing it leads many to try harder in life. Failure is part of life we need to fail to understand how to succeed.

Edited by siampolee, 2012-01-17 16:19:28.

[tombkk]

PEP, on 2012-01-17 10:08:12, said:

This "Survey" for sure is some kind of joke.
My wife'son, who was a long term unemployed University graduate recently paid 100,00Baht. (Indirectly it was myself who paid this three years salary) for him to get a teaching position at our local Primary School. This I am told  is a "Normal" occourance. Where does this blatent corruption start?

He paid THB 100,000 to get a teaching job?

I'm surprised to hear that, as I heard that Thailand has a shortage of teachers. But then, it depends on the province (Phuket apparently has the biggest shortage) and on the level (Pathom vs Mathayom).

[tombkk]

sirchai, on 2012-01-17 12:26:58, said:

siampolee, on 2012-01-16 16:56:38, said:

There is a school in Lad Krabang that has its  foreign teachers supplied by one of Thailand's more infamous teaching agencies.

Those supply teachers are told, nay directed by both the agency and the school director and the head of the Foreign Language department that no student is to get less than 75% pass mark no matter whether or not they even attend classes.

Students are leaving with a passing grade in English according to their paperwork,  yet those students are totally incapable of even uttering a basic, " My Name is, or Good Morning."

Corruption  will never be erased whilst the can't fail ethos is in place,Thai kids have no chance to discern right from wrong.

I taught at a high school somewhere in the lower northeast. When we started testing, many grade 12 students couldn't even understand easiest basic English. No one failed as we then had to make an :"English Immersion camp" where all of them had passed.  

Would a foreigner give a Thai student a bad grade, he'd be out of the game.

Another truth about this country is that almost all directors of bigger Thai schools are corrupt, so where should the Anti corruption campaign start?

I teach at tertiary level (university) and believe me, I give an F it is appropriate. I have never gotten any problems because of that; otherwise I would probably have given up teaching. But then, I don't teach English, I teach subjects in a BBA program. Maybe that makes the difference.

[sirchai]

tombkk, on 2012-01-17 23:08:18, said:

sirchai, on 2012-01-17 12:26:58, said:

siampolee, on 2012-01-16 16:56:38, said:

There is a school in Lad Krabang that has its  foreign teachers supplied by one of Thailand's more infamous teaching agencies.

Those supply teachers are told, nay directed by both the agency and the school director and the head of the Foreign Language department that no student is to get less than 75% pass mark no matter whether or not they even attend classes.

Students are leaving with a passing grade in English according to their paperwork,  yet those students are totally incapable of even uttering a basic, " My Name is, or Good Morning."

Corruption  will never be erased whilst the can't fail ethos is in place,Thai kids have no chance to discern right from wrong.

I taught at a high school somewhere in the lower northeast. When we started testing, many grade 12 students couldn't even understand easiest basic English. No one failed as we then had to make an :"English Immersion camp" where all of them had passed.  

Would a foreigner give a Thai student a bad grade, he'd be out of the game.

Another truth about this country is that almost all directors of bigger Thai schools are corrupt, so where should the Anti corruption campaign start?

I teach at tertiary level (university) and believe me, I give an F it is appropriate. I have never gotten any problems because of that; otherwise I would probably have given up teaching. But then, I don't teach English, I teach subjects in a BBA program. Maybe that makes the difference.

My post was about primary and secondary levels at Thai schools. It's more about loosing face if students would fail, so the teachers would have failed as well.
Most students want to learn, but as all of them know that they'll pass anyway, there's no real pressure for them to learn English, or any other subjects.

But it's an international problem at all schools. If students believe that they're not capable in a subject, they are not interested in learning it any more.

So it comes back to the educators again, but how can you teach any subject to 50+ students? Easy for parents who can afford tutoring after school. Sad truth is that most parents can't.

Wouldn't it change the whole situation if they'd have to repeat a class if they are not willing to learn or go to class? At least in major subjects. More teachers would be employed and the quality of teaching could be increased. Sorry, that's just my opinion about Thailand.

Who'd like to have a doctor, doing a serious surgery, who went though his examination by cheating, copying and having a wealthy family behind?  

Edited by sirchai, 2012-01-18 09:31:40.

[tombkk]

sirchai, on 2012-01-18 09:20:07, said:

tombkk, on 2012-01-17 23:08:18, said:

I teach at tertiary level (university) and believe me, I give an F it is appropriate. I have never gotten any problems because of that; otherwise I would probably have given up teaching. But then, I don't teach English, I teach subjects in a BBA program. Maybe that makes the difference.

My post was about primary and secondary levels at Thai schools. It's more about loosing face if students would fail, so the teachers would have failed as well.
Most students want to learn, but as all of them know that they'll pass anyway, there's no real pressure for them to learn English, or any other subjects.

But it's an international problem at all schools. If students believe that they're not capable in a subject, they are not interested in learning it any more.

So it comes back to the educators again, but how can you teach any subject to 50+ students? Easy for parents who can afford tutoring after school. Sad truth is that most parents can't.

Wouldn't it change the whole situation if they'd have to repeat a class if they are not willing to learn or go to class? At least in major subjects. More teachers would be employed and the quality of teaching could be increased. Sorry, that's just my opinion about Thailand.

Who'd like to have a doctor, doing a serious surgery, who went though his examination by cheating, copying and having a wealthy family behind?  

I mostly agree with what you say about primary and secondary level. However, that is out of common sense rather than experience, as I have never taught on those levels.

The doctor, however, will have undergone tertiary level education before being allowed to do surgery. Life is a bit tougher for students at university, even though there are differences between the unis.

[Scott]

A troll post has been deleted and a reply to it.

The teaching forum is for and about teaching.  It is moderated closely and argumentative, off-topic and unhelpful remarks will be deleted and posters will receive a warning.

[althemighty]

My wife works as a teacher on a contract. If she wants to have a government salary she needs to pay a 500000 baht bribe to get employed. Her parents want to pay the bribe so they can keep her in thailand and they get hospital benifits from it.

The education system is very corrupt.

[sparebox2]

tombkk, on 2012-01-17 23:03:52, said:

PEP, on 2012-01-17 10:08:12, said:

This "Survey" for sure is some kind of joke.
My wife'son, who was a long term unemployed University graduate recently paid 100,00Baht. (Indirectly it was myself who paid this three years salary) for him to get a teaching position at our local Primary School. This I am told  is a "Normal" occourance. Where does this blatent corruption start?

He paid THB 100,000 to get a teaching job?

I'm surprised to hear that, as I heard that Thailand has a shortage of teachers. But then, it depends on the province (Phuket apparently has the biggest shortage) and on the level (Pathom vs Mathayom).

People bragging how much they paid is not always true. Especially if coming from Chinese, where they like to add a couple to zeros just to show how rich they are.

[Xangsamhua]

Times have changed.

When I taught as a young (fully trained) teacher at a high-status government school in a provincial city in the early 70s our upper streams at each level got good marks in English and deserved them.  The upper stream students were taught English by myself and a Peace Corps volunteer.  The lower stream students were taught by Thai teachers of English (who were also fully trained and quite good) and got marks like 1/10 for their examination essays.

My Peace Corps colleague and I used to help with the marking and moderating of those essays and I felt that a mark like 1/10 was too demoralizing.  The Thai teachers' approach was too negative - seeing only the errors and not what was communicated.  Anyway, I was firmly put in my place by the Head of Department and the 1/10s and 2/10s prevailed.

Now we see the foreigners arguing for accountability in assessment, but at that time in that place it was the foreigner (me - I can't remember my PC colleague's view) who was the one arguing for a more sympathetic (and face-saving) approach.  I left Thailand not long afterwards and don't know when and why the change in Thai school administrators' thinking came about.